Birmingham murder victims Avtar and Carole Kolar were killed for just two mobile phones and two watches, it has emerged.
And Lithuanian suspect Rimvydas Liorancas, 37, was arrested after detectives discovered the stolen phones had been sold to a city garage worker – who had bought them from an Eastern European.
Detectives discovered the mobiles had been used after the brutal killings of the Handsworth Wood couple, whose bodies were found on January 10.
Officers discovered he tried to sell the phones to a garage worker and Liorancas was arrested on January 16.
That the couple’s watches and a small amount of jewellery were taken after they were battered to death at their home in Friary Road.
It is understood that Liorancas allegedly sold the watches in the days after the murders and allegedly tried to sell perfume, tools, and, bizarrely, even his own dog.
Liorancas was found hanged in his prison cell at top security Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes on Saturday.
It is believed he left a suicide note, which is understood to refer to the murders.
The letter could prove a crucial piece of evidence when police present their findings to the Kolars’ inquest.
Investigations are now underway to discover how Liorancas managed to kill himself in jail.
It is understood that he was assessed as being at possible risk of suicide.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Liorancas had previously been kicked out of the UK and had been convicted of robbery in Lithuania in 2005.
He had been part of a building gang of Eastern Europeans and had carried out work on the home of Mr Kolar, 62 and his wife, 58.
Neighbours of the murder suspect described him as a petty thief and loner who carried a rolling pin up his sleeve.
It has been alleged that the British authorities had no idea Liorancas was even in the UK when he was accused of battering the couple to death with a hammer.
Mr and Mrs Kolar, who had been married for 40 years, were found on the morning of January 10 by their son Jason, 37, an officer with West Midlands Police.
Liorancas was arrested six days later and charged with murder.
