A bad father was branded one of the 'worst' killers a detective had ever encountered after killing his own three-week-old baby.
Denis Beytula was so jealous of the attention his son Andrei received from his mother that he brutally stabbed him while he was in his own bed. He also attacked his partner and the baby's mother, Andreea Stefan, during the horrific rampage.
Five years after the gruesome murder, our Chronicle Live colleagues have looked back at the case. You can read Sophie Doughty's report below.
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He should have loved and protected him above all others. But the evil Denis Beytula murdered his own son because he was jealous of the attention the newborn received from his mother.
In a crime that sent shockwaves of horror through Tyneside, controlling Beytula fatally stabbed his three-week-old son, Andrei, as he lay in his cot five years ago today. The then 27-year-old also stabbed his partner and the baby's mother, Andreea Stefan, during his terrifying rampage at the home they all shared in Howdon, Wallsend.
Andreea survived, but baby Andrei died in hospital four days later. Beytula was given a life sentence after pleading guilty to murder and attempted murder. And today, on the fifth anniversary of the most heinous crimes, we look back at the murder and the almost unimaginable motive behind it.
To the outside world, Beytula may have seemed like a loving partner to his pregnant girlfriend and an excited expectant father. But behind the closed doors of their Wallsend home he was a jealous, controlling and manipulative brute.
After Andreea gave birth to the couple's first son, Beytula, instead of doting on the helpless newborn, became jealous of the attention the little boy received from his mother. And his malicious jealousy exploded one afternoon in October 2019 with fatal consequences.
After an argument over where Andreea would get her hair done, the twisted new dad grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed their son Andrei as he slept in his Moses basket and stabbed his partner repeatedly. Newcastle Crown Court heard how Beytula's resentment for his baby became apparent shortly after Andrei's birth.
Prosecutor Nick Dry explained how Beytula "showed a lack of interest and even detachment towards his son", and "that lack of fatherly love and affection set the tone for his son's short life". When the new family returned home from the hospital, Beytula was angry with the baby and his partner, once strangling her and becoming convinced that she was planning to leave him for another man.
Chillingly, he threatened that he would kill them both before this happened. On the night before the murder, Beytula threatened Andreea with a knife after he had sexual contact with her, but she went to care for baby Andrei after he started crying, the court was told.
The next day he went out and then returned home in great anger. After threatening to commit suicide, Beytula stood over Andrei's Moses basket and stabbed him in front of Andreea. He then turned the knife on his partner and stabbed her repeatedly.
Takeaway worker Beytula then left the couple's flat and dialed 999. The audio of the chilling call was released after the killer was convicted. And Beytula's lack of remorse or regret was clearly audible in his voice as he said, "I just killed my baby and my wife."
Beytula's arrest was captured on police officers' body-worn cameras. As the police arrive on the scene, Beytula, with blood on his hands, calmly sends officers to the apartment. And when asked if his partner is still alive, he takes a dismissive tone and says, "I don't know."
After the brute had been locked up for a minimum of 23 years, the detective who brought him to justice explained why he believed he was the most evil killer he had encountered in his police career. Then Detective Inspector Graeme Dodds, of Northumbria Police, told the Chronicle: 'He was jealous of his own son.
"He killed his own son and tried to take the life of his partner, the mother of his child, all because he was jealous. He was jealous of his son because Andreea loved him and he was jealous that she loved someone more than him.
"I've been a police officer for 20 years, and not only is this the worst case I've had to investigate, but I'd say he's the worst perpetrator I've encountered. Taking the life of a three-week-old baby, in his own bed in his own home, where he should have been safe, makes him the worst person I have had to investigate."
Andreea, a manager at Dominos Pizza, met Beytula through acquaintances and their relationship began in August 2018. The court was told how Beytula became obsessed with his partner and was jealous and insecure throughout the relationship.
He insisted on having access to her phone and criticized her for having male Facebook friends. And when Andreea was invited to attend a work awards ceremony in London, Beytula stopped her from going.
When Andreea became pregnant, Beytula showed no understanding for her diminished interest in sex and instead became increasingly insecure and angry, taking away gifts he had given her, the court heard. But Beytula was so manipulative that no one could see how dangerous he really was until it was too late.
As the couple looked forward to the arrival of their first child, Beytula presented an image of a loving expectant father to the outside world, meaning no one could see the cruel control he exerted over Andreea behind closed doors. And after seeing her son's killer in prison, Andreea made a defiant statement explaining how Beytula controlled her mind.
She said: "I have spent every second of my life since that day looking for reasons that could have changed the outcome. I blamed myself for not breaking up with Denis sooner, but only those who have been in a controlling relationship will understand why I stayed.
"He made me feel like I couldn't find anyone better and that no one else could be a father to our son. He manipulated me and said everything he did was out of love. But now I know that what he had for me wasn't love. Love doesn't try to control you, love doesn't threaten you, and love doesn't kill babies."
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