A homeless man accused of attempting to murder an 11-year-old Australian girl in Leicester Square by putting her in a chokehold and stabbing her eight times has appeared in court.
Romanian Ioan Pintaru, 32, is accused of stabbing a tourist who was in the UK on a dream trip with her mother to see Taylor Swift perform at Wembley.
He appeared at the Old Bailey court today charged with attempted murder and possession of a stabbing weapon in a public place.
Pintaru made no application, but Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, registrar of London, set a provisional trial date for May 6.
The homeless man is a Romanian citizen and has a four-year-old child living in Manchester.
32-year-old Romanian Ioan Pintaru (pictured) is accused of stabbing a tourist who was in the UK on a dream trip
A police officer stands at a cordoned off area following a double stabbing in Leicester Square on August 12, 2024
A court artist’s sketch of Ioan Pintaru appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 13
Police officers stand outside the cordoned off area in Leicester Square in London yesterday
No Romanian interpreter was booked for the hearing, but Pintaru was able to confirm his name and date of birth.
Pintaru will appear again on January 17 for a case management hearing.
On August 12 at 11:34 a.m., police were called to a report of an attack in which civilians attacked Pintaru.
Pintaru allegedly held the girl in a headlock while stabbing her in the face, shoulder and neck.
The girl suffered multiple stab wounds and was taken to hospital with “serious, but not life-threatening injuries.”
Initially it was feared that the girl’s mother had also been stabbed, but it later turned out that she had been covered in her daughter’s blood.
The girl and her mother were able to visit Taylor Swift after the attack before leaving the UK.