UK UK - Melanie Hall, 25, Bath, Somerset, 9 June 1996

[tes1984]

Regarding the Ford keys, it's annoying that despite the seven digit tag code, they can't seem to trace the source. I wonder if car thieves would have had use for a set of keys.

I'm not sure if checking second hand garages would be relevant, if the master key was produced in 1996. Wouldn't the keys have been for a pretty much brand new vehicle?

Ford Transits were extremely popular, but I wonder if driving a brand new one usually meant you worked for a big company who had a fleet of new vehicles.

 

[tes1984]

If this all happened under the cover of darkness then it had to have happened quickly, if Melanie wasn’t abducted until maybe 2am? Was Melanie’s body dumped during daylight or was it kept for some time while the killer (and possibly an accomplice?) came up with a plan?

As you say the killer has the cover of darkness for a few hours on the night of the abduction. He also has the following night, as Melanie isn't reported missing until the Monday.

I reckon the police would have questioned motorists leaving Bath on the Sunday (if Melanie had been reported missing by say Sunday lunchtime) to find out if any weekend visitors heading home had seen anything etc.

 

[Konstantin]

As you say the killer has the cover of darkness for a few hours on the night of the abduction. He also has the following night, as Melanie isn't reported missing until the Monday.

It is interesting that the police have said the killer might have an accomplice (at least in covering up the killing) and is perhaps "shielded" by others. One can understand why that might happen if the killing was somehow accidental or if the killer's friends / family thought it was out of character but justified in some way (which is what perhaps happened in the Claudia Lawrence case) but not in a case where the killer - at the very least - abducted a young woman and then bashed her face and skull in with a blunt object (the smashing of MH's face makes it seem personal somehow). It's just so horrific that it seems unlikely the killer would stop at just one murder, unless it was somehow personal to Melanie and there is no suggestion it was?

This is from 2010:

Someone 'shielding Melanie Hall's killers'

The father of a woman who disappeared 14 years ago appeals for those closest to her killers to come forward.

www.bbc.co.uk

Det Supt Mike Courtiour, who is leading the investigation, said: "From our extensive inquiries over the last year, I strongly believe that a small number of people in the Bath area do know exactly what happened to Melanie on the night she disappeared and in the hours and days following.

"I am convinced that some of those people are shielding the killer or killers.

 

[tes1984]

In general, the police mention accomplices, walls of silence etc during appeals for information. The arrests in this case have often come in pairs though.

I'm not sure if an accidental death type scenario can be ruled out completely, but perhaps I'm clutching at straws. Punched once and fractures her skull on the floor? Falls off a balcony at a party? Gets hit by a car as she tries to walk back to her parent's house?

 

[tes1984]

I think this is an investigation where opinion has certainly varied between detectives. Mike Britton has been involved in the investigation for a very long time, and he has mentioned the differences of opinion in the 2010s. In more recent times, he has said he thinks the killer's name is in the case files.

JMO but I think the police are hoping for forensic advances to solve this case. After so many arrests and CPS attempts, they need something strong, but I'm quite confident about this case being resolved if and when they get a full DNA profile.

 

[Deadbeat]

Was the bin liner containing the bones also BURIED? I seem to have read conflicting reports on this. Some articles are worded as though the body in the bag was just dumped in undergrowth and others say it was buried. This obviously makes a big difference in how long the killer spent at this site.

“A workman clearing vegetation on the slip road off the northbound M5 found a number of bones, including a skull and pelvis.

Other remains were found partially buried nearby.”

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Bristol | Jewellery 'key' in M5 bones case

news.bbc.co.uk

 

[Konstantin]

Was the bin liner containing the bones also BURIED? I seem to have read conflicting reports on this. Some articles are worded as though the body in the bag was just dumped in undergrowth and others say it was buried. This obviously makes a big difference in how long the killer spent at this site.

“A workman clearing vegetation on the slip road off the northbound M5 found a number of bones, including a skull and pelvis.

Other remains were found partially buried nearby.”

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Bristol | Jewellery 'key' in M5 bones case

news.bbc.co.uk

I don't think they were buried originally, just that undergrowth had covered them, which happens quite fast (if you have ever seen a garden that's left untended for a summer!). The undergrowth gets really thick and covers stuff. I imagine that the parts that were buried were done so by animals like foxes that forage for bones, which is a reasonable explanation for why some were scattered/buried or why there was maybe not a complete skeleton. They would probably not be buried very deep. There is no specific information but it does seem - given that the person who discovered the remains was clearing away overgrown foliage from the side of the slip road - that the remains were not taken very deep at all into the wood there. If you have a look on Google maps, the wooded area does extend back a way from the slip road. It would probably be pretty dense and hard to walk through especially in summer and Melanie's killer seems to have done a quick dump and run job.

Had he had time to go in deeper, she may never have been found. If you look at Google maps you can see why.

He really didn't take her very far at all, Google maps says 37 mins drive from Bath and probably less in the small hours. He could have driven up the M5, got off at the same junction he dumped her, turned around on the road there, and driven back on the northbound slip road, dumped her presumably when he saw no one was about, got back on and turned around again at the next junction that has a service station (or it does today).

It's a good site - it was almost chance she was found - and yes, he would have really had to know that bit of road, and to have driven it it daytime before too, to know about the wooded area there. It's probably a quiet junction.

The DNA on the rope might not be the killer's e.g. if he stole the rope from a building site. I assume they would have taken samples from the men they arrested.

 

[Rookie D]

Was the bin liner containing the bones also BURIED? I seem to have read conflicting reports on this. Some articles are worded as though the body in the bag was just dumped in undergrowth and others say it was buried. This obviously makes a big difference in how long the killer spent at this site.

“A workman clearing vegetation on the slip road off the northbound M5 found a number of bones, including a skull and pelvis.

Other remains were found partially buried nearby.”

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Bristol | Jewellery 'key' in M5 bones case

news.bbc.co.uk

I have also been confused about how Melanie's remains were left.

One would assume that Melanie was bound and shoved into black bin bags and then left in undergrowth; ergo, she wasn't buried. Then over time various animals have got into the bag and moved parts of her remains across the general area. That would then explain why her remains why found seemingly scattered around.

Melanie being placed into a black bin bag is also something that needs more clarity, because the obvious question to me is; how did the killer manage to put Melanie into just 1 bin bag?

One would assume that some form of dismemberment took place in order for the killer to be able to achieve this, and yet there has never been any mention of her body having been dismembered.

That begs the question; why did the killer bother with a black bin bag in the first place? He could have just dumped her body at the roadside, but instead chose to conceal his victim. This suggests a killer who was evidence conscious and knew that he needed to hide his victim. That could also then imply that the killer may have had been known to Melanie.

It's important to note that only partial remains were found in the black bin bag, so unless animals were able to access the bag and overtime move the majority of her bones, then I can't see how her entire skeleton wasn't found.

If Melanie was buried then surely it would have only been a shallow grave because otherwise it's unlikely that her remains would have ever been discovered at all.

I think the use of blue rope to bind her is also significant, as there would be no reason to do this post-mortem. Did he bind her before he killed her? What would be the reason to use the rope post mortem? Using the blue rope post mortem would seem an odd risk to take for someone evidence aware, due to an increased chance of getting caught through DNA and fingerprints.

It seems evident to me that the killer used the blue rope while Melanie was still alive.

 

[tes1984]

My understanding is that Melanie was covered/wrapped with five bin bags. The blue rope was used to secure the bags to her body and to each other.

She wasn't dismembered, but over time her bones were scattered by animals.

I'm guessing that the killer or killers wrapped Melanie in bin bags so (if seen from a distance or on CCTV) it would look like fly tipping. The bin bags would also camouflage the body somewhat if anyone glanced into the undergrowth.

 

[Deadbeat]

I think the use of blue rope to bind her is also significant, as there would be no reason to do this post-mortem. Did he bind her before he killed her? What would be the reason to use the rope post mortem? Using the blue rope post mortem would seem an odd risk to take for someone evidence aware, due to an increased chance of getting caught through DNA and fingerprints.

It seems evident to me that the killer used the blue rope while Melanie was still alive.

Thanks for pointing this out. It’s another thing that isn’t really stated clearly in articles I have read. Was she tied up before she was killed or were the ropes just used to wrap around the bag afterwards?

The following article, for example, states:
“Police concluded that Melanie had been tied up with rope, and suffered severe fractures to her face”. Making it appear that she was indeed tied up before being beaten to death. Other articles only mention rope being wrapped around the bin liners, so who knows.

Melanie Hall's chilling last sighting and mystery row that could crack case open

Melanie Hall disappeared in 1996 after a night out with friends. Her remains were found years later by the side of the motorway, but Avon and Somerset Police continue to search for answers in the unsolved murder

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Deadbeat]

I also read a very interesting post on Reddit regarding the blue rope. I’m paraphrasing here but the user mentioned the rope actually being 4 different segments of rope tied together, with three to four seemingly random additional knots. They then pointed out this rope most likely came from a construction site and the extra knots that didn’t tie segments together were perhaps previously tied to cabling or something else on site. The user ended by saying a construction site was the most likely place the killer conducted the assault, and possibly where he sourced the bin liners as well as the rope.


If that user was also someone who posts here, I just want to say great post! It definitely got me thinking!