Moldovan killer who came to Britain jailed for 26 years for rape and attempted murder

17 September 2022, 14:01

A convicted Moldovan killer who came to Britain after spending 10 years in jail for murdering his girlfriend has been convicted of the 'evil and depraved' rape and attempted murder of a stranger he left for dead in an alleyway.

Sergiu Boianjiu, 38, who lived in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was was found guilty of attempted murder and rape at Northampton Crown Court.

He had been caught on CCTV cameras in February raping a young woman before repeatedly stamping his head on her.

Footage recovered by police also showed Boianjiu, who thought he had killed the victim, leaving the scene to fetch a wheelie bin in which he tried to hide her apparently lifeless body.

The badly-injured woman - who Boianjiu wanted to 'eliminate' as a potential witness - was discovered by a passer-by after several hours lying in the rain and cold.

The two-week trial was told that the woman was subjected to a 40-minute ordeal after being attacked as she walked home from a night out at around 5am.

She spent several days in intensive care, suffered a life-threatening brain injury and could remember nothing of the attack.

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The heavily-built construction worker came to the UK after serving 10 years behind bars for the murder of his girlfriend in 2002.

He was also convicted of theft from a school and 'deliberate murder' at Moldova's Riscani district court on October 9 2009.

Jurors deliberated for more than three hours before convicting the defendant of attempted murder and rape.

He was found not guilty of a second rape charge, despite already admitting the attempted rape.

Boianjiu appeared to show no emotion as he was found guilty while sitting in the dock.

Sentencing Boianiju to a minimum of 26 years in jail, Judge David Herbert KC told him: 'You repeatedly stamped on her head whilst she remained unconscious.'

"It it clear from the evidence that after delivering a further six blows you believed you had successfully killed her.

"Your offending is aggravated by a conviction for intentional murder in Moldova. My assessment of you from all the evidence before me is that you are an extremely dangerous man."

Commenting on the inquiry, senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Liz Wilcox, said: "I welcome the lengthy sentence handed out to Sergiu Boianjiu today as it means that he is no longer able to harm anyone else.

"This case has been very traumatic for the young woman involved and I hope today's sentencing provides her with some closure. She has shown exceptional courage throughout our investigation and I hope that, with the help of her great support network, she will be able to continue to move forward.

"Sergiu Boianjiu presents an extraordinary danger to women."