A woman who posed as a sex worker and drugged men unconscious to steal from them has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of two men.
Adina Mihai, 30, and Madalin Dumitru, 29, admitted the manslaughter of 80-year-old Malcolm King at his home in Bagendon near Cirencester, as well as Gary Mouat at his home in Banbury.
The pair had arranged to meet men seeking sexual services and would then drug them with gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) in order to steal from them between August 2024 and July 2025.
Between the 13 and 31 July last year, they also administered poison to two other men, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The court heard that the pair committed the offences following an agreement to “render the individuals unconscious in order to steal property from them” by secretly spiking their drinks with GBL – a substance that converts into GHB when in the body.
Thames Valley Police said once detectives discovered Mihai had poisoned Mr Mouat on 12 July last year, 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.
Forensic links led to Gloucestershire Constabulary discovering Mr King had also been poisoned, after initially believing his death on 20 August 2024 was not suspicious because of a pre-existing health condition.
Police said “no other deaths, poisonings or thefts have been linked to the investigation, at this time” but they are “keeping an open mind about the possibility of other victims”.
Prosecutor Julian Evans KC told the court: “The offences were committed pursuant to an agreement between the defendants to render the individuals unconscious in order to steal property from them should such property be identified within their respective addresses.
“The pleas are acceptable to the prosecution as a means of resolving the indictment in this case.”
Both Mihai and Dumitru had previously pleaded not guilty to 19 charges but changed their pleas during what was due to be the first day of their trial at Oxford Crown Court.
Both pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and two counts of administering poison with the intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy their victims.
They are due to be sentenced at a date in either July or August.
Thames Valley Police senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Michael Roddy said it had been an “extremely complex and resource‑intensive investigation”.
The police officer added: “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.”
Gloucestershire Constabulary’s senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Adam Stacey, 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.”
More follows on this breaking news story
