Conman killed mobile phone fraud victim by stabbing him 27 times in east London car park

A murderer has been jailed for life after stabbing a fraud victim 27 times and leaving his body in a car boot at an east London shopping centre.

Vasile Gorghescu flew into a rage when Chaudhary Mahmood, 45, uncovered his scam to pass off a box of fizzy drinks as the mobile phones he wanted to acquire.

Gorghescu, 42, claimed he acted in self-defence but a jury saw through his lies.

He borrowed his brother’s car to drive 80 miles from Southampton to facilitate a meeting in the car park of Stratford Centre, where Mr Mahmood worked on January 9.

After the “frenzied attack”, Gorghescu then hid the body under blankets and boxes and left the vehicle in situ before returning home from east London.

Once in Hampshire, he told his sibling to report the car as stolen and confess there was a body inside.

Police located the vehicle in the early hours of the following day.

Gorghescu was arrested and charged with Mr Mahmood’s murder on January 11.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, a judge sentenced the defendant, of Rayner Gardens, Southampton to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 32 years.

Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “Vasile Gorghescu drove to meet Chaudhary Mahmood armed with a weapon and clearly with the intention of resorting to violence should his fraudulent plan be uncovered.

“Chaudhary – who went to the car park in Stratford with the intention of buying mobile phones – realised this was a scam and was defenceless in the face of Gorghescu’s attack.

“Throughout this process, Gorghescu has attempted to deflect blame away from himself, claiming he acted in self-defence and that he also could not remember what happened.

“The court through saw these lies and he has rightly been held to account for his actions.

“This has been an incredibly distressing time for Chaudhary’s family and nothing will ever erase the pain of their loss.

“However, I hope that Gorghescu’s conviction and lengthy prison sentence will give them some small sense of closure.”