Manuel Filipache had committed eight previous robberies, carrying out the first when he was aged just 11
Manuel Filipache
The ‘ringleader’ of a group who violently robbed and murdered a dad in a Birmingham park entered the UK illegally two months earlier having been deported.
Romanian national Manuel Filipache, aged 22, had previously committed eight robberies, including carrying out the first when he was aged just 11-years-old, Birmingham Crown Court.
He was issued with a deportation notice by the Home Office in 2023 following an 11-year extended sentence.
READ MORE: Gang jailed for nearly 120 years for murdering dad in Birmingham park for less than £500
But on January 1 last year he breached that by re-entering the UK using false documents.
Two weeks later he was part of a group who viciously attacked a man at Walsall Train Station in a failed bid to grab his wallet.
Then, two months on at Perry Hall Park on March 14, he was front and centre of a similar group who robbed and killed 38-year-old dad Michael Obasi.
Michael Obasi was attacked, robbed and murdered in Perry Hall Park in Perry Barr, Birmingham, with six convicted of the killing
Filipache, said to be from Aston, was found guilty of murder, robbery and attempted robbery while he had admitted entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.
Sentencing him to life with a minimum term of 29 years at Birmingham Crown Court today, Justice Mark Wall said: “You have eight previous robbery convictions and two convictions for offences involving serious violence, committing them when you were between the ages of 11 and 15.
“You are now 22. The recent gap in your offending is down almost entirely down to the fact you were given a lengthy sentence in 2019, then sent back to your native Romania.
“Of your previous robbery offences six were committed against a lone male and on at least six occasions you were part of a group of two or more.”
He concluded: “I am sure you are the ringleader of your group (Who murdered Mr Obasi and tried to rob the man in Walsall).
“You are the oldest of those involved and on your own admission were the first to engage in violence in each incident and you are the only defendant with previous convictions.
“Convictions which undoubtedly establish in you a propensity to commit robbery.”
Justice Wall further went on: “I watched your behaviour and conduct over the course of the six-week trial.
“I don’t add to your sentence because your behaviour in court at times was so rude, disruptive and disrespectful of the deceased I had to speak to you about it.
“What I saw was you misbehaving to show off for the benefit of your fellow defendants and at times make efforts to persuade them to join in.”
Ion Morar, 21, and Ion Calin, 20, also from Romania, were similarly convicted of murder, robbery and attempted robbery.
They were both sentenced to life with minimum terms of 25 years and 24 years respectively.
Three youths who cannot be named due to being aged 15, 16 and 17, were solely found guilty of the robbery and murder of Mr Obasi.
They were also sentenced to life with minimum terms of nine years, 14 years and 15 years respectively.