Men jailed after burglary of dead man's home

Two men who burgled the home of a dead man while his body was lying on the floor have been jailed for a total of five years.

Jordan Sutherland, 29, climbed into the property on Hemswell Avenue, Lincoln, through an open window while the body of the 56-year-old man was in the living room.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Sutherland collected a number of items into a rucksack, including a jewellery box full of rings, passing them back through the window to his accomplice, Cornelius Sleight, 31.

Recorder Adrian Reynolds jailed Sutherland for three years after describing him as the "main player" and sentenced Sleight to two years imprisonment.

Both men were arrested at the scene on 13 May, the court heard.

It was later confirmed the victim had died from natural causes before the burglary.

Impact statements from members of the deceased man's family were read out in court.

His sister described how the actions of the two defendants showed a "monstrous lack of common decency" which led to a social media circus.

"They walked into a home, bypassed a deceased man and chose greed," she added.

His daughter said: "Instead of being treated with dignity, he was just left there on the floor."

The two defendants, both of HMP Lincoln, each admitted two offences of burglary and failing to surrender to custody.

Sleight also admitted 10 shop thefts and the court heard Sutherland was a "third strike" burglar.

Tom Heath, mitigating for Sutherland, argued it was opportunism rather than the targeting of a vulnerable victim.

Neil Sands, mitigating for Sleight, argued he played a lesser role in the burglary and did not go inside the property.

Passing sentence, Reynolds told both defendants that, at the very least, they should have made an anonymous call or run away.

"You did neither of those things," he said.

"What you did, in effect, was to walk over his body and enrich yourselves."

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