Andrei Ilie, aged 22, stabbed Masoud Esmailian at the takeaway owner’s West Bromwich flat and fled the country the same day.

A jury returned a unanimous verdict after considering their decision for more than 19 hours and were still deliberating on a charge of robbery.

The defendant, who was on the run in Romania for two robberies, had been in the UK for less than three months when he attacked the father of two.

Bloodstained

Mr Esmailian’s body was discovered by police in the bedroom of his blood-splattered apartment after his sons became concerned the 46 year old had failed to turn up at the family business, Roma Pizza on Dudley Road in Birmingham, on the evening of August 27, 2015.

During the nine-day trial the jury heard that Mr Esmailian had offered him a place to stay after Ilie claimed he was temporarily homeless.

But on arriving at the Montgomery Walk flat, he stabbed the victim in the chest, allegedly searched the flat for cash and changed his blood-soaked trainers for a new pair belonging to the shop owner before returning to his lodgings in Caplow Street, Winson Green, Birmingham, by taxi and bus.

He caught the 3.59pm coach from Birmingham later that day, paying £95 cash for a ticket back to Romania.

Detectives found a large bloodstained knife with fabric around the handle, which the prosecution said demonstrated planning and intent by Ilie.

A search of the flat also revealed a pair of blue plimsolls and a grey t-shirt containing Ilie’s DNA.

A friend, who gave the defendant a lift to Digbeth Coach Station, had told Birmingham Crown Court he had a lot of money on him, despite complaining he had no cash the day before.

A post mortem revealed that the fatal blow was struck with such force that parts of the blade were found in the victim’s chest wound.

Extradited

West Midlands Police officers travelled to Arges County in Romania to extradite Ilie.

He was brought to the UK and charged with murder in August 2015, but returned to Romania to serve time for the robberies.

He denied knowing anything about the stabbing but later confessed to a cousin in a letter from his jail cell saying he acted in self-defence, claiming the victim sexually assaulted him.

But the jury heard that the pizza shop owner was too slight, weighing little more than seven stone, to overcome the defendant who could easily have fended him off.

A son, who opened the shop at noon the following day as normal, had grown increasingly concerned when his father had 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 till 10pm before closing and going to the West Bromwich flat.

After knocking on the door and shouting for some time, he rang the police.

Before he left the property, Ilie had locked the front door and thrown away the key to delay Mr Esmailian’s body being found.

Background: Andrei Ilie's criminal past

He escaped to the UK after committing a brutal robbery in his native Romania. Just three months later he was on the run again for another violent crime. Only this time it was murder.

When 46-year-old Masoud Esmailian was found stabbed to death in his West Bromwich flat, the finger was immediately pointed at Andrei Ilie, 22, who was the last person to have been seen with him on the night he died.

Not only were his footprints and DNA all over the victim’s flat in Montgomery Walk but within hours Ilie had fled the country.

The fugitive also had a motive: he needed cash. He knew the pizza shop owner had money and £800 takings from the restaurant in Winson Green, Birmingham, have never been traced.

Not least, Ilie had form. In Romania, he was wanted as part of a gang for the nasty attack and robbery of an elderly couple in their own home in March 2015. He had also acted as a look-out in an earlier robbery.

Life of crime

The court heard that Ilie had been brought up by his grandparents, leaving school at 15 and initially working in the construction industry before falling in with an older crowd and starting a life of crime.

In May 2015, he travelled to England with Daniel Oprea, a good friend from his village, and settled in a house share in Winson Green, where other Romanians were also living.

Giving evidence at his trial, he said: “I never wanted to do anything wrong when I left Romania. I wanted to leave everything behind me and become a better person, change my life and to work.”

And for a while the plan worked. First, he worked in a car wash and then got a job in a baguette shop.

Ilie had occasionally visited Mr Esmailian’s business, Roma Pizza, on Dudley Road, sometimes helping out by cleaning and sweeping but only when Daniel Oprea, who worked in the kitchen, was there.

However in August, his friend returned to Romania for the christening of his son.

In his absence, Ilie asked Mr Esmailian for a job and the shop owner, known among the Romanians for his good nature, agreed to take him on. The date was August 27. A few hours later he was dead.

Robbery?

There were two versions as to how Ilie ended up at the victim’s flat that night.

The prosecution said he had gone there with the intention of robbing his new boss after telling him he was having problems with his housemates and had nowhere to stay. Mr Esmailian took the bait and offered him a bed for the night.

The defence claimed that the shop owner had offered to give Ilie a lift to his lodgings but instead had driven him to his own home and sexually assaulted him.

For the jury, it was one lie too many. They had heard evidence from friends, family and employees about the victim’s caring nature. Ilie, on the other hand, had shown concern only for himself.

Confession

In a written confession to his family from prison – he was arrested for Mr Esmailian’s murder two days after arriving back in Romania – he included a request for a TV because he was ‘deadly bored’.

It did not give the impression of man wracked with remorse.

In the letter, Ilie also gave a version of events that was different in several significant aspects to the story he told in the witness box.

Before West Midlands Police were allowed to interview him, the Romanian courts sentenced Ilie to three years for the two robberies committed prior to his departure for the UK.

He was released on parole last August after serving two years and at last extradited to this country to stand trial for father-of-two Masoud Esmailian’s murder.

Ilie, an inveterate liar, had fooled many people during his young life. But he failed to hoodwink the jury.

Today he was back behind bars, his dreams of a new life in the UK in tatters.