Convicted of manslaughter over death of pensioner and Banbury businessman
24/06/2026
They secretly spiked their drinks with GBL to render the victims unconscious so they could steal from them
Two people have been convicted of manslaughter following the death of a Banbury businessman and an old-aged-pensioner from Gloucestershire.
At Oxford Crown Court, 31-year-old Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru, who’s 30, pleaded guilty to two counts each of manslaughter and administering poison. Both are formerly from Ilford in Essex.
Between August 2024 and July 2025 Mihai and Dumitru had targeted men who had been seeking sexual services.
The pair took financial deposits from the victims before Mihai met them at their homes. They secretly spiked their drinks with GBL – a substance that converts into GHB when in the body. This rendered the victims unconscious so they could steal from them.
Two of the men died: 37-year-old Gary Mouat from Banbury and Malcolm King, who’s 80 and from Bagendon near Cirencester.
Mr Mouat was found dead at his Banbury property on 13 July last year.
Once detectives discovered Mihai had poisoned Mr Mouat the force issued a national bulletin to all other police forces to share the intelligence in case any other unexplained deaths in the country were linked.
Forensics links led to Gloucestershire Constabulary discovering Mr King had also been poisoned.
Mihai and Dumitru were arrested on July 31 last year, initially charged in relation to Mr Mouat’s death on August 6. They were further charged in relation to Mr King’s death on April 24 this year.
Both will be sentenced later this year with judge saying they will receive substantial prison sentences.
Thames Valley Police senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Michael Roddy, of the Major Crime Unit, said: “This has been an extremely complex and resource intensive investigation, involving specialist teams across Thames Valley Police, Gloucestershire Constabulary and partner agencies so I am proud to have this positive result.
“Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru used drugs to incapacitate men who had been seeking sexual services, before stealing from them.
“For Gary Mouat, these actions had fatal consequences so I am pleased to have got answers for his family and would like to thank them for their support throughout our investigation.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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