Man sentenced to ten years in prison after two people stabbed at Dagenham dinner party.

A man has been sentenced to ten years in prison for manslaughter after two people were stabbed at a dinner party in Dagenham.

Vasile Firanda, 61 (01.05.60), of Marlborough Road, Dagenham, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, 6 May where he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for the manslaughter of Viorel Stefan, 49, and grievous bodily harm committed against a 55-year-old woman.

This comes after he pleaded guilty to both offences on 23 November 2020 at the same court.

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service to reports of a stabbing at a residential property on Marlborough Road, RM8 at 22:10hrs on 14 December 2019.

At the scene, Viorel Stefan was found suffering from knife wounds to the back. Despite the efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene at 22:39hrs.

A 55-year-old woman was also found suffering from knife wounds. She was treated at the scene before being taken to an east London hospital. Her injuries were not life-threatening.

Vasile Firanda, then aged 59, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder.

He was taken to an east London police station and was subsequently charged with the murder and GBH.

A murder investigation was launched by detectives led by Detective Chief Inspector Laurence Smith, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command.

Enquiries quickly established that a dinner party had been held at the address during which the defendant had consumed a significant amount of alcohol.

All of those present were Romanian, however the victim, and one other, came from a Romanian region where Ukrainian is spoken.

During a conversation they lapsed into their native tongue. The defendant, who is also Romanian, does not speak Ukrainian and became angry that he could not follow the conversation.

An argument broke out between the victim and the defendant. In the midst of this conflict, the female victim attempted to intervene to calm the situation, but enraged, Firanda stabbed her in the back of the hand with such ferocity that the knife travelled through her hand, emerging from the palm.

He then stabbed Viorel twice in the back causing the catastrophic injuries that ended his life.

A blood sample taken from Firanda showed his blood/alcohol level to be three-and-a-half times the legal driving limit.

Detective Chief Inspector Laurence Smith said: “This was a sad and needless loss of life. A personal affront, fuelled by alcohol, so quickly became violent.

“It is unlikely that we will ever know the full details of the events that led to the death of Viorel Stefan as the accounts provided by the defendant were changing and conflicting as our investigation progressed.

“What is clear is that the wounds that killed Mr Stefan were undoubtedly inflicted by Vasile Firanda and he now faces 10 years in prison for his violent actions.”