'He told me he was going to kill': Romanian knifeman facing jail for Black Country attack
A convicted Romanian killer who tried to murder again after being allowed into this country is facing up to 20 years behind bars.
Gheorghe Mihai had even warned he would murder someone before launching a savage knife attack on his sister-in-law in Lye High Street, near Stourbridge, just months after arriving in the UK, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Fellow Romanian Gaman Bobi said the defendant was drunk and continued: “He told me he was going to kill someone and go to jail for 10 years. I thought he was joking because he had drunk too much.”
It took the jury less than two hours to convict Mihai of attempted murder today.
He was warned by Judge Amjad Nawaz: “You are somebody with a predisposition to act in a violent way and a lengthy sentence awaits you.”
The case was adjourned so that a report could be prepared on the level of danger he represents to the public before his fate is decided on March 12.
He could be jailed for anything between 12 and 20 years and is then expected to be deported.
The 38-year-old defendant – locked up for seven years after murdering a man in his home country in 2006 – struck again on August 7 last year.
He repeatedly stabbed 23-year-old Roxana Mihai after she interrupted a conversation he was having with her husband, his step-brother Nicursor Gheorghe.
Eye-witness Kieran Langan said the defendant, who lived in Park Street, Lye, looked like ‘a man possessed’.
He continued: “He was in a rage. She was backing away. I could tell that she was scared. Then I saw him open his jacket and pull out a large kitchen knife.
"I stopped the lorry because I thought I was about to witness a murder in the High Street."
Terrified Roxana ran away pursued by knife-wielding Mihai and was tripped after he caught up with her on a car park behind the High Street, stabbing her at least four times as she lay helplessly on the ground.
Mr Bobi, who had followed them, explained: “He raised his hand above his head and stabbed her on the face by her right eye. She was on the floor screaming.”
"He raised his hand up again and stabbed her in the back of her head."
She suffered five wounds with further injuries to her back and arm before her life was saved when Nicursor reached the scene and punched her attacker in the face.
Drunk Mihai ran to nearby Kingsfleet Auto Mechanical garage in Providence Street where he dropped the knife when ordered to by a member of staff and waited until police arrived to arrest him.
He denied attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
