A CONVICTED killer is facing another long spell behind bars after he tried to stab his sister-in-law to death in Lye.

Gheorghe Mihai chased after the woman while armed with a large kitchen knife and he stabbed her five times after she refused to give him money for alcohol.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told the 38 year old came to England from Romania where he was jailed for seven years in 2006 for beating a man to death with a piece of wood.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told Mihai a “very lengthy prison sentence” awaited him after a jury convicted him of attempted murder and possessing an offensive weapon.

He said Mihai had to be assessed for dangerousness to see if he posed a serious risk of causing future harm to members of the pubic before the case against him could be finalised.

Mihai, of Park Street, Lye, had denied the two charges but he was found guilty on unanimous verdicts by the jury at the end of his week-long trial.

The court had been told he killed the man in Romania because he believed he had indecently assaulted a young girl at a christening party.

The married father of one arrived in the UK just 16 months ago and he tried to kill his sister-in-law Roxana Mihai after chasing her along Lye High Street.

He left her with wounds to her face, head, arm and back that required hospital treatment after being described by one witness as acting like a “man possessed”.

But in evidence to the six man-six woman jury, who retired for just two hours to consider the case, Mihai maintained the injuries had been caused accidentally.

He said he had been trying to return the knife which belonged to his sister-in-law and after she slipped he fell on top of her.

“When I ran after her I wasn’t angry,” said Mihai, who showed no reaction as the jury announced their verdicts. “I had nothing against her.

“I did not intend to murder her at any time. I could not do such a thing. I never said I was going to kill somebody. I have got a family. I have got a child. How could I do such a thing.”

The prosecution maintained that before chasing after his sister-in-law, Mihai – who had been drinking – told a friend: “I am going to kill somebody. I am going to jail for ten years.”

He was caught on CCTV chasing after the helpless Roxana while brandishing the knife and then seen to raise the weapon in the air before bringing it down and stabbing her five times.

The jury were told the attack ended when Mihai's brother quickly arrived on the scene and punched him in the face.

The judge remanded Mihai in custody until March 12 for a pre-sentence report, with the warning he faces a very long prison sentence.