Grindr killer jailed for life after poisoning dancer with date rape drug Devil’s Breath
The couple had been accused of the murder of dancer Adrian Murphy. (Adrian Murphy/Facebook)
A woman will serve at least 16 years in prison after she and her boyfriend poisoned and murdered gay dancer Adrian Murphy after meeting him on Grindr.
Murphy was found dead at his home in Battersea, London, in July 2019. He was just 43-years-old.
Investigators later established that he had been poisoned with scopolamine, also known as Devil’s Breath, which comes from the deadly nightshade plant family. Joel Osei and his ex-girlfriend Diana Cristea were arrested and found guilty of murder, theft and fraud in October 2020.
Cristea, 19, was handed a life sentence, with a minimum of 16 years in prison, during an appearance at the Old Bailey in London on Monday (29 March).
She was also handed an additional 30-month sentence, which will run concurrently, for her role in poisoning a second victim who survived.
Mr Justice William Davis told Cristea that she had “assisted and encouraged” her ex-boyfriend in targeting, poisoning and robbing Adrian Murphy in June 2019, the Irish Independent reports.
“You were an active and willing participant in this plan. You expected to gain from this plan. You knew scopolamine was being used and knew what it could do,” Davis told Cristea.
Davis noted that Cristea had led a “troubled” and “disturbed” life before she met Osei and began targeting queer men through dating apps. He also acknowledged that she was just 17-years-old at the time of the crime.
Sister of Adrian Murphy brands killer ‘a complete disgrace’
In a statement read to the court, Adrian’s sister Majella Murphy told Cristea that her “selfish and despicable actions” had left her “torn in half”.
“You stole my little brother Adrian from me and as you are a woman, your actions are even worse than your partner in crime and a complete disgrace.
“It’s very difficult for me not to hate you, but I refuse to hate you and refuse to be like you, so I must forgive you.”
Cristea’s ex-boyfriend Joel Osei was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 32 years in January for his role in the murder.
During their trial last year, jurors heard that Osei and Cristea set up fake Grindr profiles in an effort to drug and rob gay and bisexual men using Devil’s Breath.
Adrian Murphy met Osei on the app and subsequently invited him to his home in Battersea on 1 June, 2019. Osei and Cristea tried to use his name to buy $80,000 (£62,000) worth of diamonds from a jeweller in New York the next day.
His body was discovered by a friend on 4 June, while £2,000 worth of goods were found to be missing from his apartment. CCTV footage from the apartment complex showed Osei leaving the apartment on 2 June carrying a designer bag belonging to Murphy.
Investigators also discovered that Osei had spoken to Cristea on 23 separate occasions, through phone calls and messages, while still in Murphy’s apartment. He met his then girlfriend after leaving the flat and handed over the items he had stolen.
Osei and Cristea were later linked to a second crime by investigators, who discovered that they had targeted a second man on Grindr in May 2019. Like Adrian Murphy, the man was poisoned and robbed, but he survived.
