Honeytrap thieves jailed for killing men they had drugged
A couple who drugged men seeking sexual services in order to steal from them have been jailed for killing two men and poisoning others.
Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru admitted the manslaughter of Gary Mouat, 37, from Oxfordshire, and Malcolm King, 80, from Gloucestershire, in 2025 and 2024 respectively.
The pair also each admitted two further counts of administering poison to surviving victims on the first day of their trial in June.
Mihai and Dumitru were both sentenced to 17 years in prison at Oxford Crown Court.
Mihai, who posed as a sex worker, and her partner Dumitru, arranged to meet men paying for services she had advertised online at their homes.
The court heard four had their alcoholic drinks spiked with the powerful sedative gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) so the pair could steal from them.
Two men died as a result, while two others - who cannot be named due to reporting restrictions - survived.
Julian Evans KC, prosecuting, said Dumitru would drop Mihai at the victim's home and wait nearby, apparently armed with weapons in case of trouble.
After encouraging the victim to drink the alcohol laced with GBL, Mihai would wait until they fell unconscious, before looking for property to steal, such as cash, aftershave, jewellery and expensive watches, Evans said.
He said the defendants, who previously lived in Birmingham before moving to Ilford, were "willing to act in this way out of greed".
She told them: "If you had stopped for a moment to consider the risks, as you should have done, you would have realised that you were creating a high risk of serious injury or death every time you administered that drug.
"If you had done the most cursory research you would know that GBL can be extremely toxic."
The death of Malcolm King in August 2024 was initially treated as non-suspicious, but after Gary Mouat died nearly a year later, detectives revisited the first case and arrested the couple.
Thames Valley Police said officers discovered Mihai had left her fingerprints and DNA at both scenes, and realised both had been poisoned.
A video statement made by Gary Mouat's nine-year-old son was played during the sentencing hearing.
He said: "My daddy was funny, silly, loving and a trickster, we always used to prank each other.
"Why did you have to kill my daddy, you could have just taken the money, he was really kind, he would have given it to you.
Jacky Seagroatt, Malcolm King's younger sister, said losing her brother had "devastated" her.
"He was not just my brother - he was someone I loved deeply and someone there for me when I need him most."
"The knowledge that two people have admitted responsibility for unlawfully killing my brother has brought some relief... however, it has not brought peace."
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