UK Couple Jailed 17 Years for Poisoning 4 Men, Killing 2 in Theft Plot

Q: How many other natural deaths could secretly be the work of this lethal couple?

There is no verified evidence of any other deaths being caused by the couple beyond the two already admitted in court. What makes the question difficult is that one of the killings, Malcolm King’s, was initially treated as a natural or non-suspicious death because he had a pre-existing health condition. It was only after Gary Mouat’s death triggered a national police bulletin and further forensic work that toxicology linked King’s death to GBL poisoning. That raises the real possibility that a poisoning could be missed where a victim is older, medically vulnerable, or found alone at home. Even so, investigators have publicly said that, at present, no other deaths, poisonings or thefts have been linked to Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru. Police say they are keeping an open mind about additional victims, but they have not announced any further suspicious deaths tied to the pair. The known offending window was between August 2024 and July 2025. Within that period, four victims are confirmed: two dead and two surviving men who were poisoned and robbed. The national intelligence check was specifically designed to identify unexplained deaths that might have been misclassified, but no extra cases have yet emerged. So the most accurate answer is that the number of other “natural deaths” secretly attributable to them is currently unknown, and officially stands at zero identified cases beyond the two already proven.

Q: What crucial forensic clue finally exposed the deadly truth behind a seemingly innocent fatality?

The key forensic clue was **toxicology evidence showing GBL in the victim’s system**. Malcolm King’s death had initially appeared non-suspicious because of his pre-existing health condition. But after Gary Mouat died and Thames Valley Police established through postmortem and forensic work that he had been poisoned with **gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) mixed into an alcoholic drink**, officers sent a national alert to other forces. That prompted Gloucestershire police to reopen King’s case. **Further toxicology tests then revealed that King, too, had been poisoned with GBL**, exposing that what had looked like a natural or innocent death was in fact part of the same criminal scheme. In short, the decisive breakthrough was the **forensic detection of GBL poisoning**, which linked the two deaths and uncovered the deadly pattern behind an apparently explainable fatality.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 13

Oxford Crown Court sentenced Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru to 17 years each for killing two men and poisoning two others during thefts targeting men seeking sexual services.
Four victims had alcoholic drinks spiked with gamma-butyrolactone, or GBL, after Mihai advertised sexual services online and arranged meetings at the men’s homes with Dumitru.
Gary Mouat, 36, of Oxfordshire died in 2025 and Malcolm King, 80, of Gloucestershire died in 2024; two other poisoned men survived and cannot be named under reporting restrictions.
The pair admitted two counts of manslaughter and two further counts each of administering poison on the first day of their trial in June.