Woman who posed as sex worker and drugged men admits manslaughter of two victims
A woman who pretended to be a sex worker and stole from men by drugging them unconsciously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of two men.
Adina Mihai, 30, and Madalin Dumitru, 29, admitted the manslaughter of Malcolm King, 80, at his home in Bagendon, near Cirencester, and Gary Mouat at his home in Banbury.
The pair had arranged to meet men seeking sexual services and would then give them the drug gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) to steal from them between August 2024 and July 2025.
Thames Valley Police said Mihai and male defendant Dumitru took financial deposits from the victims before Mihai met them at their home.
They also administered poison to two people, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between 13 and 31 July last year.
The court heard the pair committed the crimes by secretly spiking their drinks with GBL (a substance that converts to GHB in the body) following an agreement to “steal people’s property by rendering them unconscious”.
Thames Valley Police said that when detectives discovered Mihai poisoned Mr Mouat on July 12 last year, the force issued a national bulletin to all other police forces to share intelligence if any other unexplained deaths in the country were linked.
Forensic links led Gloucestershire Constabulary to discover that Mr King had also been poisoned, after initially believing his death on August 20, 2024, was not suspicious due to a pre-existing health condition.
Police said “no other deaths, poisonings or thefts are currently associated with the investigation” but that they “keep an open mind about the possibility of additional victims.”
Prosecutor Julian Evans KC told the court: “The offenses were committed pursuant to an agreement between the defendants to render persons unconscious for the purpose of stealing their goods if those goods were detected at their respective addresses.
“The defenses made to resolve the indictment in this case may be accepted by the prosecution.”
Both Mihai and Dumitru had previously pleaded not guilty to 19 charges but changed their pleas during what was expected to be the first day of their trial at Oxford Crown Court.
Both pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and two counts of administering poison with intent to injure, distress or anger their victims.
They will be sentenced in July or August.
Thames Valley Police senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Michael Roddy said it was an “extremely complex and resource-intensive investigation”.
The police officer added: “Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru used drugs to subdue men seeking sexual services before stealing from them.
“These actions had fatal consequences for Gary Mouat, so I am pleased to have answers for his family and want to thank them for their support throughout our investigation.”
Detective Inspector Adam Stacey, senior investigating officer at Gloucestershire Constabulary, said: “Tragically for Mr King, the callous and calculated actions of Mihai and Dumitru had fatal consequences.
“The tireless work of everyone involved in the joint investigation left Mihai and Dumitru, in the face of overwhelming evidence, with little choice but to plead guilty to manslaughter and administering poison.”
