Police catch serial burglar - by his earprints
A suspected German serial burglar has been betrayed by his ears, after he left prints of his aural cavities on the doors of dozens of houses and flats.
The 33-year-old man has been in custody since being arrested after a December 2011 break-in. Police in the port city of Hamburg said on Sunday they had evidence to tie him to 96 break-ins and break-in attempts between July 2009 and July 2011.
The man stole jewellery, cash and electronic appliances, and is said to have caused a total of €500,000 in damages, but he made one fatal error: he reportedly left ear-prints on the doors while listening to see whether anyone was in.
The police said ear-prints are almost as unique as fingerprints, and so are almost as important as evidence, but they have the advantage of being rarer. Most crime-scenes are covered with fingerprints of innocents people.
Police added that they also have fingerprints and DNA evidence from various burglary scenes linking them to the man.
DAPD/bk
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The 33-year-old man has been in custody since being arrested after a December 2011 break-in. Police in the port city of Hamburg said on Sunday they had evidence to tie him to 96 break-ins and break-in attempts between July 2009 and July 2011.
The man stole jewellery, cash and electronic appliances, and is said to have caused a total of €500,000 in damages, but he made one fatal error: he reportedly left ear-prints on the doors while listening to see whether anyone was in.
The police said ear-prints are almost as unique as fingerprints, and so are almost as important as evidence, but they have the advantage of being rarer. Most crime-scenes are covered with fingerprints of innocents people.
Police added that they also have fingerprints and DNA evidence from various burglary scenes linking them to the man.
DAPD/bk
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