On Tuesday, 1 February, Stony Stoica, 44 of Lordship Lane, Dulwich, appeared at Inner London Crown Court where he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 18 years, for the murder of 26-year-old Beatrice Cenusa. He had previously pleaded guilty at the same court.
Police were called at around 10.09pm on Friday, 23 July 2021 after Beatrice’s neighbour found her lying in a pool of blood in the hallway of her home on Lordship Lane, SE22.
Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service but despite their efforts, she died in hospital several hours later.
Less than an hour after the attack, Stoica handed himself into Peckham police station where he told officers he had just murdered his ex-wife.
CCTV enquiries showed him walking towards the victim’s address at 10.01pm and running from the direction of the house around nine minutes later. Items including his mobile phone, wallet and ID cards had also been left at the property.
Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin, who led the investigation, said: “Stoica’s attack was so vicious that Beatrice was discovered with the knife still embedded in her chest. He is clearly an extremely dangerous man and it is right that he will now spend a significant amount of his life in jail.
“Not only did he kill a completely innocent women, he also had no regard for the fact their nine-year-old daughter was in the next room. She will have to live with losing her mother in these traumatic circumstances for the rest of her life. Our thoughts today remain with her and the rest of Beatrice’s family.”
Two were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct. One of these was dismissed following a Special Case Hearing and the other would have been dismissed had they not already resigned.
Four officers attended misconduct meetings where allegations of misconduct were proven against two officers. One received a written warning and one received no further action as they had already demonstrated performance improvements. Misconduct was not proven against the two other officers.
Two officers were subject to unsatisfactory performance procedures. They attended a formal meeting to discuss their performance and appropriate action going forward.
Two officers were subjected to reflective practice to improve their performance.
The investigation found no case to answer for the remaining four officers.
There are a number of recommendations in the report that we will consider before replying to the IOPC in due course.
Rebuilding trust and confidence
The Commissioner has asked Baroness Louise Casey to lead an independent and far-reaching review into our culture and standards of professional and personal behaviour. The review will ask difficult questions to ensure there are lasting improvements to the service we provide for all Londoners.
While this process is on-going we recognise that we need to take urgent action to improve. We have already boosted the number of investigators in our professional standards department to strengthen our capability to root out people who abuse their positions of trust.
The unit investigated by the IOPC was disbanded as part an overhaul of our local policing service in 2018, which placed extra focus on leadership and professional standards. Last year we further strengthened local leadership teams by creating 12 Chief Inspector posts responsible for driving a step change in standards.
There has been an increased focus on standards at the Central West Basic Command Unit, which includes Charing Cross Police Station. A dedicated Chief Inspector has been appointed to lead a proactive team responsible for neighbourhood policing in the West End to ensure scrutiny and improved leadership.
These are just some of the steps we have taken to start real change in the Met as we work towards rebuilding the trust and confidence of every community in London.
We are listening to Londoners, stakeholder and our partners. We recognise change won’t happen overnight, but all of us are determined to do everything we can to improve.
Any member of the public with concerns about the conduct of a Met officer or member of staff should alert us either via our website or by dialling 101.
Met employees can report information anonymously to anti-corruption officers by calling the Right Line, a confidential internal phone line.
Further information about what we are doing to tackle the issues raised and on regaining public trust can be read in our Rebuilding Trust – Update on Progress.
