UK UK - Shelley Morgan, 34, stabbed, (Former Iowan), Bristol, 11 June 1984

[tes1984]

These are the same murders Julie Mackay mentioned in her book a few years ago.

The article suggests Christopher Hampton was working near to where Shelley, Linda Guest and Helen Fleet lived.

Christopher Hampton was working fairly near to where Shelley was found (but not AFAIK near to where Shelley lived in Bedminster).

 

[tes1984]

According to The Sunday Times, the murders involve a strange stabbing pattern, and Hampton worked near to where each of the victims lived, at the right times.

 

[dotr]

According to The Sunday Times, the murders involve a strange stabbing pattern, and Hampton worked near to where each of the victims lived, at the right times.

Plus the creative connections..

How Christopher Hampton hid the secret he'd raped and murdered a girl

At the start of his trial this week, Christopher Hampton, 64, confessed to the murder of 17-year-old Melanie Road, whose body was found just 200 yards from her home in Bath in 1984.

www.dailymail.co.uk

2016
''Every morning, Christopher Hampton, a painter and decorator, would emerge from his home in the suburbs of Bristol in his white overalls, kiss his wife Julie goodbye on the doorstep, then drive off to work in his silver Toyota.
It was a routine which rarely wavered and seemed to epitomise their happy marriage.
The couple moved into the neat end-of-terrace in the Fishponds district nearly two decades ago.''

 

[tes1984]

Plus the creative connections..

What do you mean by 'the creative connections'?

 

[dotr]

What do you mean by 'the creative connections'?

CH is a decorator/painter and Shelley is an artist, he might have spotted her in a craft type store, or be able to more easily initiate a conversation.
Plus the stolen camera would be useful in his line of work (not that he would be likely to show it off). speculation, imo.

 

[tes1984]

So, if Hampton knows the area "extremely well", then what is his connection to Backwell? It sounds a deeper connection than just having spent a few days working nearby.

 

[Wurzel]

These are the same murders Julie Mackay mentioned in her book a few years ago.

The article suggests Christopher Hampton was working near to where Shelley, Linda Guest and Helen Fleet lived.

Christopher Hampton was working fairly near to where Shelley was found (but not AFAIK near to where Shelley lived in Bedminster).

Forgive me for going off topic on Shelley's thread, but just on the point of Fleet, an ex-police officer in 2017 believed Fleet was the first victim of a serial murderer and associated her murder with those of Kate Bushall (1997) and Lyn Bryant (1998) through similarities. Although, Avon & Somerset Police have never linked the murders.

So, if Hampton knows the area "extremely well", then what is his connection to Backwell? It sounds a deeper connection than just having spent a few days working nearby.

At the time Hampton was living in Bath, so would he really now that area "extremely well"?

And was this not at a time when he had gone independent and was doing commercial work? If so, unlikely much commercial work existed in rural Backwell.

 

[tes1984]

Forgive me for going off topic on Shelley's thread, but just on the point of Fleet, an ex-police officer in 2017 believed Fleet was the first victim of a serial murderer and associated her murder with those of Kate Bushall (1997) and Lyn Bryant (1998) through similarities. Although, Avon & Somerset Police have never linked the murders.

I'm not convinced by any of Chris Clark's stuff, and doubt if Helen Fleet is linked to Kate Bushell or Lyn Bryant.

I'm not particularly convinced that Helen Fleet is linked to the other Bristol cases either. I could buy that Hampton killed Shelley Morgan and Linda Guest though.

 

[tes1984]

At the time Hampton was living in Bath, so would he really now that area "extremely well"?

And was this not at a time when he had gone independent and was doing commercial work? If so, unlikely much commercial work existed in rural Backwell.

I'm wondering if Hampton had relatives in Backwell.

In 1984, he was still working for someone else, so may not yet have been involved with larger commercial projects.

IIRC when Shelley was killed he was working five or so miles to the North West of Backwell.

 

[tes1984]

You have to wonder why Julie Mackay didn't chase this up between Hampton's conviction in 2016, and her retirement from the police in 2020. Perhaps she tried to, but wasn't ever given the green light.

That might explain her breaking with normal protocol. Most UK cops keep quiet in retirement. They don't bite the hand which still feeds them via pension.

It's strange that Mackay can't confirm Hampton's vehicle details. She should have got those straight away in 2015 when the DNA match to Hampton was confirmed.

The Road and Morgan cases were always treated as linked enquiries, but surely Mackay must have seen the potential for links with Helen Fleet, and particularly Linda Guest, while she was still a serving senior police officer.

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

If MacKay moved to a different police force after the conviction, then perhaps she would not have had authority (or time) to continue investigating Avon & Somerset cases - except in an advisory capacity, if requested.
I did read her book but can’t fully remember.

 

[tes1984]

Yes, perhaps she did move to a different force. Presumably she could have still got access to Hampton's vehicle details from wherever she was based though.

 

[tes1984]

I'm glad that A&S police are keeping their cards close to their chest.
Once a prime suspect receives national publicity, in a case without DNA, it can potentially prejudice the prosecution of a later suspect.

The police can't back an unconvicted suspect, or they may end up like the Metropolitan Police with Jill Dando, and particularly Suzy Lamplugh (where they inexplicably declared the case closed without the suspect even being charged).

 

[Wurzel]

I'm wondering if Hampton had relatives in Backwell.

In 1984, he was still working for someone else, so may not yet have been involved with larger commercial projects.

IIRC when Shelley was killed he was working five or so miles to the North West of Backwell.

If he was working for someone else at the time, then that person might have known his movements. That said, asking someone what their ex-employee did on a particular day going back 30+ years is a difficult ask - unless meticulous records were kept and still available, although I would imagine back in the 80s there would have been alot of cash in hand jobs going on with no paperwork.

 

[Wurzel]

You have to wonder why Julie Mackay didn't chase this up between Hampton's conviction in 2016, and her retirement from the police in 2020. Perhaps she tried to, but wasn't ever given the green light.

That might explain her breaking with normal protocol. Most UK cops keep quiet in retirement. They don't bite the hand which still feeds them via pension.

It's strange that Mackay can't confirm Hampton's vehicle details. She should have got those straight away in 2015 when the DNA match to Hampton was confirmed.

The Road and Morgan cases were always treated as linked enquiries, but surely Mackay must have seen the potential for links with Helen Fleet, and particularly Linda Guest, while she was still a serving senior police officer.

All seems very strange to me. On the one hand you could say she is stepping up and being vocal in linking the cases, but likewise her comments now seem to be an admission of her own professional failings in the investigations whilst a serving officer which then calls into questions whether her standards as an officer fell below those expected, especially a DS.

If someone said to her prove the link, could she? I am not sure she could. She "believes" they are linked, but has offered nothing factual to support that which would stand up to scrutiny. If anything the lines in the Times article where she says DNA and/or items collected at the time were missing when she reviewed the cold cases, gives her something else to hide behind if asked the question - "I could prove it but ...........

Really not sure what she was trying to achieve in speaking to the media, and the fact she has made approaches to speak to Hampton in prison, whilst now publically linking him with other murders is a strange way to even attempt to get him now to agree to her request.

The worry must be for all concerned, the police and the Morgan family, what she says next. Is Mackay drip feeding information to the media? To maintain a presence in the media for PR reasons?

 

[tes1984]

In her book Julie Mackay mentions Hampton as a Batman rapist suspect.

There's no mention of the Batman rapist in the recent interview about Hampton's possible additional crimes though.