The investigating officer noticed a number of fingerprints on a freshly painted windowsill, apparently where the burglar made his entry.
The files revealed that the fingerprints belonged to a 41-year-old labourer, Harry Jackson, who had recently served a prison term for burglary.
When Harry Jackson went on trial at the Old Bailey, Muir did what he was asked to do: he convinced the jury of the absolute reliability of fingerprints.
As one letter to The Times (signed by "A Disgusted Magistrate") stated: "Scotland Yard, once known as the world’s finest police organisation, will be the laughing stock of Europe it if insists on trying to trace criminals by odd ridges on their skins."
Jackson's status as the first person to be arrested on the basis of fingerprint evidence was the subject of episode 4 of "Connections 2", a documentary series by James Burke.