‘I killed them’: Police release video of man moments after he stabbed three-week-old son to death and left mother for dead
Denis Beytula attacked his own newborn because he was jealous of attention his fiancee was giving him, officers say
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Police have released footage of the arrest of a controlling and abusive father moments after he had stabbed his three-week-old son to death and left his partner for dead.
Denis Beytula, 27, stabbed Andrei Steffan two times in the torso before turning the knife on his fiancée Andreea Steffan and stabbing her six times.
He then calmly dialled 999 and told the call handler: “I have just killed my wife and baby.”
The new father was jailed for life on Thursday and will serve a minimum of 23 years behind bars for the attack on his family in October.
Body-worn camera footage released by Northumbria Police shows the moment officers arrived at the scene in Wallsend, north Tyneside, and arrested Beytula outside the family home.
A female officer can be heard asking, “Who’s in there?” as she rushes towards a block of flats in Portland Close, to which the father calmly replies: “She is with her kid.”
When asked why he has blood on his hands and forearms, he simply says: “I killed them.”
Two officers can be seen struggling to get into a property as Beytula patiently holds his hands up to be handcuffed and he tells them: “That one, that one” while pointing to another door.
He is asked if he has anything sharp on him that he should not have but replies: “No, there is only knife in there.”
Ms Steffan was badly injured but managed to call emergency services to ask for help seconds before Beytula did.
Andrei was given CPR by the first officers to arrive until both victims were rushed to hospital, but despite the best efforts of medical staff the infant died four days later.
Doctors were able to save Ms Steffan’s life and she was given the chance to hold her son in her arms one last time before he took his final breath.
Ms Steffan watched from the public gallery on Thursday as Beytula, who pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, was jailed for life.
The trial heard how the violent killer had emotionally and physically abused Ms Steffan throughout a coercive 11-month relationship.
Beytula stopped her from socialising, forced her to delete her social media accounts and threatened to kill himself if she left him.
Ms Steffan fell pregnant in early 2019 but her partner’s coercive behaviour continued throughout the pregnancy and worsened when he had been drinking.
Andrei was born on 11 September and in the days after the birth Beytula even made comments that he would kill his baby if he “could not be a good father”.
The court was told how he became consumed by the idea that Ms Steffan wanted to leave him and would take the baby back to their native Romania.
He became jealous of the attention Ms Steffan was giving their child and it was this growing anger that led to the violent attack in October.
Detective Inspector Graeme Dodds, of Northumbria Police’s homicide and major investigation team, praised the bravery shown by Ms Steffan and her family.
He said: “I have no hesitation when I say that Denis Beytula is an evil man who has no respect for the two people he was supposed to love and care for.
“His actions were motivated by jealousy of his own three-week-old son, who he saw as a rival for the affections of his partner.
“I cannot comprehend how a person can take the life of a newborn baby and that makes him the most dangerous offender I have ever had to deal with.
“What makes it even more monstrous is that he has continued to show no remorse for what he has done.”
He added: “I want to take this opportunity to reach out to any other person who may be in the same situation as Andreea.
“If you are suffering in silence then please speak to someone you trust or to the police.”