03.09.2012

PRESS RELEASE

The Public Information and Press Relations Bureau within the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice is authorized to bring to public knowledge the following:

Following the investigations in the cause known by the media as “the killed Japanese student“, in which investigations are carried out against VLAD NICOLAE for the perpetration of several offences: first degree murder and very serious murder, rape, break-in, robbery,

Based on the evidence brought into the cause up to the present, on the 03.09.2012, the prosecutors from the Section of criminal prosecution and criminalistics within the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice have ordered the extension of the investigations and the initiation of the criminal investigation against the defendant COVALI RĂZVAN-VIOREL, as provided by articles 238 and 228 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code, for perpetrating the offence of driving on public roads with an annulled driving license, in the continuous form, as stipulated in article 86 paragraph 2 of the Emergency Ordinance No. 195/2002 regulating the driving on public roads with the application of article 41 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code.

According to the evidence brought in the cause up to this stage of the criminal investigation resulted that, repeatedly, in the period of July-August 2012, the defendant COVALI RĂZVAN-VIOREL drove his car on public roads in spite of the fact that his driving license was annulled.

We are also mentioning that according to the evidence administered in the evening of 15.08.2012, around 20:30 o’clock, VLAD NICOLAE has approached the victim (Japanese citizen) within the Henri Coandă Airport, offering to help her in finding a taxicab. In this context, the defendant together with the victim entered the taxicab, driven by COVALI RĂZVAN-VIOREL, but got down after roaming a short distance, in an area where the both sides of the road were surrounded by forest. They were spotted in that place by the driver of the taxicab, the defendant COVALI RĂZVAN-VIOREL after 2 minutes on the side of the road, but in the opposite direction, and two days later, in the same place the body of the victim was discovered.

The investigations are on going and we will keep the public informed with their progress.