Nicolae Virtosu was jailed yesterday for the murder of his sister-in-law (credit: Met Police)
Nicolae Virtosu, 49, of Princes Road, appeared at the Old Bailey on Monday, 9 October where he was sentenced for the murder of Svetlana Mihalachi in April 2021.
Mihalachi, her husband, her 12-year-old son and Virtosu all lived together at their home in Princes Road. The 53-year-old Mihalachi and Virtosu were said not to have an easy relationship with them often arguing about chores around the house, noise and money.
Mihalachi eventually made it clear that she wanted Virtosu to move out, but he refused. Over time the relationship deteriorated further, with Virtosu continuing to threaten Mihalachi who “began to fear for her life.” In desperation she reported Virtosu, who was in the UK illegally, to the Home Office.
On Wednesday, 3 March 2021, she called police asking for Virtosu to be removed from the house, however she was scared of him and afraid of the implications of making a statement. Officers told her they would report Virtosu to immigration services.
Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 2.08pm on Friday, 9 April 2021, to reports that Mihalachi had been assaulted at their home in Ilford.
She was found with serious head injuries caused by a hatchet which was found at the scene. Her brother-in-law’s finger prints were found on the handle.
CCTV in the area showed that the Virtosu left the house just gone 12pm, where he could be seen walking quickly away along Princes Road. He made a call to his brother whilst walking away from the property but when the call wasn’t picked up, Virtosu instead sent a text message telling him that his wife was dead.
Svetlana Mihalachi was murdered in April 2021 (credit: Met Police)
Mihalachi ’s husband returned home to find her lying on the sofa with serious head and facial injuries. The victim was treated by paramedics, who conducted emergency procedures at the scene before taking her to the Royal London Hospital where she underwent surgery and was placed in an induced coma on life support.
Despite all the efforts of medics, her condition deteriorated and Mihalachi died five weeks later on Wednesday, 12 May 2021.
A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to have been multi- organ failure resulting from head injuries and loss of blood.
While emergency services were working to save Svetlana, the defendant returned to the address and was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Throughout the trial Virtosu claimed to have been ‘hearing voices’ and suffering a psychotic disorder. He claimed that Svetlana had appeared to him as having devil-like shining red eyes to support a defence of diminished responsibility, but he did not convince the jury.
Detective Constable Rosamund Ellis, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “In the months and weeks leading to her death, Svetlana Mihalachi had lived with the threat of violence from Virtosu ever present. Those threats eventually became a physical attack so ferocious that they ended her life.
“Virtosu tried hard to give the impression that he wasn’t responsible for his actions due to a mental health disorder, but his actions were not the result of delusions, they were the actions of an angry violent man who launched a murderous attack on Svetlana as he had threatened to do on so many occasions.
“She was a wife and a mother and the depth of loss felt by her loved ones is immeasurable. My thoughts are with them today.”
Virtosu was found not guilty of a second count of making a threat to kill.
For more on this story, and the latest on our other local and national news, listen to Time 107.5FM
Tags: Redbridge, Ilford
