DNA samples help catch burglar who ransacked city schools

The national DNA Database System, which was introduced this time last year to target serial offenders, linked one such “career criminal” to burglaries which occurred on the same night at two Galway city schools earlier this year.

Dr Sylvia Waldron from the Forensic Science Laboratory told a hearing at Galway District Court that a DNA sample taken from blood found at the scene of one of the burglaries matched a DNA profile stored on the database which belonged to Dominick Starczewski (27), of no fixed abode and Firhouse, Dublin 24.

“There’s less than one in a thousandth millionth chance of finding a similar DNA profile from another person – and even that is quite a conservative figure.

And it’s one in five to six million chances that the DNA could come from a sibling,” Dr Waldron added.

Starczewski, an only child, denied he was involved in burglaries at St. Patrick’s National School, Lombard Street, and at the former Adult Education Centre at Merchant’s Road, in the early hours of Saturday morning, January 22 last.

Caretakers from both schools gave evidence they had locked and secured their respective premises on the Friday evening.

However, it was discovered both premises had been burgled over that weekend.

While an estimated €200 was taken from the petty cash box at the Adult Education Centre, two laptops which contained vital educational data along with one teacher’s research notes for her Masters, were stolen from two classrooms at St. Patrick’s.

Garda Denis Sweeney, from the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, told the hearing he found blood on shards of glass where the burglar had gained entry through a glass fanlight over the door leading to one of the classrooms in St. Patrick’s.

He took a swab of blood and sent it off to the Forensic Science Laboratory.

Garda Pat Fahy, who had investigated both break-ins, gave evidence that Starczewski did not become a suspect until Dr Waldron confirmed that the DNA profile taken from the swab that Garda Sweeney had sent to the laboratory, matched that of the accused, whose DNA profile was already stored on the database as he was a repeat offender.

He said the accused was already serving a ten-month sentence at the Midlands Prison for other burglaries when he took a saliva swab from his mouth last August.

Gardaí obtained a court order, permitting him to take the swab from the suspect.

That swab was also sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory and it matched the DNA found on the swab sent initially by Garda Sweeney.

Garda Fahy said the accused refused to answer any questions in relation to both burglaries and he refused to sign a document which confirmed a DNA sample had been taken from him.

Judge Fahy was shown CCTV footage from the former Adult Education Centre at Merchant’s Road, which clearly showed the accused putting on two pairs of gloves before he smashed through the door to gain entry to the premises.

Starczewski declined to give evidence in his defence.

Convicting the accused of both offences, Judge Fahy said she could see him quite plainly on the CCTV while the DNA sample clearly placed him at the scene of the crime at St. Patrick’s.

Garda Fahy said the accused had 30 previous convictions, six of which were for burglaries and seven more for thefts.  He had two more for trespassing and another for assault.

The accused, he said, had finished his sentence in September and he had been held on remand for these charges since.

Judge Fahy noted the loss of the data stored on both computers at St. Patrick’s was “tremendous”, particularly for the teacher whose research notes for her Masters were lost.

She said it was worse when you could see this was done by a career criminal who had spent most of his time in this country in prison for other burglaries and for trespassing.

She said the weight of evidence against him was huge and she imposed the maximum sentence of twelve months in prison on him for the burglary charge in relation to the break-in at St. Patrick’s School.

“He is a recidivist.  He has shown no remorse and so I’m imposing the maximum sentence for that,” Judge Fahy explained.

She then imposed a consecutive, five-month sentence on the accused for the second break-in which she backdated to October 19 last.

Leave to appeal the sentences was granted.