A man who “furiously and repeatedly” stabbed an 11-year-old girl in a random knife attack in Leicester Square has been detained indefinitely.
The Australian child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police she thought she was going to die after she was targeted by Ioan Pintaru in London’s West End on the morning of August 12 last year while on holiday with her mother.
The defendant, 33, approached the girl as she left the Lego store at around 11.30am where she and her mother had been buying gifts for their family, placed her in a headlock and stabbed her eight times in the face, neck and chest.
Pintaru, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty in October to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a knife.
He was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Tuesday to a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and a restriction order under Section 41 – meaning he can be detained indefinitely.
Judge Richard Marks KC said: “A victim impact statement from (the victim’s) mother described how when the incident unfolded in front of her she believed with absolute certainty that she was watching her daughter being killed in front of her, and how she relives that moment over and over.”
The mother told of a “profound” emotional and psychological harm which has resulted in her “constantly scanning for danger”, the judge went on.
“She feels… a deep sense of guilt for not having been able to protect her daughter and she finds it extremely difficult to allow her independence,” he continued.
“There is a shadow over them that was not there before.
“This event has altered the course of their lives, the trauma they carry is lifelong.”
The judge also said he had read letters from Pintaru’s mother and his priest in Romania, which defence barrister Claire Davies KC had mentioned earlier.
Pintaru originally faced a charge of attempted murder but the prosecution decided that his psychosis at the time of the offence meant it could not be proven that he had an intent to kill, the court heard.
On Tuesday, the Crown offered no evidence in respect of the attempted murder count.
Opening the case, prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC said the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described in an interview with police how she felt something crash into her from behind and hit her on the head.
“She felt the defendant’s arm wrap itself around her,” Ms Stonecliffe said.
“His weight was on her. She said in the interview that at that moment she thought she was going to die.
“She felt the defendant stab her in the face and felt the blood from the wound running down her face.
“She was understandably terrified.”
Her mother, who watched court proceedings over a videolink, told police she saw Pintaru “furiously and repeatedly” stabbing her daughter.
She said his arm was moving “like a jackhammer” using “as much force as he could” and that she thought “he was trying to kill her” with a “crazed and vacant” expression.
She added that he was “wide-eyed and manic like nothing was going to stop him”.
A security guard working at nearby shop TWG Tea, named only as Abdullah, rushed to intervene and managed to grab the hand holding the knife, leading to Pintaru dropping the weapon, which Abdullah then kicked away.
The guard and two other men were able to pin Pintaru down before police arrived minutes later and arrested him.
A nurse walking past help stem the victim’s bleeding.
The judge commended Abdullah for his bravery and ordered that he be rewarded with £1,000 from public funds.
In a statement published via the Metropolitan Police, the 30-year-old security guard said: “It was a purely selfless and instinctive response, driven by a sense of responsibility to help someone in danger.
“I’m grateful that this was acknowledged and that the child is safe.”
The court heard the girl, now 13, has recovered physically from her wounds but “invisible scars” remain.
“She is deeply conscious of her scars,” Ms Stonecliffe said.
“The psychological effects of this incident will remain with (her) for the rest of her life.”
The court heard Pintaru became upset during his interview with the police, particularly when officers told him they were going to show him pictures of the injuries he inflicted.
He is said to have put his head in his hands, cried and said “no” to the prospect of viewing CCTV footage of the attack.
Pintaru, in the dock with what appeared to be three health workers, had previously been admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Romania, the court heard.
In assessments after the Leicester Square attack, Pintaru told one psychiatrist he had not wanted to commit the offence but believed he was being followed and that the only way to save himself was to get himself sent to prison, the prosecutor said.
