Czech court sentences Romanian man to 17 years for murder

The court also expelled the man from the Czech Republic indefinitely.

The verdict has not taken effect as it can be appealed.

Cretu attacked his victims with a knife in a hostel in Kladno, northwest of Prague, on May 17, 2009. He stabbed the 21-year-old woman in her chest and abdomen. She succumbed to the wounds.

Cretu then attacked the 28-year-old man, stabbing him in his chest three times. The man managed to escape. His wounds were not fatal.

Cretu, 26, said during the previous questioning that he had come with the woman from Romania to the Czech Republic about a week before the incident in order to seek a job. They had been partners for more than a year.

On the day of the incident, Cretu found the woman and the other man in the hostel, embracing and kissing each other in a bed. That is why he took a knife and attacked them.

During the questioning Cretu said he had been sentenced to six years in prison for rape in Romania in 2003. According to witnesses, Cretu repeatedly attacked his girl-friend in the past.

Autor: ČTK
www.ctk.cz