Mrs. Halliday worked as a live-in maid for the Falkner family at their home in Brockley Avenue, Stone Grove, Edgware, and the house rule was that no men were allowed in the staff bedrooms. But when the maid met David Aarons, a 25-year-old soldier, she sneaked him into her room and they spent the night together.
Despite the fact that they were both very drunk, she did the same thing the following night, SEPTEMBER 3rd, 1963. When she awoke next day Mrs. Halliday found her lover gone, and in the bathroom she discovered the body of her employer, Mrs. Yvonne Falkner, on the bathroom floor.
Mrs. Falkner was naked, her handbag was open and empty beside her, and jewellery was missing from her bedroom. She had been strangled with a stocking and her bra, and her face and throat were severely bitten.
When Aarons was arrested he said that after sitting on Mrs. Hallidays bed he could remember nothing until he was in Mrs. Falkners bedroom, holding her jewellery.
Medical evidence suggested he was a psychopath suffering from a severe mental abnormality, and on grounds of diminished responsibility he was convicted of manslaughter. The judge, deciding that Aarons wasnt sufficiently mentally ill to be sent to Broadmoor, sentenced him to life imprisonment.