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Convicted Romanian murderer carried out almost identical killing after moving to UK
Jurors heard Neamtu had previously been convicted in Romania for a similar stabbing after a dispute over money, prosecutors said.
Eugeniu Neamtu was convicted of murdering his flatmate Gheorghe Trica at the Old Bailey following a three-hour jury deliberation on February 20 in Walthamstow.
Prosecutors argued the murder mirrored Neamtu's 2007 Romanian conviction for stabbing housemate Adrian Vas, as both cases involved drunken arguments over money where he claimed self-defense.
Testimony revealed Trica shouted, "Give me back those £5," before Neamtu stabbed him in the chest; police recovered a black-handled steak knife from the garden.
Judge Richard Marks KC permitted the prior conviction as "powerful probative evidence" but excluded specific fatality details, remanding Neamtu into custody for sentencing on Friday.
Neamtu moved to London following his 2023 release from a Romanian prison, with prosecutors characterizing the fatal Walthamstow attack as "strikingly similar" to his previous crime.