A man who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death with a pair of scissors then went to “visit the Queen” has been jailed for life

Ioan Campeanu, 44, plunged the blade into 28-year-old Andra Hilitanu’s neck and waited two hours to raise the alarm on 1 June last year.

He drove around central London past Buckingham Palace before returning to his flat in north west London and calling 999, the Old Bailey heard.

The court was told Hilitanu’s 40 stab injuries were all “survivable” and it was possible it could have taken more than 20 minutes for her to die alone.

Campeanu was found guilty of murdering his seven-month pregnant girlfriend and the destruction of their unborn daughter.

He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 26 years.

The court was told Hilitanu’s cousin had previously seen Campeanu kick his partner in the groin, saying: “I’ll kill you Andra, I’ll eat your flesh.”

Detective Inspector Jamie Stevenson, of Scotland Yard, said: “This was Campeanu’s final act of brutality against Andra after months and years of domestic violence.

“He attacked a defenceless Andra and their unborn child and plunged a pair of scissors into her neck.

“He then left them both to die as he went for a drive, deliberately not summoning help for more than two hours, cruelly ensuring that both Andra and the child she was carrying were dead.”