Convicted killer guilty of murdering cellmate

VICTIM STRANGED IN ROW OVER CIGARETTE AFTER ONE NIGHT TOGETHER

- CARL JACKSON Court Reporter

A CONVICTED killer has been found guilty of murdering his cellmate at HMP Birmingham.

Vitalie Tanga strangled Tajinder Kular on the morning of September 30, 2022.

He claimed he attacked the 41-year-old in self-defence over a row about a cigarette but, following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, a jury found him guilty of murder.

He was due to be sentenced today.

Moldovan national Tanga, 43, is already serving a life sentence for the murder of Alfred Mattox in 2021.

The jury in his latest case was not told the details of that offence during the latest proceedings, only that he had previous convictions for assaults.

Tanga had been drinking vodka with Mr Mattox and his friends at the victim’s flat in Merridale, Wolverhampton, on May 10, 2021, as they belatedly celebrated VE Day.