Why the hell was he here?

3:43pm Wednesday 19th March 2008

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KNIFE maniac Joao De Oliveira was today starting a life sentence for the horrific murder of a Worcester painter and decorator.

As broken on this site yesterday, the double killer - who also strangled a woman eight years ago in Germany, was told by Judge Alistair McCreath that he must serve at least 25 years in jail before being considered for release.

There's something not quite right in the idea of stopping people moving here, as vile as those crimes are.

Mike Foster MP

Today we can reveal how De Oliveira was allowed to flee to this country undetected because of EU rules - and effectively free to kill again.

De Oliveira stabbed 56-year-old John Lloyd 68 times inside his flat in Windermere Drive, Warndon, in a fit of jealousy.

The frail victim was suffering from asthma and diabetes and had an alarm fitted to call for help if he became ill.

The frenzied attack on January 13 last year included knife wounds through the victim's skull by the weight-lifting German national.

A jury of eight men and four women convicted factory hand De Oliveira of murder after deliberating for only 90 minutes.

His 33-year-old co-defendant Marco Da Rocha, a Brazilian-born former chef, of Broad Street, Worcester, wailed uncontrollably in the dock as he was cleared of murder.

The judge told De Oliveira: "You mounted a ferocious attack on a vulnerable, disabled man in his own home.

"You took a knife in anger borne out of jealousy. It was an act of butchery. This was murder, pure and simple."

De Oliveira, aged 34, of Northfield Street, Worcester, showed no emotion as he was led to cells below Worcester Crown Court.

After the verdict the victim's younger brother Kevin, said: "Justice has been done and now John can rest in peace. It is justice for us all."

And Detective Inspector Jonathon Wallis, of West Mercia Constabulary, said: "I hope the conviction today reassures the community that offenders responsible for such serious crimes are arrested and dealt with quickly."

During a 10-day trial, the jury heard both defendants went to Mr Lloyd's flat for a drinking session - but midway through the evening De Oliveira ordered Mr Da Rocha to wait on the balcony while he grabbed a knife from the kitchen and attacked Mr Lloyd.

As the victim called out that he was dying, De Oliveira responded by saying: "I don't care."

In court both men blamed each other for the killing.

De Oliveira's barrister, Rex Tedd QC, alleged he acted in self defence or under provocation. But the jury rejected both arguments.

The jury heard De Oliveira hated Mr Lloyd because he suspected his pregnant girlfriend Angela Maggs, of Cranham Drive, Worcester, was having a fling with him.

De Oliveira served four years for the death of a woman in Germany, after which he was banned from returning to the country for 10 years and so came to England.

Worcester's MP Mike Foster has defended peoples' right to move to the UK, even if they have committed "horrific" crimes.

The Labour whip said people from EU member states could only be stopped from entering the UK if they posed a threat to national security.

Mr Foster said the issue was not about freedom of movement but failure of the German system to rehabilitate De Oliveira.

"Do you stop someone committing murder in say Liverpool coming to Worcester?" he said. "Why not, it's the same argument. We have free movement of labour in the UK and there's something not quite right in the idea of stopping people moving here, as vile as those crimes are," he said.

• Killer's past revealed
  
• Co-accused was taken advantage of
  
• Victim loved his books
  
• Portugese community was vital to investigation
  
• COMMENT: So why was murderer here in our city?

• Should foreign killers be allowed to enter the UK? Discuss this in depth in our Your Say section here.