Mihaela Valentina Runceanu (4 May 1955 – 1 November 1989) was a Romanian pop singer and vocal techniques teacher. She became a successful vocal singer, her voice being highly appreciated in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Many of her songs were hits, and she released two albums, ''Mihaela Runceanu'' (1987) and ''Pentru voi, muguri noi'' (1989), the latter only one day before she was murdered in her home in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Childhood and education

Mihaela Runceanu was born in Buzău, but, soon after, her parents moved to

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

, where she started school. After moving back to Buzău, Mihaela attended the ''Music and

Plastic Arts Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a ''plastic medium'', such as clay, wax, paint or even plastic in the modern sense of the word (a ductile polymer) to create works of art. The term is used more generally to ...

High School'' there. Upon finishing high school in 1974, she went to

to attend the ''Ciprian Porumbescu'' Music Conservatory, from which she graduated in 1978.

Career

She started singing in high-school, and her debut took place in 1976 with a song that was broadcast on the radio. In 1975 and 1976 she participated in several music competitions and festivals. One of her songs was recorded on a Romanian ''1976 hits'' LP. After graduation, she taught violin at the music school in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

and then moved back to

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

to teach violin at the Music and Plastic Arts High School, where she had been a student. In

, she sang in a band, together with Laurențiu Cazan and George Nicolescu, among others. In 1980, she took a position of vocal technique teacher at the Popular School of Arts in Bucharest, which she held until her death in 1989. During her time in Bucharest she launched several hits, including ''De-ar fi să vii'', ''Fericirea are chipul tău'' and ''Să fim copii''. In early December 1987, her first album, titled ''Mihaela Runceanu'' was released by

Electrecord Electrecord is a Romanian record label which was founded in 1932 being a major company in the field of music production in Romania, particularly popular for the large number of LPs released on the Romanian music market. Among the musicians who ...

. Her second album, ''Pentru voi, muguri noi'' was released 31 October 1989, one day before her death.

Death

on 1 November 1989, a personal friend of hers, Daniel Ștefănescu, visited her and insisted that they watch a videotape he had obtained (at the time, video material circulation was severely restricted by the

communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

). After Mihaela went to sleep, Ștefănescu entered her bedroom and strangled her with a phone cable. He then stole jewelry, electronics, and some other items that were difficult to obtain in Romania at the time, such as meat, imported cigarettes, and gasoline. He used some of the gasoline to set fire to the apartment. The murderer was discovered by the investigators the next day and subsequently put on trial. In 1991, he was sentenced to 21 years of imprisonment. In 2006 he was released for good behaviour. Mihaela Runceanu's tomb is located in the ''Dumbrava'' Cemetery in her home town,

Legacy

Her death did not receive a large media coverage due to communist censorship, therefore when she starred in the New Year's Eve Romanian National Television show, few Romanians were aware of her death two months before. Due to the restricted coverage of the murder in the communist media, many rumors emerged and circulated about the circumstances of her death, including one about the murderer being

Nicu Ceaușescu Nicu Ceaușescu (; 1 September 1951 – 26 September 1996) was a Romanian physicist and communist politician who was the youngest child of Romanian leaders Nicolae Ceaușescu, Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu. He was a close associate of his father' ...

or another member of the Ceaușescu family and another about a young man found drowned in a Bucharest lake with a note confessing Mihaela Runceanu's murder. After the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revoluti ...

, more information about the circumstances of her death was revealed, and details of the murderer's trial appeared in a local Buzău newspaper in 1990. Later, Nicolae Peneş wrote two books about Mihaela Runceanu, containing her biography as well as details of Ştefănescu's trial published in 1990. An annual pop music festival is held in

. It is named ''The Mihaela Runceanu music festival'' in honor of the late pop singer. In 2004,

released an 18-song compilation of Mihaela Runceanu hits.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Runceanu, Mihaela 1955 births 1989 deaths 1989 murders in Europe People murdered in 1989 20th-century Romanian women singers 20th-century Romanian singers Female murder victims People from Buzău Romanian murder victims Romanian women pop singers Violence against women in Romania Deaths by strangulation People murdered in Romania