Burglar facing jail for killing retired businessman

 
Staff|Agency21 May 2013
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A burglar is facing a long prison sentence today after being convicted of killing a retired businessman.

Ted Syrad, 64, was beaten up by Gezim Delijah to reveal where the keys to his safe were kept.

After Delijah and his accomplice took the doors off the safe and escaped with money, Mr Syrad's wife Anne found him lying on the kitchen floor.

Delijah, 41, an Albanian national of Walthamstow, east London, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of manslaughter and robbery. He was remanded in custody to be sentenced today.

David Jeremy QC, prosecuting, said Mr Syrad suffered a heart attack as a result of the kicking and punching he received.

Mrs Syrad did not see what happened because she was tied up in the bedroom by the other burglar who had an Irish accent.

Delijah attacked Mr Syrad, who had a heart condition, and his fingerprint was found on tape used to bind Mrs Syrad at their bungalow in Edendale Road, Bexleyheath, south London, in January last year.

Mr Jeremy said the Syrads ran a property company and were well off.

They kept a safe in their garage and were security minded with lights and locks.

But while Mrs Syrad, who is also in her 60s, watched Celebrity Big Brother on television, Mr Syrad was downstairs with the back door open because he was smoking.

Mr Jeremy said two men wearing balaclavas broke in and tied the couple up. Mrs Syrad said she thought Delijah had a gun.

Mr Jeremy said: "In whispered tones he told her he would kill her if she did not tell him where the keys were."

The burglar with the Irish accent has not been caught.

After the verdict, Mrs Syrad said in a statement that her husband had been "a loving husband, father and grandfather".

She suffered flashbacks and had been forced to sell her home and possessions as she could not face going back there.

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