Teenager who 'murdered champion Irish dancer' with 'Devil’s Breath' drug popular with robbers and rapists then ordered £54 of food on Deliveroo gave a huge gasp when police told her the victim had died, court hears

A teenager accused of murdering a champion Irish dancer with a ‘Devil’s Breath’ drug popular with robbers and rapists gave a ‘huge gasp’ when police told her the victim had died, a court heard.

Joel Osei, 25, and girlfriend Diana Cristea, 18, are alleged to have killed Adrian Murphy, 43, who was found dead in his apartment in Battersea, southwest London on June 4, 2019.

A second unnamed 40-year-old man was rushed to hospital and narrowly survived after Osei allegedly administered Scopolamine to him at his flat in Walthamstow, east London on 30 May.

Joel Osei, 25, and girlfriend Diana Cristea, 18, are alleged to have killed Adrian Murphy , 43, who was found dead in his apartment in Battersea, London

Scopolamine - also known as ‘the Devil’s Breath’ - is popular with robbers and rapists in South America and Columbia who use it to incapacitate their victims, the court heard.

Prosecutors claim both victims were enticed by the pair of ruthless ‘grifters’ who used the dating app Grindr to arrange for Osei to meet the men at their London flats.

Cristea is said to have been ‘following the events closely’ as she plotted behind the scenes, the court heard.

DC Sarah Heywood was responsible for searching Mr Murphy’s flat on 7 June following his death and was tasked with contacting everyone who he had called before the incident.

‘On Monday 10 June I was given an action, to call Diana Cristea to find out her relationship with Adrian Murphy because the telephone number ending in 2528 was shown as the last call made by Mr Murphy before he died,’ the officer said.

When the call went to voicemail, DC Heywood contacted the Young Generation Children’s Care Home where Cristea lived at the time but was told the 18-year-old was unavailable.

Mr Murphy's body was found in his flat in June 2019 by his best friend and the property's owner

Colombian 'Devil's Breath' date rape drug

Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine or 'Devil's Breath', is made from Borrachero trees in Colombia, and used throughout the country to aid sexual predators and robbers.

The odourless powder is blown into people's faces, which once inhaled can cause victims to lose their memory, free will, and in high enough doses, can even kill. It has been described as 'the most dangerous drug in the world'. 

In the past two years cases have been reported in Spain, France and the US. But last month, UK actor Robert Lindsay told Met Police a young woman he knew was attacked with a substance bearing a chilling resemblance to 'Devil's Breath' outside a London night club. 

The drug, also referred to as Burundanga in its native Colombia, is almost impossible to detect, as it disappears from the blood stream in two to six hours and can only be found in urine samples within 12.

This makes it extremely difficult for victims to prove they have been given it – as they don't remember anything and it's untraceable in their system.

Care home staff told the officer Cristea had a new number which the officer tried.

She said: ‘I called Diana Cristea about an hour later, she said she hadn’t used the 2528 phone for a month.’

Cristea told the officer she had sold the phone in a market after the SIM card broke.

The officer said: ‘I asked her if she knew Adrian Murphy, she said she didn’t. I informed her that Mr Murphy had died.

‘Dianna Cristea let out a huge gasp and seemed shocked that Mr Murphy had died. But she maintained that she didn’t know Adian Murphy.’

Osei and Cristea allegedly stole a PlayStation, an iPhone, an Ipod, a laptop, three pairs of sunglasses, a school bag, and wallet from the man who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They also are said to have used the man’s Tesco credit card to purchase items at Aydin Food and Wine shop valued £7.43.

The pair allegedly booked a hotel on the same day through Booking.com for £180 and spent $2,995 on software from Chief Architects using Mr Murphy’s card.

They used Mr Murphy’s Lloyd’s bank card to buy £54.63 worth of food from Deliveroo and spent £9.99 on Gumtree, it was said.

Mr Murphy’s Barclays Delaware MasterCard was also used by the pair on 2 June 2019 where they attempted to spend $80,049 (£61,000) on stones from Padmavati Diamonds Company based in New York, it was said.

Osei, from Seven Sisters, denies murder, poisoning by administering a substance to endanger life, two counts of theft, and eight counts of fraud.

Cristea, from Tottenham Hale, denies denies murder, poisoning by administering a substance to endanger life, two counts of theft and seven counts of fraud.

Mr Murphy, a seven-time All-Ireland Irish dancing champion, produced and choreographed numerous Irish dance shows, including Feet of Fire, and FireDance The Show.

He was laid to rest in his native County Kilkenny besides his parents on July 17 last year.

The trial continues.