Blood trail leads to 62-year-old ex-convict

A 62-year-old man who allegedly suffered injuries while burglarising a couple’s home in December last year was denied bail in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, March 7.

Sydney Varlack Malone was nabbed by police because of DNA evidence reportedly left at the scene of the burglary.

Allegations are that, about 3am on December 15 last year, the complainant was lying awake in bed at Manatee Point when he realised that his bedroom door was slowly swinging open.

He got up and opened the room door fully, and was surprised by an intruder whose face was covered with a black shirt.

The complainant reportedly kicked the intruder, causing him to fall and injure himself.

The intruder threw items from inside the house at the complainant.

A brief altercation ensued before the intruder escaped. However, he allegedly left spots of blood at the scene.

The complainant called the police who subsequently retrieved the blood as forensic evidence.

Malone was taken into custody and questioned the following day.

He reportedly denied the allegations and willingly provided a sample of his DNA to law enforcement officers before he was released from custody.

The court was told that the DNA provided matched the one found at the scene of the crime.

When police met Malone and cautioned him a second time, the accused reportedly said: “Once a man give police his DNA, he f**$%%d.”

In court, the prosecution objected to bail, while noting that the accused has a ‘bad track record’ for burglary-related offences.

The court was told that he was previously convicted and jailed for burglary and criminal trespass respectively in the years 2011 and 2015.

The ex-con is scheduled to return to court on April 7.