A Romanian couple who secretly drugged men during arranged sexual encounters and robbed them have each been sentenced to 17 years in prison after two victims died.
Adina Mihai, 31, and her partner, Madalin Dumitru, 30, used an online profile to organise meetings between Mihai and men who paid for sexual services.
Prosecutors told Oxford Crown Court that the pair then secretly mixed gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) into alcoholic drinks to render their victims unconscious before stealing valuables.
Four men were affected by the scheme, with two subsequently dying almost a year apart.
Malcolm King, 80, died at his home in Bagendon, Gloucestershire, on August 21, 2024, while Gary Mouat, 37, died in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on July 13, 2025.
The couple pleaded guilty in June to two counts of manslaughter relating to the deaths, as well as two additional offences involving the administration of poison.
Following Mr Mouat’s death, medical investigations established that he had been given GBL.
Police then circulated information nationally to determine whether similar unexplained fatalities could be connected to the same offenders.
Forensic evidence subsequently linked Mihai to Mr King’s death.
His death had initially not been treated as suspicious because he suffered from serious heart problems and had a pacemaker.
The court heard that Mr King had contacted Mihai on August 20, 2024, and invited her to his residence while his wife was away.
His housekeeper discovered his body the next morning alongside an empty wine bottle and two glasses.
Investigators later determined that his drink had also been contaminated with GBL.
Mr Mouat had contacted Mihai through the Vivastreet website while his wife and nine-year-old son were away from home.
Mihai and Dumitru travelled from Ilford to his property, where he consumed the drugged wine.
After leaving him unconscious, Mihai searched the house for property to steal.
Mr Mouat was discovered dead the next morning by family friends who had become worried after failing to hear from him.
The pair were arrested on July 31, 2025, and charged days later.
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Brunner said their objective had been to make the victims completely unconscious, but warned that the method used carried a substantial danger of causing severe injury or death.
She said the quantity administered was inconsistent because it depended on the strength of each mixture, the amount added to a drink and how much the victim consumed.
The judge concluded that although the defendants did not know that earlier victims had died before drugging subsequent men, they should have recognised the potentially fatal consequences of their actions.
Mr Mouat’s son, Alfie, described the loss of his father in a statement played to the court.
He said his father had been loving, humorous and playful, adding that the crime had destroyed his family’s future plans.
Mr Mouat’s wife, Louise, also told the court that she had been forced to tell their young son that his father had died.
She described the moment as devastating, saying the child collapsed and pleaded with her to tell him the news was not true.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong