By James Simons-
A Romanian man who was released from prison after killing a housemate in his homeland has been jailed for at least 27 years after carrying out an almost identical murder in London just three years later.
Eugeniu Neamtu, 59, was sentenced at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of murdering fellow Romanian Gheorghe Trica, 63, at the flat they shared in Walthamstow, east London. The killing happened on 20 February after the two men became embroiled in an argument over just £5.
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Neamtu stabbed Mr Trica in the heart during the confrontation, with the victim collapsing on a communal balcony after suffering a fatal wound. He died at the scene despite efforts by police and paramedics. The case shocked the court because of its striking similarity to Neamtu’s previous killing in Romania, where he had also stabbed a housemate during a dispute involving money.
Sentencing him, Judge Richard Marks KC described the previous conviction as an “extremely aggravating factor” and said Neamtu had shown no remorse for what he had done. The judge told him that killing another person within three years of his release demonstrated just how dangerous he was.
The court heard that Neamtu had travelled to Britain in September 2023 after serving a prison sentence in Romania for the 2006 killing of his former housemate, Adrian Vas. He had not declared his conviction or his intention to work in Britain and was living in the country unlawfully when he committed the second murder.
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The circumstances surrounding the two killings were remarkably similar. In August 2006, Neamtu repeatedly stabbed Mr Vas in the chest during a brandy-fuelled argument over rent and work he had agreed to carry out at the property. Neamtu had again claimed self-defence, telling authorities he had picked up a knife because he was afraid.
Almost two decades later, the same pattern was repeated in London. Mr Trica had asked Neamtu to repay £5, prompting an argument inside the shared property, where they lived alongside six other Romanian men. The dispute escalated into insults and violence before Neamtu attacked him with a knife.
The court heard that Neamtu was seen throwing an object over the balcony following the attack. A steak knife was subsequently recovered from the garden and identified as the murder weapon.
In a 999 call made after the stabbing, Neamtu acknowledged his involvement. He told the emergency operator that there had been an incident, that a man had been cut and that he was the perpetrator. However, he later attempted to justify the killing by claiming he had acted in self-defence.
Neamtu alleged that Mr Trica had threatened to kill him, pushed him down the stairs and made gestures suggesting his throat would be cut. He said his intention had been to frighten the victim rather than kill him. Despite those claims, Neamtu denied the murder and declined to give evidence during his trial.
He required the assistance of an interpreter in court. A jury deliberated for around three hours before finding him guilty. Jurors were not told about the death of his previous victim until after they had reached their verdict.
The prosecution case highlighted not only the brutality of the London killing but also the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Neamtu’s history. His previous conviction meant that the February murder was not an isolated act of violence but a second killing involving a housemate, a knife and a dispute connected to money. The judge’s comments underlined the significance of that history when determining the sentence.
Rather than treating the previous conviction simply as background, the court regarded the fact that Neamtu had killed again so soon after his release as evidence of the serious danger he posed.
The case has also raised questions surrounding Neamtu’s status in Britain. Having arrived in the UK in 2023 after his release from prison in Romania, he was not legally entitled to remain in the country at the time of the murder. Following his conviction and sentencing, the Home Office confirmed that steps would be taken to remove him from Britain after he has completed the relevant legal process and sentence.
A Home Office spokesperson said the perpetrator had now been convicted and that justice had been delivered through the courts. The department said that, once sentencing had taken place, it would seek to deport Neamtu from British soil.
The 27-year minimum sentence brings the latest chapter in the case to a close, but the circumstances surrounding the killing remain deeply disturbing. A trivial dispute over £5 escalated into a fatal attack, while the defendant’s previous conviction for an almost identical killing became one of the most serious aggravating factors before the court.
The sentence or Mr Trica’s family and those who knew him, the sentence follows the loss of a man whose life ended during an argument that began over a small sum of money. The wider significance was the repetition of violence that had occurred before and the fact that Neamtu killed again only three years after being released from prison for another murder.
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