Adina Mihai, 31, and Madalin Dumitru, 30, both from Romania and formerly of Ilford, were sentenced to 17 years in prison each at Oxford Crown Court on 13 August 2026. The couple had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and two counts of administering poison to other men, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The court heard that Mihai, who pretended to be a sex worker, and Dumitru lured men to their homes by offering sex, then spiked their wine with gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), a powerful sedative, to steal cash and jewellery. Four men were drugged in total, and two of them died: Malcolm King, 80, of Bagendon, Gloucestershire, and Gary Mouat, 36, of Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Details of the Poisoning Plot
The couple arranged to meet men who were paying for sex at their homes. They used GBL to incapacitate their victims, rendering them deeply unconscious, so they could take money and valuables. The court heard that the administration of the drug was haphazard, depending on the strength of each batch, the amount put into drinks, and how much each victim consumed.
Sentencing the pair, Mrs Justice Brunner said: “Your joint intention was to incapacitate each victim making them deeply unconscious. The administration of the drug was haphazard and depended on the strength of each batch, the amount put into drinks, and the amount they drunk. This did not involve the administration of a fixed dose.”
Court Remarks and Impact
The judge also noted that the couple were not aware of the deaths of their victims before administering drugs to others. “I find that you were not aware of the deaths of any of your victims before administering the drugs to other victims. You intended to render your victims deeply unconscious,” she said.
“If you had stopped for a moment to consider the risks, as you should have done, you would have realised that it carried a high risk of serious injury or death at the very moment you administered that drug. If you had done the most cursory research, you would know that GBL can be extremely toxic. You both could and should have researched open sources.”
The couple have been jailed for 17 years each. The case was reported by Rod Minchin, Press Association, and Olivia Bridge, Reporter in Live News Network.
