A burglar has been jailed after his attempt to cover his traces with washing up liquid failed to wipe away his DNA from a crime scene.
Michael Brown was caught red-handed inside a student house in Exeter when one of the residents came home to find him in the kitchen.
He claimed to be a new tenant in the shared house but the student realised he was an intruder and fled in terror when Brown moved towards him.
Forensic experts traced him from blood at the scene despite Brown using Fairy Liquid to try and wash away the evidence, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Brown, aged 48, refused to attend his sentencing hearing and stayed in the cell at Exeter Prison where he had been held since he was arrested for jumping bail.
He was held after returning to Britain from Jamaica where he had gone on honeymoon with his new wife after getting married shortly before Christmas.
Brown, of King Arthurs Road, Exeter, is a serial offender with more than 100 previous convictions including burglaries at homes and businesses.
He was jailed for 16 months by Recorder Mr Rufus Taylor, who said:"This defendant has chosen not to leave his cell in a fit of pique. I see no reason why the sentence should be delayed.
"This was a burglary in which the occupier returned while he was present and the only sentencing option is custody."
Miss Eleanor Purkis, prosecuting, said Exeter University student Matteo Fedeli returned from a Saturday afternoon shopping trip to find Brown in the communal kitchen of lodgings in Old Tiverton Road, Exeter.
She said:"He was shocked to see the defendant, who told him he had just moved in. Mr Fedeli knew this was not true and began to get scared. It dawned on him this was an intruder and he started to back away.
"He says Brown went towards him and he became really frightened and dropped his shopping bags and went out of the front door and down the path.
"Brown left by the back door and when police were called officers noticed a smashed pane of glass in the kitchen, a rock on the ground and specks of blood.
"Fairy Liquid had been poured over the floor and the inside of the window in an attempt to contaminate the evidence and disguise footprints but Brown was traced."
Miss Purkis said rooms in the house had been broken into and searched and among Brown's previous offences was a previous raid on a student house in which he stole property worth £2,000.
Mr Rupert Taylor, defending, said Brown has recently married and suggested he should be assessed from a community punishment in which long standing substance and alcohol abuse could be addressed.
He said his client deserves credit for having admitted the offence from the outset.
