Car thief who killed chef in brutal Edinburgh crash snared after leaving one drop of blood in stolen motor
A CAR thief who killed a chef in a hit-and-run crash was snared after leaving one drop of blood in the stolen motor.
Declan Mayes, 21, careered through bushes and a fence before smashing into tragic Lionel Simenya, 35.
The yob then ploughed the Peugeot 207 into a wall and fled the scene in Saughton, Edinburgh.
But a court heard how Mayes left a tiny speck of evidence in the motor he had nicked from outside a garage.
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Prosecutor Liam Ewing told the High Court in Glasgow: “A blood mark was found within the vehicle to the right of the steering wheel.
“DNA analysis found this to match the profile of the accused.”
The court heard Mayes “lost control” of the car and crashed into Lionel at around 3am.
The victim was discovered lying face down by two passers-by.
They alerted 999 crews and began chest compressions but he died at the scene on March 7 from a horror brain injury.
The chef, from Burundi, worked for a pharmaceutical company and had been living in a van. His body was found just 200ft from it.
Mayes, of Edinburgh, handed himself in at the city’s St Leonard’s police station on March 16.
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The serial offender admitted causing death by dangerous driving, stealing the motor and driving while uninsured.
His not guilty plea for attempting to defeat justice was accepted by the Crown.
Judge Lady Scott deferred sentence until next month.
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