A man who stabbed his seven months pregnant girlfriend to death with a pair of scissors has been found guilty of her murder.
A jury at the Old Bailey also found Ioan Campeanu, 44, guilty of the destruction of the unborn child when he killed Andra Hilitanu, 28.
Police found Hilitanu with multiple stab wounds in the bathroom when they arrived at their flat in Neasden, north-west London, on 1 June following a call to emergency services by Campeanu.
In his 999 call, Campeanu said: “She’s dead, I killed her”, adding he did it with scissors.
Prosecutor Brian O’Neill QC said Hilitanu’s cousin had previously seen Campeanu kick her in the groin, saying: “I’ll kill you Andra, I’ll eat your flesh.”
Jurors were shown CCTV images of Campeanu leaving the scene at 12.44am on 1 June, appearing to drive into central London before returning to Neasden.
O’Neill told the court: “No-one else other than this defendant could have killed Andra, it being his final act of brutality against her after months and years of violence.
“He attacked her and their unborn child, plunging a pair of scissors into her neck and leaving them both to die as he went for a drive.”
Earlier on the night of 31 May, the couple’s neighbour in Neasden, complained to their landlord that he could hear them fighting, the court heard.
Hilitanu could be heard screaming and repeatedly saying “da, da, da”, which translates to “yes, yes, yes”, jurors were told.
Shortly after midnight, Campeanu phoned his daughter in London to say he had “got rid of her”.
His daughter said she was aware her father and Hilitanu were using drugs that were making him “confused and destroying him”, O’Neill said.
She also said her father “had not wanted any more children”, the court heard.
Jurors were told the couple were both “heavy abusers of Class A drugs”, in particular crack cocaine.
A Romanian interpreter translated the trial to Campeanu.
The defendant was unanimously found guilty of murder and child destruction by a majority of 10 to two after six hours of deliberations. He was remanded into custody to be sentenced on 10 January.