A serial burglar who tied a pensioner to a chair with telephone wire and left him to die has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 33 years
Gatekeepers News reports that Adris Mohammed, 44, broke into the home of 78-year-old David Varlow in Halesowen, West Midlands, in the early hours of November 3 2021.
A court heard the thug tied Mr Varlow’s ankles and wrists to a chair with cable ties and a telephone cable before threatening him with a knife for his PIN number.
Mohammed then ransacked the house before stealing the OAP’s bank cards and going on a £550 spending spree.
He then returned to Mr Varlow’s home at around midnight on November 11 with a second man, O’Shea Swan. There, they would have seen Mr Varlow was dead and they untied him before stealing a second bank card.
A trawl of CCTV uncovered footage of Mohammed withdrawing cash minutes after the burglary which killed Mr Varlow. He was also captured on camera selling a gold bangle at Cash Convertors in Stafford. The bangle had been bought by a friend of Mohammed’s using Mr Varlow’s card, and Mohammed wanted to turn the purchase into cash by selling it.
Mr Varlow’s body was discovered by police on November 15 after neighbours raised concerns they had not seen him for some time.
It was later found the vulnerable pensioner, who lived alone, had died from a heart attack brought on by the stress of his ordeal.
Prosecutors said Mohammed knew Mr Varlow had died alone and had not been able to free himself because his stolen bank card had not been cancelled.
Post-mortem tests were unable to establish when Mr Varlow died, but he is thought to have suffered a stress-induced heart attack at his home.
Jailing Mohammed on Thursday at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Melbourne Inman QC said the murder in November last year could ‘only properly be described as an horrific case’.
Mohammed has now been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 33 years for the murder.
The judge ruled that Mohammed had intended to kill, telling the drug user: ‘What neither the pathology nor any other evidence can show is when Mr Varlow died between the 3rd of November and the 11th of November.
“The harsh reality is that it is not known whether he survived for hours or days. The major aggravating factor is the terrible nature of this killing and the suffering of Mr Varlow, left as he was.
“Having seen you give evidence it’s clear you have not a shred of remorse. You knew Mr Varlow would be at home and when you confronted him you set about a deliberate and calculated course of action in tying him in the way you did.
“You intended to kill him by leaving him immobile without food or water. It is to be hoped Mr Varlow did suffer his heart attack quickly, but the seriousness of the offence is increased by the suffering that you intended.”
