A foreign killer who served a prison sentence in Romania for murder went on to commit an almost identical fatal stabbing in east London just three years after his release, it can now be reported following his conviction.

Eugeniu Neamtu, 59, who went by the name Jimmy, was convicted and jailed in his home country in May 2007 after stabbing his housemate in the chest during a drunken dispute over money.

Following his release in 2023, he moved to Walthamstow, east London, where he delivered a fatal knife wound to the chest of a flatmate on 20 February this year in what prosecutors described as "strikingly similar" circumstances.

The details of Neamtu’s previous murder conviction can only now be reported after he was convicted at the Old Bailey of murdering 63-year-old fellow Romanian national Gheorghe Trica.

Prior to the start of the week-long trial, prosecutor Philip Evans KC requested permission to present the full history of the earlier stabbing to the jury, arguing it provided "powerful probative evidence" in the new case.

He highlighted extensive parallels between the two attacks, noting that Neamtu would have been aware that stabbing Mr Trica in the chest carried a clear risk of death.

Addressing the court during legal argument, Mr Evans said: "The court in Romania in 2007 rejected the argument he did not intend to inflict injury in 2006. This is directly relevant to a key issue – was it to scare him or cause serious bodily harm?"

Defence barrister Paul Hynes KC argued that sharing the full background of the Romanian crime would be excessively prejudicial to his client.

Judge Richard Marks KC permitted certain details of Neamtu's past to be put before the jury, but excluded the fact that the first victim died from stab wounds to his heart and lungs, as well as the murder conviction itself.

In his ruling, Judge Marks told the prosecution: "In fairness, I am not proposing to allow you to adduce the consequences of the death."

Jurors were consequently told during the trial only that Neamtu had been convicted in Romania over a stabbing in 2007.

Drawing comparisons between the two attacks, Mr Evans explained how the defendant had used a similar knife, attempted to discard it, and subsequently claimed to have acted in self-defence.

Outlining the facts to the jury, Mr Evans described a row that broke out between the defendant and Mr Trica at the flat they shared in Walthamstow.

Both men shouted insults in Romanian before Mr Trica was heard to say: "Give me back those £5."

Jurors heard that a bystander exclaimed: "Oh my God, he has cut Trica," after which the victim was found lying in a pool of blood.

Following the incident, the defendant was seen throwing an object over the balcony banister.

A police dog unit was deployed to search the area, leading to the recovery of the murder weapon – a black-handled steak knife – from the garden.

After his arrest, Neamtu claimed in prepared statements that Mr Trica had threatened to kill him, pushed him down stairs, and made throat-slitting gestures.

He alleged he took the kitchen knife merely to "scare" Mr Trica and stabbed him in the chest to defend himself.

Mr Evans emphasised that Neamtu had previously stabbed another man and subsequently tried to place the blame on the victim.

That earlier conviction in May 2007 related to an incident in August 2006 at the home of Adrian Vas, where Neamtu was residing at the time.

The prosecutor said the housemates had been drinking plum brandy when an argument flared up over rent and work Neamtu had agreed to carry out on the property.

Jurors were told that during the confrontation, the defendant grabbed a knife from the hallway and stabbed Mr Vas multiple times in the chest.

That knife was subsequently recovered from the grounds of the property.

The defendant had claimed to Romanian authorities that he and Mr Vas traded insults and fought with available items, suggesting he might have struck Mr Vas with the knife in self-defence.

In later accounts, he claimed he grabbed the knife out of fear after being provoked by Mr Vas, the court heard.

The Romanian court rejected the defendant's claim of self-defence.

Mr Evans said: "The prosecution in this case relies on this previous conviction because of the striking similarities between the circumstances of that offence and the allegation you are concerned with in this trial.

"In both cases the defendant was involved in a drunken argument with an associate over money. In both cases he took up a knife from within the home.

"In both cases he stabbed the other man in the chest. In both cases he later claimed that he acted in self‑defence."

Neamtu, of Westbury Road, Walthamstow, was assisted by an interpreter during court proceedings. He denied murder but declined to give evidence during his trial.

The jury deliberated for three hours before returning a guilty verdict for murder.

Following the verdict, Judge Marks informed jurors that the victim in Romania had died from his injuries, before remanding Neamtu into custody to be sentenced on Friday.