Convicted killer facing life sentence for rape and attempted murder of woman in Wellingborough
A convicted killer from Moldova is facing a life sentence after being found guilty of the "evil and depraved" rape and attempted murder of a stranger who he left for dead in an alleyway.
Sergiu Boianjiu, 39, who came to Britain after serving 10 years for the murder of his girlfriend in 2002, was caught on CCTV in February as he raped and repeatedly stamped on the head of a woman in Northamptonshire.
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 was discovered by a passer-by after several hours lying in the rain and cold.
A two-week trial at Northampton Crown Court was told the woman was attacked near a church as she walked home from a night-out in Wellingborough at about 5am.
Jurors unanimously convicted Boianjiu of attempted murder and a count of rape after deliberating for around three hours. He was found not guilty of a second rape charge, having already admitted attempted rape.
Adjourning the case for sentence on a date within the next six weeks, Judge David Herbert QC told Boianjiu: "I will have to consider the imposition of a life sentence in your case given the seriousness of the offences you have been convicted of, and your previous conviction for murder.
It emerged during the trial that the heavily-built construction worker was convicted of theft from a school and "deliberate murder" at Moldova's Riscani district court on 9 October 2009.
His lawyers attempted to prevent jurors from being told any details of the previous conviction for killing 19-year-old Ludmila Nour, whose body was hidden in a drainage shaft in a forest.
Boianjiu's QC claimed the conviction would assume a prejudicial dominance but it was ruled to be admissible after legal argument.
Boianjiu was released early from a 14-year sentence on 6 July 2018, but the trial was not told how or when he entered the UK, or what checks were done to establish his past history.
Det Ch Insp Liz Wilcox, from Northamptonshire Police, said: "Sergiu Boianjiu is an incredibly dangerous man who presents a real risk to the women in our communities.
"Getting justice for this young woman was hugely important to all of us.
"This case will remain in many of the minds of those who worked on it long after today, not least that of the young woman subjected to this abhorrent crime who has shown incredible bravery."
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