Gheorghe Mihai who tried to stab his sister-in-law to death just weeks after being allowed in the UK

A Romanian killer who tried to stab his sister-in-law to death just weeks after being allowed into the UK has been jailed for life.

Gheorghe Mihai, 38, who was a convicted murderer, told his friend he wanted to kill again moments before knifing 23-year-old Roxana Mihai with a six inch blade.

He repeatedly stabbed her in the face, back and arm after chasing her down Lye High Street, Wolverhampton and calling her a 'whore' before catching up with her.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard he launched into the attack after she interrupted a conversation he was having with her husband Nicursor Gheorghe, his half-brother.

He turned into a 'man possessed' after repeatedly knifing her in the street, and she was only saved when her husband managed to wrestle Mihai off and punch him in the face.

Mihai, of Wolverhampton, then ran to Kingsfleet Auto Mechanical garage in a nearby street, where he was arrested by police on August 7 last year.

A jury took just two hours to find Mihai guilty of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon following a trial in February.

Yesterday (Fri) he was jailed for life to serve a minimum of ten years.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told him: 'You are somebody with a predisposition to act in a violent way.'

The court heard Mihai was jailed for seven years after battering a man to death with a plank of wood in his home country in 2004.

Gheorghe Mihai was jailed for life at Wolverhampton Crown Court

He moved to the UK early last year and the day he attacked Mrs Gheorghe he had been drinking and boasting to friends about how he was going to kill again.

Friend Gama Bobi told the court: 'He was drinking two bottles of beer and was drunk. I could see it in his eyes.

'He told me he was going to kill someone and go to jail for ten years.

'I thought he was joking because he had drunk too much.'

The court heard Mihai then staggered across the road to where his half-brother and Mrs Mihai were waiting for a bus.

In his police statement, Mr Gheorghe said: 'He asked me for £5 three times and I explained we only had £10.

'My wife then told him we had no money because we had sent it all to our family in Romania.

'He said to her 'why are you talking in our conversation,' took out a knife from the waist band of his trousers and said: 'Let me cut her because she is a whore.'

'I held him to let my wife run and hide. When I couldn't see her I released him not thinking that he would harm her.'

Describing how he managed to stop Mihai from killing her, he said: 'I saw my wife on the floor covered in blood.

'I went after him and managed to punch him in the face between the eyes.'

Mr Bobi, who witnessed the savage attack, told the court: 'He raised his hand above his head and stabbed her on the face by her right eye.

'She was on the floor screaming.

'He raised his hand up again and stabbed her in the back on her head.'

Eye-witness Kieran Langan said Mihai had looked like 'a man possessed'.

He told the court: 'He was in a rage. She was backing away. I could tell that she as scared. Then I saw him open his jacket and pull out a large kitchen knife.

'I stopped the lorry because I thought I was about to witness a murder in the High Street.'

Mihai could not be refused entry into this country because he had served the seven year sentence imposed in Romania in 2006 for the murder.

He was also not wanted for any other crime and did not need to tell officials of his alarming previous conviction when he came to the UK at the end of 2016.

Romania is a member of the European Union and its citizens benefit from 'free movement' rights.

They do not need a visa to visit or work here and so avoid the checks made on people from nations not in the EU, who must give details of any previous criminal conviction before it is decided whether to let them in.

Douglas Marshall, Senior Crown Prosecutor with West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Gheorghe Mihai approached his family that day, having already armed himself with a large kitchen knife and, seemingly, intent on using it.

'Whilst the argument may have started over money, he has never explained why he attacked his sister-in-law so viciously.

'It was only the brave action of the victim's husband who defended his wife that stopped Mihai's frenzied attack, fortunately the victim has recovered from her injuries.