Romanian man who killed his flatmate with 27 knives in England, mistaken for hitman killer, won’t go to jail, but he won’t be released

In October 2021, Eugene Koeman stabbed 31-year-old Russian Leonid Labosin 27 times at their home in Batley, near Oxford.

Coman, 35, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, admitted manslaughter but was acquitted of murder by a jury at Oxford Crown Court. Judge Ian Pringle said the defendant had acted under the influence of a “psychological delirium”.

Prosecutor Charles Ward-Jackson said the Romanian killer was “obsessed” with the character and a knife collector. She testified that on the day of the crime, the defendant came home from church and attacked Labosin in a “frenzy” in front of their flatmate.

Koman was jealous because he wanted a relationship with her, but the woman liked the young Russian man, the lawyer added.

The victim was stabbed in the back and neck on 17 October 2021 at a Pinnocks Way flat.

Koeman previously pleaded guilty to assaulting a landlord’s agent sent to collect back rent in 2020. He also admitted to having three knives and an air rifle in the trunk of his car.

Koeman’s defense lawyer, Dana Atkin, told the court: “He was arrested at a time when his illness was at its worst. He calls himself Agent 47.” Agent 47 is the main protagonist of the Hitman video game franchise.

The judge ordered Koman to be detained indefinitely under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act: “You were clearly paranoid about who you were and what you were doing. A case for you to continue to receive treatment under section 37 of the Mental Health Act.’

The judge added to this sentence a restriction under Article 41 of the same law, which meant that the Romanian could only be released with the approval of a government minister.