A Romanian couple who killed two married men after drugging them unconscious to steal cash and jewellery during sexual liaisons have each been jailed for 17 years.

Adina Mihai, 31, who posed as a sex worker, and her partner, Madalin Dumitru, 30, arranged to meet men paying for sex at their homes.

Oxford Crown Court heard four men were drugged when glasses of wine were spiked with the powerful sedative gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) so the two defendants could take money from them.

Two of the victims, Malcolm King, 80, of Bagendon, Gloucestershire, and Gary Mouat, 36, of Banbury, Oxfordshire, died.

At a previous hearing, the pair, formerly of Ilford, Essex, pleaded guilty to two charges of manslaughter and to administering poison to two other men, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

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.

“If you had done the most cursory research, you would know that GBL can be extremely toxic.

“You both could and should have researched open sources.”

The judge added: “It ought to have been obvious to you that administering a covert, uncontrolled dose of such a drug to strangers who you knew nothing about was a risk to their lives.

“You left each victim alone in a state of deep unconsciousness, and a moment’s thought could and should have led to the realisation that they might never come round.”

She 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”.

The court heard Mihai advertised her sexual services on the online site VivaStreet and would take cash deposits from victims ahead of meeting up.

Dumitru would drive her to their victims’ homes and wait outside as she went about the drugging and theft.

The defendants, who are both unemployed and in a relationship, have previously lived in Birmingham, before moving to Ilford.

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

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

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

Almost a year later, Mr Mouat’s wife and son were away for the night, and he contacted Mihai via Vivastreet. The pair then travelled from Ilford to Mr Mouat’s home.

Mr Mouat, who ran the family glazing business, was left unconscious from wine laced with the chem-sex drug and he was found dead the following morning, July 13, by friends.

Hours after returning to Ilford from Mr Mouat’s home, a third man, known in court as “victim 3”, also contacted Mihai and he was also drugged and had his Rolex watch stolen.

A week later, a fourth man, known as “victim 4”, contacted Mihai and he also had jewellery and aftershave stolen after being drugged.

Their crime spree came to an end when they were arrested in the early hours of July 31 when police stopped a BMW car, with Dumitru driving and Mihai the front seat passenger.

Items belonging to some of the victims were recovered from the car, and Mihai’s fingerprints were found on the wine glasses left behind in the men’s homes.

The Crown offered no evidence in respect of administering poison and conspiracy to steal relating to a fifth victim.

Eloise Marshall KC, representing Mihai, said the defendant recognised the “unbearable loss” she had caused to the families of her victims having watched and read the victim impact statements before coming into court.

“I can say this, it has caused her inconsiderable distress and she recognises and understands what she has done,” she said.

“It is something that will always live with her.”

The court heard Mihai first came to the UK from Romania to work in the sex trade, before leaving and returning again in 2023.

Gurdeep Garcha KC, representing Dumitru, said the father-of-three had written to the court to “express his remorse”.

“He has been left in no doubt about the impact of his and Miss Mihai’s actions,” he said.

“He has asked me to publicly express regret for what he has done and he would wish, through me, to unconditionally apologise to all of the families of the victims and everybody affected.”

Speaking afterwards, Detective Inspector Michael Roddy, of Thames Valley Police, said: “Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru deliberately exploited men for financial gain, showing a complete disregard for the devastating consequences of their actions.

“Their offending was calculated, predatory and ultimately cost two innocent men their lives.

“Gary Mouat and Malcolm King were much-loved family members whose deaths have left lasting pain for those who knew them.

“They were treated as opportunities for financial gain by Mihai and Dumitru, who were motivated solely by greed.”

Detective Inspector Adam Stacey, who led the investigation into Mr King’s death for Gloucestershire Police, said: “I am glad that these dangerous people are behind bars and cannot inflict any more pain and suffering.

“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.”