William McAllister

William McAllister was beaten to death in a flat.

Two men were arrested for his murder, one of them allegedly making a full confession, but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges against one before the trial and the other man was acquitted after it was heard that the two detectives that took his confession had failed to comply with the requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. It was heard that the policeman who wrote down his confession wrote it down in his notebook and not on the appropriate form for such matters. As such, it was concluded, after a lengthy legal argument lasting two days, that the confession had been recorded illegally and could not be put before the jury. After the ruling the prosecution said that under the circumstances that they had no option but to drop the charges.