A heartless burglar broke into his ex’s home 24 hours after dumping her by text.
Seamus Burke used the front door key he’d been given by his girlfriend of three months to sneak into her home and steal her son’s Xbox, £400 cash and expensive AirPods headphones.
Oxford Crown Court heard 46-year-old Burke had sent the woman a text the day before, on March 2, saying he wanted to end the relationship.
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The burglary at the woman’s home in Moseley Beck Avenue, Leeds, was discovered the next day when the clinical support worker received a call from her son saying his Xbox games console was missing. There was no obvious sign of a break-in and suspicion quickly fell on Burke.
The victim said in a statement read by prosecutor Cathy Olliver: “I am extremely upset that someone I have cared for and allowed into my home could have done this to me and my children.”
Burke fled south and was discovered in Kidlington a week later, in the early hours of March 11 after a spate of attempted burglaries.
Ms Olliver said that one victim was asleep at her home in Livingstone Close when she heard the door handle rattle. When she looked out the window she saw a man emerge from a bush by her front door and scuttle away.
The police caught up with the defendant near the canal. At his feet were a hoard of stolen items, including a driving licence.
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When they checked the address linked to it – at 1.30am – officers found a young woman outside trying to piece together why the door to her home was now open. The woman's parents were asleep inside.
Checks of CCTV footage showed Burke trying the handles of two other properties in Kidlington on the same night.
Burke, of no fixed address, had 10 previous convictions for house burglary. He pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to two burglaries, two attempted burglaries and asked for two other attempted break-ins to be taken into consideration.
Jailing him for three years and eight months on Monday, Judge Ian Pringle QC described the Leeds burglary as ‘awful’ and ‘shocking’.
He added: “You are rightly ashamed of what you did. It was a particularly unpleasant offence.”
Mitigating, Dana Bilan said her client had managed to address a long-standing issue with drugs and stay out of trouble for two years. He relapsed after struggling to see his children. The defendant was said to be remorseful.
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