The mother of murdered mother-of-three Larisa Serban has told a sentencing court it makes her “sick” to know her killer “is alive while my daughter is in the ground”.
After a trial that ran for seven weeks with an enlarged panel of 15 jurors, Daniel Blanaru (37) was sentenced life in prison today for the murder of his 26-year-old partner, Ms Serban on 12 August 2022.
In a victim impact statement read to the Central Criminal Court by her eldest son at Blanaru’s sentencing today, Georgeta Serban said: “Now this criminal lives. Yes, he is in prison, but he is doing well.”
“When I saw him last, he looked better than he was before he was caught. He was fatter, better fed, than before he killed the mother of my grandkids. It made me sick, the thought that he is alive while my daughter is in the ground,” Ms Serban said.
Ms Serban thanked the judge and jury and said she was grateful to “every person who stood on the side of the law, who contributed with the work, for their empathy”.
“My daughter…. Was an extraordinary person, full of life, gentle, and full of love. She was my child, who grew in my womb, raised with hardship and tears.
“I raised her with sacrifices, sleepless nights, and dreams for her future. I didn’t get to enjoy the beautiful moments with her and her children. She died too soon. She was ripped from life with unimaginable cruelty,” Ms Serban said in her statement.
“This criminal condemned us all to death… What keeps me alive is the pills and my grandchildren,” she wrote.
Jurors accepted the prosecution case that Ms Serban died as a result of a “sustained and brutal attack” at the hands of her “controlling and jealous” partner, who murdered her “in cold blood” when they delivered their unanimous verdict earlier this month.
Ms Serban was found in the early hours of the morning on the floor between the bedroom and the hallway of her home, having died from a stab wound to the chest.
Blanaru, from Rathmore, Athboy, Co Meath, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Serban (26) at that address on or about August 12, 2022.
Ms Serban sustained two stab wounds, with one to her chest measuring 12cm which punctured the heart, lung and aorta proving fatal. Her blood was found on Blanaru's clothing.
Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers gave evidence to the trial that the fatal stab wound to Ms Serban’s chest “would have required some force”. Another stab wound to her arm, a “defensive-type injury” also showed signs of force, as the victim had a bone fracture at the elbow, the trial was told.
Detective Garda Kevin O’Brian of Kells Garda Station told the sentence hearing today that, under several rounds of interviews in custody, Blanaru told gardaí: “I am guilty, please lock me up.”
Det Gda O’Brian confirmed to Eilis Brennan SC, prosecuting, that Blanaru has six previous convictions in Ireland for road traffic matters. His criminal record also extends to four theft offences dating to a period between 2008 and 2014 in France, the detective said.
Passing sentence, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon thanked the Serban family for their statements and said she wanted to extend her “deepest condolences” to them.
She said that for the crime, committed with “needless and horrific violence”, she had to impose on Blanaru the mandatory life sentence.
Justice Creedon added that the sentence could be backdated to the moment Blanaru went into custody.
After reading his mother’s statement to the hearing, the victim’s eldest brother, Remus Serban, said: “Every day I wake up and realise she’s gone, my heart shatters all over again. I live in a constant state of disbelief, hoping, praying this is some terrible nightmare, but it’s not.”
“Since Larisa’s death I’ve become a burden to those who love me, my wife, my children; they deserve better. I feel I’m failing them every single day. I can’t be the father, the husband they need when all I can think of is the hole in my heart where Larisa used to be,” he said.
“I see his face in my nightmares, the man who stole my sister from us, and I can’t escape it. I couldn’t even look at him in this courtroom, because the thought of seeing him and his face again, I feel I might lose myself completely,” Mr Serban said.
“I will carry her memory, as heavy as it might be, for the rest of my life,” he said. His mother had remained with him in the witness box as he spoke.
Sara Serban, the victim’s sister, said: “The pain is for life. This criminal didn’t just take our sister; he took our lives. He condemned us to life without her.” She added that Blanaru would “rot in prison”.
“I never got to tell her how much I love her. I wish I had just two more minutes to tell her how much she meant to me,” she added.
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