Crabtree murder trial: Wife of gunshot victim urged him to ‘stay with me’ as he sat dying in car, court hears

The wife of a man shot and killed in a Peterborough street as he delivered drugs urged him to ‘stay with me’ as he sat dying in his car, a court has heard.

Mihai Dobre (29) died after he was shot in the head in the early hours of April 13 last year.

Peterborough Crown Court has heard how he was delivering drugs in Crabtree, Paston, when his car was approached by two men.

A jury on the first day of his trial, January 13, heard how Lewis Hutchinson has pleaded guilty to his manslaughter, but denies murder.

Speaking through his barrister, he apologised to the family of Mr Dobre in court.

‘I started to scream, and I got scared’

Ana Seling, Mr Dobre’s wife, was sitting next to Mr Dobre when he was shot.

The jury was shown a video of her interview with police, recorded a couple of days after the incident.

Speaking through an interpreter, she said the car window was smashed by one of the men - accepted to be Hutchinson, who was holding what she initially thought was a crowbar - but which the defence accepted was a shotgun.

She said she heard the window of the car smash.

She said: “His head fell. If he was not wearing a seatbelt, he would have fallen and hit himself on the steering wheel.

“I started to scream, and I got scared. Then I collected myself.

“I was trying to speak to him (Mr Dobre). I was telling him to stay next to me, not to close his eyes. I was saying ‘Mihai, stay with me, Mihai, do not go, don’t leave.”

As Mr Dobre’s foot was on the accelerator pedal, Mrs Seling said the car started to move forward, so she grabbed the steering wheel to control the car.

She said she managed to bring the car to a stop, and said: “I was constantly screaming in the car. People, neighbours, started to come outside. Then they (the two men) saw people, and they ran.”

‘I got to know him as a good boy, a good guy’

Emergency services were called, but sadly, despite the best efforts of medics, Mr Dobre could not be saved.

Mrs Seling said she had been with Mr Dobre for almost 13 years, and said he had only been delivering drugs for three weeks.

She said she had started to accompany him on some of the deliveries, as she was scared something could happen to him.

She initially told police Mr Dobre was delivering food and soft drinks, before telling officers he was delivering drugs.

She said Mr Dobre had not had a drug problem, saying: “I got to know him as a good boy, a good guy. He never had problems with drugs and these kind of things.”

Mrs Seling appeared in the witness stand after the video was played.

‘He wishes to convey he is truly sorry for the terrible thing he has done’

Nathan Rasiah KC, defending Hutchinson, started his questioning by apologising on behalf of Hutchinson.

He said: “He (Hutchinson) was the man who was holding something. It was not a crowbar, but a shotgun. You know he has pleaded guilty to the offence of manslaughter.

“He has accepted responsibility for unlawfully causing your husband’s death. On his behalf I say this. It may mean very little to you. He accepts his actions have caused tremendous loss to your family

“He wishes to convey he is truly sorry for the terrible thing he has done, and the loss it has caused.”

Describing the incident, Mrs Seling said neither of the two men who approached the car had said anything to either her or Mr Dobre during the short incident.

Hutchinson (29) of Eastern Avenue, Peterborough, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and not guilty to murder and conspiracy to rob.

The trial is set to continue on January 17.