Investigation team who tracked down murderer who fled to London after killing ex-wife awarded

A team of dedicated officers and staff who hunted down and secured the conviction of a man who fled to London after killing his ex-wife in Stoke-on-Trent have been given a force award.

The team involved worked tirelessly to secure justice for Valentina Cozma’s family after she was tragically killed on 9 February 2023.

Detectives managed to prove that her ex-husband used petrol to set her alight inside her home on Campbell Road. He ran away in a bid to flee his heinous crime, prompting a man hunt.

At the time, brave members of the public tried valiantly to break into Valentina’s home to save her.

Thanks to the work of all of the team, officers managed to track the suspect down in London. Detectives were concerned he was looking to flee the county, he was sleeping rough and using a false name.

Our intelligence, led by a laborious trawl of London’s streets for the man we wanted to find, eventually led us to a church where he was arrested.

What followed to secure the evidence needed to convict him was 1,669 documents, 483 statements, 915 exhibits, 634 messages and seven interviews.

Fingertip specialist search teams were involved, media appeals were issued across the country and translated into Romanian and Italian, international legal agreements and production orders were secured to obtain key evidence, and experts were commissioned to examine the crime scene, clothing and Valentina’s body to confirm the cause of death.

Our family liaison officers worked hard to support the family throughout such a difficult process, which eventually ended with the offender being sentenced to 28 years in prison in October 2023. The judge at the time commended the team for all of their work in securing the outcome for the family.

At an awards ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, the investigative team were presented with the Excellence in Investigations award by Chief Constable Chris Noble and Assistant Chief Constable Becky Riggs.