An illegal immigrant has been jailed for life for murdering a man in the UK just three years after serving a sentence in Romania for a “strikingly similar” killing.
Construction worker Eugeniu Neamtu, 59, known as Jimmy, was found guilty of fatally stabbing his flatmate and fellow Romanian Gheorghe Trica, 63, in Walthamstow, east London, on February 20.
On Friday, Judge Richard Marks KC jailed Neamtu at the Old Bailey for life with a minimum term of 27 years.
Neamtu had stabbed Mr Trica in the heart in almost identical circumstances to an earlier killing in his home country dating back to 2006, the court heard.
In May 2007, he was jailed for 15 years in Romania for murdering his housemate by stabbing him repeatedly in the chest in a drunken row over money.
Following his release from prison, he travelled to the UK as a visitor in September 2023.
He failed to declare his previous conviction or his intention to work to UK authorities and was therefore not in the country lawfully at the time of the killing in 2026, the court heard.
The details of Neamtu’s previous murder conviction can only now be reported after he was convicted.
Prior to the start of the week-long trial, prosecutor Philip Evans KC requested permission to present the full history of the earlier stabbing to the jury, arguing it provided "powerful probative evidence" in the new case.
He highlighted extensive parallels between the two attacks, noting that Neamtu would have been aware that stabbing Mr Trica in the chest carried a clear risk of death.
Addressing the court during legal argument, Mr Evans said: "The court in Romania in 2007 rejected the argument he did not intend to inflict injury in 2006. This is directly relevant to a key issue – was it to scare him or cause serious bodily harm?"
Defence barrister Paul Hynes KC argued that sharing the full background of the Romanian crime would be excessively prejudicial to his client.
Judge Richard Marks KC permitted certain details of Neamtu's past to be put before the jury, but excluded the fact that the first victim died from stab wounds to his heart and lungs, as well as the murder conviction itself.
In his ruling, Judge Marks told the prosecution: "In fairness, I am not proposing to allow you to adduce the consequences of the death."
Jurors were consequently told during the trial only that Neamtu had been convicted in Romania over a stabbing in 2007.
Drawing comparisons between the two attacks, Mr Evans explained how the defendant had used a similar knife, attempted to discard it, and subsequently claimed to have acted in self-defence.