Illegal immigrant who hacked his brother's wife to death jailed

Illegal immigrant who hacked his brother’s wife to death with a hatchet during lockdown after she repeatedly contacted Home Office in bid to get him deported is jailed for life

• Nicolae Virtosu, 49, bludgeoned Svetlana Mihalachi with an axe at London home 

An illegal immigrant who hacked his brother’s wife to death with a hatchet after she repeatedly phoned the Home Office to get him deported has been jailed for life. 

Moldovan Nicolae Virtosu, 49, claimed to be having hallucinations of the devil when he bludgeoned Svetlana Mihalachi 18 times with an axe. 

He then messaged his brother, Iurie, to tell him his wife was dead who came home to find her in an armchair with ‘blood bubbling from her mouth’.  

The killer had been convicted of murdering his wife, Anastasia Virtosu, in his home country in 2009. He was jailed for four years as under the Moldovan system it was treated as a ‘heat and passion’. After he was freed he came to the UK illegally in 2016.  

Virtosu had threatened to kill Mrs Mihalachi, 53, before he murdered her with a hatchet as household tensions escalated over lockdown on 9 April 2021, the Old Bailey heard.

She had contacted Home Office Immigration Services in the hope that they would deport Virtusu and called police to report him a month before her death.

Jurors saw bodyworn camera footage of Ms Mihalachi telling police officers she was scared Virtosu would kill her.

She told a practice manager at Reach Out Domestic Violence Hub that she did not understand why the Home Office and the police did not help her.

Nicolae Virtosu, 49, hacked his brother’s wife to death after she repeatedly called the Home Office to have him deported back to Moldova

Virtosu bludgeoned Svetlana Mihalachi, 53, (pictured) 18 times with an axe at their family home where they lived together in Ilford, east London

‘Do they want someone to be killed before they do anything?’ she asked.

Her case was due to be discussed at a multi-agency risk assessment conference on 20 April 2021 but by then it was too late.

Virtosu denied but was convicted of murder and making threats to kill by an Old Bailey jury on Friday.

He denied and was cleared of a second count of threats to kill.

READ MORE: Illegal immigrant murdered his sister-in-law with a hatchet because she had reported him to the Home Office – then calmly texted her husband to tell him his wife was dead

He had admitted manslaughter claiming he was suffering from psychosis when he killed Ms Mihalachi and having hallucinations of the devil.

Judge Rosa Dean sentenced Virtosu to life in prison and said he would have to serve 28 years before being eligible for parole. 

Two victim impact statements were read including one from the killer’s brother Iurie Virtosu.

He said: ‘I no longer consider him my brother. He has completely gone out of my heart.

‘I have feelings of hate towards him and I do not think I can ever forgive him for what he has done.’

Andrei Tofan, the son of the killer’s ex-wife Anastasia, said: ‘Nicolae’s horrible actions have left a void that nobody and nothing will ever will.

‘Not only did Nicolae take away my mother but when he murdered Svetlana he also took away my opportunity for any semblance of family life.

‘It’s difficult to quantify the impact Nicolae’s actions have had on my life.

‘Nicolae has inflicted emotional scars and I will never recover.’

Jenni Dempster KC, defending Virtosu, called on the judge to take his mental health into account when passing his sentence.

She said that he had been examined by three psychiatrists during the trial and was found to suffer from a personality disorder.

She also said that he was genuinely remorseful for his actions.

‘He remains genuinely regretful and remorseful at his behaviour and the tragic impact this has had on his family.’

Judge Dean told Virtosu: ‘You are an angry and impulsive man. You are also a resentful one. Over the months building up to Svetlana Mihalachi’s murder, you harboured a hatred towards her. You are a misogynist.

Virtosu was convicted of murder, as well as making threat to kill and found not guilty of making another threat to kill

‘In plain terms, you have a deep seated hatred of women and you would not tolerate her telling you what to do or how to behave in her home. 

‘This conclusion is supported by your previous convictions and I note that there have been incidents where you have been abusive to women since your remand into custody. I consider that you are exceptionally dangerous.

‘You were also willing to torment and destroy your brother and nephew’s happiness and peace of mind.’

She said Ms Mihalachi and her family ‘were poorly served by the authorities here in the UK’ and believed neither the police or Home Office were going to help her. 

‘On 9th April 2021, you subjected your sister in law, Svetlana Mihalachi, to a brutal and vicious attack,’ she said.

‘You struck her up to 18 times with an axe. You targeted her head and one motion was described by the pathologist as a chopping motion. 

‘It is clear that she fought off your attack. She had defensive injuries including the loss of the tip of her finger. The body graphics gave the court a very clear picture.

Earlier Judge Dean had thanked the jury for their work on an ‘awful, awful’ case.

She added: ‘It has not and has never been the policy of the Metropolitan Police that if a complainant isn’t willing to go to court or provide a statement that the complaint is not investigated.

‘These young officers have had some training and these failures have been addressed.’

Ms Mihalachi was married to the killer’s brother, Iurie Virtosu, and they had all lived together in Barkingside, east London, since 2018.

Virtosu first came to the UK in 2008 and there was an incident where he put his hands around Ms Mihalachi’s neck.

He returned to Moldova ‘to see his wife’ and a few days later he strangled her to death.

Virtosu, who previously attacked and raped a woman in a hostel, served a jail sentence for the unlawful killing in Moldova then returned to England in 2016.

He waited until everyone had left the house before ‘repeatedly and brutally’ striking her with the hatchet, the court heard.

Ms Mihalachi remained alive in an induced coma until she died on 12 May 2021.

She had told a friend police were not going to do anything unless they ‘saw her lying dead on the floor’.

Virtosu had once said to his brother: ‘In the same way that I have killed my wife, I could easily kill yours too. It’s not a big deal.’

Virtosu claimed he had heard voices on 8 April telling him to be careful and that he had an argument with Ms Mihalachi on the morning of the killing and believed she was the devil.

He claimed he saw her eyes shining red when she looked at him and that he had no recollection of attacking her, only remembering being in a park later that day where he was arrested.

Virtosu, of Barkingside, Ilford, denied murder and two counts of threats to kill.

He was assisted in court by a Russian interpreter.

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