A 28-year-old mum who was fatally stabbed at her home in Brent was seven months pregnant when she was attacked, her heartbroken family have revealed.
The victim, named as mother-of-two Andra Hilitanu, was found with multiple stab wounds at a flat in Neasden Lane, Brent, at around 2.30am on Friday (June 1).
Ms Hilitanu, a Romanian national who reportedly moved to the UK three years ago, died at the scene and a post-mortem provided a provisional cause of death as a stab wound to the neck.
Her son Angel, eight, is said to live in Italy with his father, and her daughter Ariana, six, lives with her grandmother in Romania.
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Speaking to the Evening Standard, Ms Hilitanu's brother said: “The death of my sister and the baby in her womb has left two innocent little children and her brother and sisters who struggle to live with the thoughts.”
The victim's sister-in-law, Camelia Hilitanu, added: “She was a big soul. She was a woman who helped you if you were in need. She came to England for a better job. It was her dream to have her children beside her.”
A 43-year-old man from Neasden Lane was charged with murder after the attack and appeared in custody at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Monday (June 4).
Ioan Campeanu was remanded to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday (June 6).
Detectives from Met Police have suggested Campeanu was known to the victim and that no one else is being searched for in connection with the attack.
