Family of pensioner bludgeoned to death by burglar hit out at justice system for leaving him free to kill

The family of a pensioner bludgeoned to death by a serial burglar who should have been recalled to prison criticised the justice system today for leaving him free to kill.

Eulin Hastings, 74, disturbed Aaron Fyle, 29, after he used a rock to smash the glass in a rear patio door in South Norwood. The retired midwife bravely fought the intruder as he clubbed her over the head with a coffee table but was left to die among broken furniture and jewellery strewn across the floor.

Fyle then set her body alight and fled before burgling a second home 400 metres away as resident Stefana Racean tended to her baby. Ms Racean escaped with her daughter and alerted police, who found Fyle in the house with a knife.

A police helicopter filmed him jumping over garden fences and clambering on a roof in a bid to evade officers in January 2017. He threatened to harm himself during a five-hour stand-off.

At the Old Bailey this month, Judge Mark Lucraft QC jailed Fyle for life with a minimum term of 31 years.

At the time of the murder, Fyle was wanted on recall to prison having breached the terms of his probation.

The court heard Fyle had 19 convictions for burglary, with a further 92 offences taken into account.

His probation was supervised by private provider the London Community Rehabilitation Centre (CRC) until three months before the murder.

A spokesman said when Fyle failed to comply with his release conditions, by missing appointments, his licence was revoked on October 12, 2016. He therefore should have been arrested, but was on the run until the murder.

Mrs Hastings’s daughter has demanded answers. Sonia Rhone, 51, a senior business analyst, said: “It was only a matter of time before Fyle killed someone in their home — so why did they let him out? What does it take for the prison and probation service to get their act together?” She added: “After his 10th offence, it seems pretty obvious Fyle was not going to be rehabilitated, let alone with over 100 under his belt.”

The CRC said a Serious Further Offences review found their responsible officer acted properly. The Ministry of Justice said it was unable to comment until the review was published.

Church deaconess Mrs Hastings, who was born in Jamaica, worked as a midwife at St Thomas’ and St George’s Hospitals for more than 30 years.

She had three children — Sonia, Brian and Stephen — and five grandchildren but died before her great-grandchild was born last year. “Mum was the centre of our family,” said Miss Rhone. “She dedicated her life to helping others and was very honest.”

The family thanked the police, prosecutor Brian O’Neill QC and the judge for securing justice.