A construction worker has been sentenced to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing his flatmate in east London, just three years after serving time in Romania for an almost identical killing. Eugeniu Neamtu, 59, was convicted of murdering Gheorghe Trica, 63, at their shared address in Walthamstow on 20 February 2026. Judge Richard Marks KC imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years when Neamtu appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday 21 August 2026.
How the killing unfolded
Emergency services were called to the Westbury Road property at 20:51 on 20 February 2026 following reports of a stabbing. According to police records, Neamtu was arrested that same night and charged with murder two days later. The victim was fatally wounded in the chest during a confrontation that began over a trivial financial matter. Court reporting indicated that several other residents of the flat heard an argument escalating in the stairwell, with the victim audibly demanding,
Give me back those £5.
The dispute centred on Trica's request for repayment of just £5—a sum Judge Marks described as an "exceptionally trivial fact" that triggered the fatal violence. Neamtu stabbed his fellow Romanian housemate in the heart, inflicting a wound that proved immediately fatal.
A pattern of violence spanning two decades
The killing bore striking similarities to a previous murder Neamtu had committed in Romania approximately 20 years earlier. In 2006, he had stabbed a housemate repeatedly in the chest during a drunken argument over money. He was convicted of that killing and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in May 2007. After completing his sentence, Neamtu was released from the Romanian prison system in 2023 and subsequently travelled to the United Kingdom as a visitor in September 2023.
Prosecutors highlighted the parallels between the two offences, noting that both involved fatal chest wounds inflicted during disputes over money between housemates. According to court reporting, the circumstances were so similar that the pattern suggested a dangerous propensity for lethal violence when Neamtu felt wronged over financial matters.
Immigration and legal status
Neamtu's presence in the United Kingdom at the time of the killing was unlawful. He had failed to declare his previous conviction for murder to UK authorities and had not disclosed his intention to work in the country. This meant that despite having entered as a visitor in September 2023, he was not legally resident when he committed the fatal stabbing on 20 February 2026.
Trial and conviction
According to police sources, Neamtu was found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey on Tuesday 18 August 2026, three days before his sentencing hearing. Throughout the trial, he denied the murder charge and chose not to give evidence in his own defence, leaving the jury to assess the evidence presented by the prosecution.
Key Facts
- Neamtu, born 30 July 1967, was arrested on the night of the killing and charged with murder within 48 hours
- The victim was stabbed in the heart during a dispute over a £5 debt, which Judge Marks called the trigger for an "exceptionally trivial" reason
- Neamtu had previously served 15 years in a Romanian prison for murdering a housemate in nearly identical circumstances in 2006
- He entered the UK unlawfully in September 2023 without disclosing his prior murder conviction or his intention to work
- The minimum term of 27 years means Neamtu will not be eligible for parole consideration until at least 2053
