Honeytrap pair admit killing two men they had drugged

A man and a woman who drugged men seeking sexual services in order to steal from them have admitted causing two of their deaths and poisoning others.

Madalin Dumitru, 30, and Adina Mihai, 31, admitted the manslaughter of Gary Mouat, 37, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, and Malcolm King, 80, from Bagendon, Gloucestershire, in 2025 and 2024 respectively.

They were due to face trial for 19 counts each at Oxford Crown Court. They pleaded guilty to four counts at the start of the trial on Wednesday and will be sentenced at a later date.

Mrs Justice Brunner, a High Court judge, said the pair have "rightly accepted your responsibility for two deaths" and face "substantial sentences of imprisonment".

Mihai and Dumitru, both formerly of Ilford, east London, also pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawfully and maliciously administered a poison - namely Gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) - with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy.

These counts were in relation to two living victims, who cannot be named due to reporting restrictions.

Mihai and Dumitru are due to be sentenced in late July or early August when the other charges will be dealt with.

Between August 2024 and July 2025, they targeted men who had been seeking sexual services.

The pair took financial deposits from their victims before Mihai met them at their homes, secretly spiking their drinks with GBL to render them unconscious so they could steal from them. Two of the men died.

Mouat was found dead at his property in Banbury on 13 July last year.

Once Thames Valley Police detectives discovered Mihai had poisoned Mouat, the force issued a national bulletin to all other forces to share intelligence on other unexplained deaths.

Forensic links led to Gloucestershire Constabulary discovering King had also been poisoned after initially believing his death on 21 August 2024 was not suspicious, due to a pre-existing health condition.

No other deaths, poisonings or thefts have been linked to the pair, but police said they were keeping an open mind about the possibility of other victims.

Det Insp Michael Roddy, of Thames Valley's major crime unit, said: "This has been an extremely complex and resource‑intensive investigation... 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."

Det Insp Adam Stacey, from Gloucestershire's major crime team, said: "Tragically for Mr King, Mihai and Dumitru's callous and calculated actions had fatal consequences.

"The tireless work of all those involved in the joint investigation left Mihai and Dumitru with little choice but to plead guilty to manslaughter and administering poison in the face of overwhelming evidence."