A plumber has been arrested in front of his son after his former partner's decomposing body was found hidden under her bed. Daniel Trandafir, 45, was taken into custody in Turin, Italy, following the discovery of Daniela Florea's body.
Florea, 36, had not been heard from for around 10 days, prompting a friend to obtain keys to her flat and check on her. Upon entering, the friend was struck by a strong smell and called police on July 20. Her body was found inside a storage compartment beneath her double bed, wrapped in a white bedsheet and in an advanced state of decomposition.
Arrest and Charges
Trandafir was located with the couple's six-year-old son and the family dog at his home in Turin shortly after the discovery. The boy has since been placed in the care of a community facility.
Trandafir denied any involvement in Florea's death but, according to investigators, repeatedly contradicted himself when recounting the last time he saw her. He has been arrested on suspicion of femicide, concealing a corpse, and aggravated domestic abuse.
Post-Mortem Findings
The post-mortem examination revealed that Florea suffered severe head injuries and violent compression of the mouth and neck, consistent with death by mechanical asphyxiation. The medical examiner concluded that she died around 10 days before her body was discovered.
Investigators believe Trandafir was the last person to see her alive at her flat and allegedly killed her during the night of 9–10 July before hiding her body beneath the bed. Police believe the motive was his refusal to accept the end of the relationship.
Background
Florea, who was Romanian, had moved into the flat with her son just a few months earlier after ending her relationship with Trandafir, who is also Romanian. Detectives allege that Trandafir never accepted her decision to leave him and continued to try to exert control over her after the separation. Investigators also found that he still had a set of keys to her flat, which gave him access to the building, and this has been included in the case against him.
The investigation is ongoing.
