Two 'monstrous' burglars 'walked over' the dead body of a man, 56, to loot his home after he died of natural causes

By ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 15:27, 13 August 2026 | Updated: 15:27, 13 August 2026 'Monstrous' burglars who raided the home of a man while his dead body lay on the living room floor were jailed today for a total of five years. A court heard Jordan Sutherland, 29, climbed through a window of Paul Taylor's home before passing the rucksack containing his loot – including a jewellery box full of rings – to accomplice Cornelius Sleight, 31, who was waiting outside. A judge said the pair had effectively 'walked over his body' to 'enrich' themselves. Lincoln Crown Court heard both men were arrested at the scene in the city following the raid at 6.45pm on May 13. During his police interview Sutherland said he saw the deceased man through the window but could not raise the alarm because he did not have a mobile phone. It was later confirmed the 56-year-old victim had passed away from natural causes before the burglary. Sutherland, who had two previous convictions for burglary, was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of three years for his third offence, while Cornelius received a two-year jail term. Victim Impact Statements from members of 56-year-old Mr Taylor'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. Jordan Sutherland said he saw the deceased man through the window but did not have a mobile phone to raise the alarm Cornelius Sleight waited outside so Sutherland could pass him a rucksack cotaining the stolen items 'We were completely broken in public,' she explained. She added the family suffered an hour of insufferable wondering before discovering her brother had died from natural causes. 'They walked into a home, bypassed a deceased man and chose greed,' she added. Mr Taylor's daughter said that instead of treating her father with dignity and seeking help for him 'he was just left there on the floor'. She also described how the intruders broke an antique clock which her father had restored. Tom Heath, mitigating for Sutherland, admitted: 'To say the circumstances are distasteful is clearly an understatement. He knows the public will be shocked that something like this was going on.' Mr Heath argued it was opportunism rather than the targeting of a vulnerable victim. 'They were not the cause of his death,' Mr Heath added. Neil Sands, mitigating for Sleight, said the first thing he wanted to do was to apologise for the distress it had added to the death of the gentleman in this case. 'There is no argument this was a deeply upsetting and traumatic incident for the victim's family,' Mr Sands admitted. Mr Sands argued Sleight played a lesser role in the burglary and did not actively go inside. Passing sentence, Recorder Adrian Reynolds told both defendants that the burglary took place in broad daylight. Recorder Reynolds explained: 'What you discovered in the flat was a man who had passed away. 'What you should have done was contact the ambulance, hospital, police, whoever.' Recorder Reynolds told the pair at the very least they should have made an anonymous call or turned tail and run away. 'You did neither of those things,' Recorder Reynolds added. 'What you did in effect was to walk over his body and enrich yourselves.' Recorder Reynolds said Sutherland was the 'main player' in the offence. The two defendants, both of HMP Lincoln, each admitted two offences of burglary and failing to surrender to custody, having initially been bailed only to fail to attend court. Sleight also admitted ten shop thefts.