Romanian murderer Gheorghe Mihai, 38, who tried to stab his sister-in-law to death in the middle of a busy street just weeks after being allowed into the UK faces 20 years in prison
A Romanian murderer who tried to stab his sister-in-law to death in the middle of a busy street just weeks after being allowed into the UK faces 20 years in prison.
Gheorghe Mihai, 38, told a friend he wanted to kill again moments before knifing Roxana Mihai in the face when he turned into a ‘man possessed’.
He repeatedly stabbed the 23-year-old after she interrupted a conversation he was having with her husband Nicursor Gheorghe, who was also his half-brother.
He chased her down Lye High Street in Wolverhampton before catching up to her when she tripped on the pavement.
Mihai then repeatedly stabbed her five times in the face, back and arm.
She was only saved when her husband managed to wrestle Mihai off and punch him in the face.
Mihai, of Wolverhampton, then ran to a local garage nearby where he was arrested by police on August 7 last year.
A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court took just two hours to find Mihai guilty of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Monday.
Mihai, 38, told a friend he wanted to kill again moments before knifing Roxana Mihai in the face when he turned into a ‘man possessed’. He chased her down Lye High Street, Wolverhampton before catching up to her when she tripped on the pavement
During the trial, the court heard Mihai was jailed for seven years after murdering a man in his native Romania in 2006.
The day he attacked Mrs Gheorghe he had been drinking and boasting to friends about how he was going to kill again, having moved to the UK early last year.
Friend Gama Bobi told the court: ‘He was drinking two bottles of beer and was drunk. I could see it in his eyes.
‘He told me he was going to kill someone and go to jail for ten years.
‘I thought he was joking because he had drunk too much.’
The court heard Mihai then staggered across the road to where his half-brother and Mrs Mihai were waiting for a bus.
In his police statement, Mr Gheorghe said: ‘He asked me for £5 three times and I explained we only had £10.
‘My wife then told him we had no money because we had sent it all to our family in Romania.
‘He said to her “why are you talking in our conversation,” took out a knife from the waist band of his trousers and said: ‘Let me cut her because she is a whore.’
‘I held him to let my wife run and hide. When I couldn’t see her I released him not thinking that he would harm her.’
Describing how he managed to stop Mihai from killing her, he said: ‘I saw my wife on the floor covered in blood.
‘I went after him and managed to punch him in the face between the eyes.’
Mr Bobi, who witnessed the savage attack, told the court: ‘He raised his hand above his head and stabbed her on the face by her right eye.
A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court took just two hours to find Mihai guilty of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Monday. During the trial, the court heard Mihai was jailed for seven years after murdering a man in his native Romania in 2006
‘She was on the floor screaming.
‘He raised his hand up again and stabbed her in the back on her head.’
Eye-witness Kieran Langan said Mihai had looked like ‘a man possessed’.
He told the court: ‘He was in a rage. She was backing away. I could tell that she as 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.’
The case was adjourned and Mihai was remanded into custody until sentencing on March 12.
Judge Amjad Nawaz told him he faced up to 20 years in prison and would be deported on his release.
He said ‘You are somebody with a predisposition to act in a violent way and a lengthy sentence awaits you.’