Convicted Romanian murderer carried out almost identical killing after moving to UK

A convicted murderer has been found guilty of an almost identical killing just three years after he was released from prison in Romania.

Eugeniu Neamtu, 59, known as Jimmy, was jailed for murder in his native Romania in 2007 after stabbing his housemate in the chest in a drunken row over money.

He was freed in 2023 and moved to Walthamstow, east London, where prosecutors said he killed fellow Romanian Gheorghe Trica, 63, on 20 February in "strikingly similar" circumstances.

Philip Evans KC told Neamtu's Old Bailey trial he fatally stabbed Mr Trica in the chest after the pair argued at their shared flat.

Neamtu denied murder but was found guilty by a jury after three hours of deliberation.

The court heard he had been found guilty of carrying out the earlier stabbing, but Judge Richard Marks KC ruled it was too prejudicial to tell jurors he was convicted of murder, which can now be reported after the end of the trial.

Mr Evans said: "The prosecution in this case relies on this previous conviction because of the striking similarities between the circumstances of that offence and the allegation you are concerned with in this trial.

"In both cases the defendant was involved in a drunken argument with an associate over money. In both cases he took up a knife from within the home.

"In both cases he stabbed the other man in the chest. In both cases he later claimed that he acted in self‑defence."

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The court heard Neamtu had been drinking plum brandy with housemate Adrian Vas when they rowed over rent and work on the property in Romania August 2006.

Neamtu grabbed a knife before stabbing Mr Vas several times in the chest, and was found guilty of murder after the court rejected his claim of self-defence.

Mr Trica was also stabbed in the chest after arguing with Neamtu at their flat, with the victim was heard to say: "Give me back those £5."

At one point a bystander exclaimed: "Oh my God, he has cut Trica," who was found in a pool of blood, the court heard.

Mr Trica collapsed on the communal balcony outside the front door of the flat and died at the scene, while Neamtu was seen to throw something over the banister.

The murder weapon, a black-handled steak knife, was recovered from the garden.

Following his arrest, Neamtu claimed in prepared statements that Mr Trica had threatened to kill him, pushed him down the stairs and made throat-slitting gestures.

He said he picked up the knife from the kitchen to "scare" Mr Trica and stabbed him in the chest to protect himself.

Neamtu was remanded in custody to be sentenced at a later date.

(c) Sky News 2026: Convicted Romanian murderer carried out almost identical killing after moving to UK