Mihai-Catalin Gulie

The offence

What the court heard

He was found guilty of murder in Widnes, Merseyside, on 18 February 2021. Sentencing Remarks of Mrs Justice Yip DBE 1. Mihai Catalin Gulie, you are 28 years old and are to be sentenced for the murder of your baby son, Robert. Gabriela Ion, you are 35 years old, you were Robert's mother and, as the jury found, you should have protected him from Mr Gulie. You are to be sentenced for allowing Robert's death at the hands of his father, having been convicted of the offence under section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. 2. Robert was only 6 months old when he died in February this year. He had Down's syndrome and some associated medical problems. He spent the first months of his life in hospital. He was di scharged home just before Christmas and came to live with you two, his parents, and his older sister, your daughter. You, Gabriela Ion, had a close and loving family. They adored Robert, as the moving statements I have read and which have been summarised today make clear. He is described as a smiley and good baby. He had his life ahead of him and no doubt would have continued to bring joy to those around him. 3. Robert's special needs brought challenges beyond those of caring for any young baby. He had trouble feeding and required regular feeds day and night. You were encouraged to attempt to give him a bottle but he also had to be fed through his PEG tube. Your health visitor had not noticed anything to cause concern. Robert appeared to be well cared for. He was bright and alert and appeared to interact well with both of you. Mr Gulie, I accept you worked hard, doing two jobs to provide financially for the family. You also did most of Robert's night feeds because Miss Ion could not manage to set up the feeding machine. This undoubtedly led to tiredness and frustration but that cannot, of course, excuse what you did. 4. You, Mr Gulie, plainly had a quick temper. You have previous convictions in the Czech Republic for offences involving domestic violence towards a former partner. I know that you continue to deny that you were guilty of these offences. You were convicted in your absence and these matters were not explored at trial. Although I have no reason to doubt the convictions, I will avoiding treating them as an aggravating factor when sentencing you. You admitted to pushing Miss Ion violently because she had not cooked when you returned from work. You appeared to regard that as a reasonable response. You also admitted to an…

Aggravating and mitigating factors

Lack of premeditation / Not Planned or Premeditated; Vulnerable victim; Breach of trust; Intention to cause serious bodily harm / No intention to kill

Around this case

• Liverpool Crown Court
• Prosecuted by CPS Mersey-Cheshire
• Investigated by Cheshire Constabulary