Legal history as jewel thief convicted of OAP murders

A JEWEL thief has been brought to justice more than 20 years after he murdered two pensioners.

Michael Weir (52) beat up war veteran Leonard Harris (78) and mother-of-three Rose Seferian (83) during burglaries in 1998, the Old Bailey was told.

Retired cabbie Mr Harris’s widow Gertrude, who also suffered head injuries, died a few years later in a care home.

During the attacks, Weir stole a signet ring and gold watch from Mr Harris and ripped diamond rings from Ms Seferian’s fingers, jurors heard.

Connections between the two deaths were not made at the time after police failed to match Weir’s palm print to one found at the Harris home in 1998.

Weir was convicted of Mr Harris’s murder in 1999 but acquitted after appeal on a technicality, only to face trial again under double jeopardy rules in light of new forensic evidence.

Yesterday, a jury at the Old Bailey found Weir, of Hackney, north-east London, guilty of both murders.

On January 28, 1998, Weir broke into Mr Harris’s flat in East Finchley, north London, leaving him with serious head injuries and his wife badly hurt. A watch and ring were missing.

Police found a palm print but missed the match to the defendant at the time as a comparative print was not the best quality, the court heard. DNA testing not available in 1998 later also linked Weir to the crime scene.

Weeks later, on March 5, Ms Seferian was set upon in her flat

Victim Leonard Harris with wife Gertrude and (right) Rose Seferian

in Kensington, west London, and Weir stole rings and cash. Her son found her covered in blood and “almost unrecognisable” from her injuries.

A palm print was recovered but was not matched to the defendant until 2017.

Giving evidence, labourer Weir admitted he had a long history of stealing to get money for drugs, but he denied ever being at the homes of either victim.

Adjourning for sentence, Mrs Justice McGowan told jurors they had “made legal history”.

Following the guilty verdicts, Tom Little QC explained to the jury the history of the double jeopardy case. He said Weir had been convicted of the murder of Mr Harris as well as burglary and attacking Mrs Harris on the basis of DNA erroneously kept on the police database.

The original trial judge had ruled it was admissible, but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2000 and Weir’s conviction was quashed.

The Crown Prosecution Service missed a deadline to appeal to the House of Lords by a day, but the Lords later found that, in a similar case as well as Weir’s, the original decision to admit the DNA was correct. Weir was charged again over Mr Harris’s death due to a change in the double jeopardy law in 2005.

The Weir case is believed to be a legal first of a defendant convicted twice for the same offence following an acquittal in the Court of Appeal.

It is also unique because he faced a second murder charge in addition to the original murder.