Pizza shop owner Masoud Esmailian 'stabbed to death by worker in planned attack'
A pizza shop owner was stabbed to death and robbed by an employee he had given a job to just hours earlier, a jury heard.
The day before, defendant Andrei Ilie had told a friend he needed cash to return to Romania to attend his grandfather’s funeral.
The court heard that shop owner Masoud Esmailian had the takings with him when he locked the shop that night and returned to his flat in Montgomery Walk, West Bromwich, with the defendant.
The prosecution say that while there, Ilie killed the father of two with a single stab wound to the chest and stole his money.
He fled the country that day and was later arrested in Romania, the court heard.
The 46-year-old’s body was discovered wrapped in a blanket on his bed after his sons became worried that he was not answering his phone and contacted police, said Mr Michael Burrows, QC, prosecuting.
On the floor was a large bloodstained knife with material around the handle.
“You may conclude that this was not something Andrei Ilie did in a panic.
“This was, we say, a planned attack,” said Mr Burrows.
A search of the flat also revealed a pair of blue plimsolls and a grey T-shirt containing Ilie’s DNA.
The prosecution claims the defendant left them at the scene because they were bloodstained and took items belonging to the victim to wear.
A pair of new shoes Mr Esmailian had been given for his upcoming birthday were missing from their box, it was said.
A friend who gave Ilie a lift to Birmingham coach station later that day said he appeared to have a lot of money in his wallet despite having complained of having no cash the day before when he said he had to get to Romania for his grandfather’s funeral.
A post-mortem revealed the fatal blow was struck with such force that parts of the blade were found in the victim’s chest wounds.
In a letter from prison, Ilie claimed that Mr Esmailian had threatened him with a knife and sexually attacked him. When he dropped the weapon, Ilie had picked it up and in fear for his life, plunged it into the victim’s stomach and fled.
But Mr Burrows said the pizza shop owner was too slight, weighing little more than seven stone, to overcome the defendant who could easily have fended him off, he added.
He also said the takings from the shop were never found which indicated a motive for the killing on August 28, 2015.
Birmingham Crown Court heard Mr Esmailian’s son had opened the shop at midday the following day as normal and grown increasingly concerned when his father failed to answer any of his calls.
He knew his father would be unhappy if he left the shop early, particularly on a busy Friday night, so he waited until 10pm before shutting up the premises in Dudley Road and, with his brother, going to his father’s flat.
After knocking on the door and shouting for some time they rang the police.
Ilie, of no fixed address, denies murder and robbery.
The trial continues.
