Couple who 'offered sexual services' before drugging and killing two men jailed

A couple who "offered sexual services" so they could drug men and steal from them have been jailed after two of their victims died.

Adina Mihai, 31, posed as a sex worker, and her partner Madalin Dumitru, 30, helped set up a profile online to arrange meetings with men paying for sex in their homes.

Four were left unconscious when glasses of wine were spiked with the powerful sedative gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), a "date rape drug", so the two defendants could steal from them, a court heard.

But after secretly spiking their alcoholic drinks, two men collapsed and died nearly a year apart - one in Oxfordshire, the other some 40 miles away in Gloucestershire.

When police discovered the second victim had been poisoned, officers issued a national bulletin to all other forces to share the intelligence in case any other unexplained deaths in the country were linked.

At Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, Mihai and Dumitru were both sentenced to 17 years in prison.

The judge told the defendants their current release date is no less than two-thirds of their 17-year terms, but the 2026 Sentencing Act "would change that to no less than half".

In June, the pair pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Malcolm King, 80, in Bagendon, Gloucestershire, on 21 August 2024 and Gary Mouat, 37, in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on 13 July 2025.

Both defendants, from Romania, also admitted two further counts of administering poison.

'Administration of drug was haphazard', judge says

Jailing the pair, Mrs Justice Brunner said: "Your joint intention was to incapacitate each victim, making them deeply unconscious.

"The administration of the drug was haphazard and depended on the strength of each batch, the amount put into drinks, and the amount they drunk. This did not involve the administration of a fixed dose.

"I find that you were not aware of the deaths of any of your victims before administering the drugs to other victims. You intended to render your victims deeply unconscious.

"If you had stopped for a moment to consider the risks, as you should have done, you would have realised that it carried a high risk of serious injury or death at the very moment you administered that drug."

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Detectives urge further victims to come forward

Detectives believe there are further victims of the pair and have urged them to come forward.

Detective Inspector Adam Stacey, who led the investigation into Mr King's death for Gloucestershire Police, said: "We believe there are more men out there who may have encountered Mihai in similar circumstances, and who were drugged and had possessions stolen from them.

"I would urge these men to contact police and would like to reassure them that their report will be dealt with sensitively and discreetly."

Body found by housekeeper

Once medical experts revealed Mihai poisoned Mr Mouat, forensic links led Gloucestershire Constabulary to find Mr King had also been poisoned - after initially believing his death was not suspicious because of a pre-existing health condition.

The court heard Mr King, who was retired, wealthy and married, had made contact with Mihai on 20 August 2024 and arranged to meet her at his home that evening while his wife was out.

His body was found the following morning by his housekeeper, who also came across an empty bottle of wine and two glasses.

Mr King had long-term heart conditions and used a pacemaker. Cardiologists were able to determine the circumstances of his death after analysing the device.

Mihai left victim unconscious and looked for items to steal

The court also heard Mr Mouat's wife and son were away for the night of 12 July last year and he contacted Mihai via the online platform Vivastreet. They then travelled from Ilford to Mr Mouat's home.

Mr Mouat drank wine laced with GBL and Mihai left him unconscious, while she looked for items to steal from the house.

He was found the following morning lying on the floor of his lounge by family friends who had been concerned that he had not been in contact with anyone since the previous day.

Defendants performed different roles within their 'enterprise'

Julian Evans KC, prosecuting, said the defendants acted together to perform different roles within their "enterprise".

No sexual services were provided by Mihai to any of their victims, he added.

Mihai and Dumitru were arrested on 31 July last year and charged on 6 August last year following Mr Mouat's death.

'My family is destroyed'

Mr Mouat's nine-year-old son Alfie spoke of his devastating loss in a victim impact statement, which was recorded and played to the court.

"My dad was funny, silly, loving and a trickster, we always used to prank each other," Alfie, who is an only child, said.

"You have ruined my life and all the plans we had to do things together. My family is destroyed now."

Mr Mouat's wife Louise said: "On 13 July last year our lives changed forever because of what you did. I had to tell my eight-year-old son that his daddy had died.

"I will never forget the scream that came from him when he realised his daddy was gone forever.

"He dropped to the floor and begged me to say it wasn't true. We drove back holding hands the whole way home."

(c) Sky News 2026: Couple who 'offered sexual services' before drugging and killing two men jailed