A prolific burglar who targeted 31 homes across London, Kent and Essex has today been sentenced to eight years in jail after leaving DNA at every single scene.
Unemployed Romanian national Constantin-Tiberiu Gheorge of no fixed address was arrested in Barking town centre on Tuesday, April 15.
Across the entire catalogue of crimes a single DNA profile appeared at the scenes, usually in the form of blood, but sometimes fingerprints, and on Tuesday Gheorge pleaded guilty to 31 residential burgulary offences at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
Despite having the suspect’s DNA profile and fingerprints, officers could not identify him as he did not appear on the police database.
Det Serg Brett Hagen, from the North East Detections Team, said: “Gheorge has to be one of the most prolific and yet one of the most careless burglars I have encountered.
“He has committed numerous offences across London, Kent and Essex with a blatant disregard for the victims and police alike.
“It is worth considering that for every one of these offences there was at least one victim who had to deal with the effects of becoming a victim of crime and where burglary is concerned the lasting effects run far deeper than a loss of property.”
The linked series was given to the North East Detection Team where specialist officers completed a thorough review of the cases and a complex analysis of all of the information available. The result of this review was that Gheorge was identified as a suspect.
Following Gheorge’s arrest, his profile was found to be a match for the DNA left at many more burglary scenes across the south East - his fingerprints alone linking him to an additional 10 crimes.
Det Ch Insp Phil Langworthy added: “These charges are the result of excellent work by the North East Detections Team officers and forensic manager Charlotte Roper who coordinated the gathering and presentation of the forensic evidence across the whole of the Met and two constabulary forces.
“This case highlights the benefits of this team’s approach to dealing with linked series of unidentified offences.”
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