Kyle Buchanan: Kensington convent fire, fingerprint found on book
A man has faced court charged with breaking into a convent and setting fire to the library in May last year. Police say the man’s fingerprints match those found on one of the charred books in the library.
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A man accused of breaking into a convent and starting a fire last year in southeast Sydney has been arrested following a remarkable match allegedly linking him to a fingerprint on a library book.
Kyle Buchanan, 31, from Sussex Inlet, was arrested and charged on Tuesday after allegedly being matched to the scene of the small fire which destroyed property on May 13, 2019.
Police allege The Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Convent (OLSH) on Kensington Rd, Kensington was broken into that night and a small blaze was started inside the library.
The fire was quickly extinguished before firefighters arrived and no-one was injured.
Eight months down the track, police have arrested and charged Buchanan with break and enter dwelling/house/building commit serious indictable offence.
He applied for bail at Waverley Local Court on Wednesday and his defence labelled the case “weak” and “at best a speculative case” because it relied on a fingerprint being found on a book.
His defence argued that Mr Buchanan liked to visit second-hand book stores and there were multiple explanations for how a book with his fingerprint could have found its way into the private library.
“There is a fingerprint on a book and books move around.”
However, Mr Buchanan was refused bail by Magistrate Allison Hawkins who said it was a strong case and the alleged incident risked the lives of women within the convent.
“He is linked by virtue of a fingerprint on a book inside the library which was used as an accelerant in the starting of the fire,” Magistrate Hawkins said.
“Even though it is circumstantial it is my finding for the purpose of bail that it is a strong Crown case.”
She said when DNA tests return it would help shed more light on the matter and his bail could be revisited then.
His bail was refused despite his defence proposing a $10,000 surety.
Mr Buchanan entered a plea of not guilty. His matter has been adjourned until February 26.