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

[Eastend Eagle]

If there are no confirmed sightings of Melanie Hall after she left the club, has there been any consideration given to the possibility that she left the club by a different exit to the designated customer one?

 

[Eastend Eagle]

There were only a few locations in Bath covered by CCTV in 1996. The police definitely had access to the available footage that night.

Was there any CCTV coverage of the customer exit or the surrounding area?

 

[tes1984]

I think all the club CCTV would have been wiped within a few days. The police may have got something from the cameras mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[tes1984]

Was there any CCTV coverage of the customer exit or the surrounding area?

I doubt it, or surely we would have seen it 27 years on.

 

[Eastend Eagle]

It's interesting that the only claimed sighting of Melanie Hall outside of the club ( 2 women said they saw someone of her description arguing with a man ) was never bottomed out according to the original chief investigator in the case, as reported in recent Channel 5 documentary.
I wonder if the staff / management of the club were ever taken seriously as potential suspects in the case.

 

[tes1984]

It's interesting that the only claimed sighting of Melanie Hall outside of the club ( 2 women said they saw someone of her description arguing with a man ) was never bottomed out according to the original chief investigator in the case, as reported in recent Channel 5 documentary.
I wonder if the staff / management of the club were ever taken seriously as potential suspects in the case.

There were quite a few potential sightings of Melanie outside the club.

 

[tes1984]

If there are no confirmed sightings of Melanie Hall after she left the club, has there been any consideration given to the possibility that she left the club by a different exit to the designated customer one?

That's an interesting possibility, although I'm not sure if there was a staff entrance or not. The police seem confident that Melanie left the club at some time after 1.15am - but before 2.30am when the club was closed (and searched for anyone hiding, confused, passed out in the toilets etc).
According to the club's coat ticket records, Melanie also seems to have taken her coat when she left, which would probably place her near the main public entrance/exit.

 

[tes1984]

I doubt it, or surely we would have seen it 27 years on.

In 1997, the Bath police chief confirmed that there wasn't any CCTV at all in the nightclub.

 

[Eastend Eagle]

That's an interesting possibility, although I'm not sure if there was a staff entrance or not. The police seem confident that Melanie left the club at some time after 1.15am - but before 2.30am when the club was closed (and searched for anyone hiding, confused, passed out in the toilets etc).
According to the club's coat ticket records, Melanie also seems to have taken her coat when she left, which would probably place her near the main public entrance/exit.

Presumably there must have been an alternative exit though in case of fire etc.

 

[tes1984]

Presumably there must have been an alternative exit though in case of fire etc.

Good point! There may well have been a fire exit on Old Orchard (the side street leading down to the river). There may also have been a very small courtyard/parking area to the back of the club.

 

[tes1984]

In early msm, the name of Melanie Hall's boyfriend of the time is given as Dr. Karlbaum. In more recent msm, his name is given as Dr. Kurlbaum. Is there any known reason for this discrepancy?

Do we know what time PK leaves the club? The lead detective says it's "shortly before Melanie is last seen".
That sounds like Melanie is unaware that PK has actually left. It doesn't seem like he left at 11pm, or Melanie would have asked her friends if they had seen him. The friends seem to have left at around 12.30am. The police don't appear to have stated when the four of them arrived at the club.

Do we know where PK parked his car? That would seem the logical place for Melanie to check as soon as she leaves the club, particularly if he hasn't been absent for long, and she doesn't actually know that he's stormed off. If the car has been parked in a multi storey carpark, the she may be wary of going to check. If it's parked in an open carpark, or on the street, then she would probably be less worried about going there alone.

Why is there no reference to Melanie having had any cash on her? She had a cheque book, but wouldn't have been able to pay for drinks in a nightclub, or get a minicab using cheques.

 

[tes1984]

I don't know where PK lived in Bath. He drives to and from the club, which suggests it was more than a few minutes walking distance.
The location is important in relation to the CCTV. Was the walking route from Cadillacs to PK's flat covered by the CCTV?

The Claire Holland case has just been resolved. Great work by Avon and Somerset police. Claire was killed in 2012 after leaving a pub in Bristol. Her former partner has now been convicted. Claire is seen on various CCTV cameras but then suddenly vanishes from view. Could Melanie (16 years earlier and with far fewer cameras) have made it to PK's place without being caught at all on CCTV?

 

[Pinkizzy]

Who watched a program about her on 5?

 

[tes1984]

Who watched a program about her on 5?

I've seen the channel 5 documentary...

 

[Pinkizzy]

who were the suspects?

 

[tes1984]

who were the suspects?

If I remember correctly there was some half hearted speculation about Christopher Halliwell and Levi Bellfield.

 

[dotr]

Cross-posting threads as an earlier article at link referenced this case..

UK - UK- "Batman Rapist'', committed 17+ knife point sexual assaults, tight fetish, blindfolds with hairband,1991-2000, Bath, * DNA, Operation Eagle*

BBC's Crimewatch staged a reconstruction of one of the serial rapist's attempted attacks in January 2000 (Image: BBC Crimewatch) https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/in-your-area/batman-rapist-what-know-shocking-3210972 By Michael Taylor, 1 AUG 2020 rbbm. ''Nicknamed the "Batman Rapist", the man is...

www.websleuths.com

 

[chips1986]

Is Christopher Hampton a suspect for this murder as well

 

[tes1984]

Is Christopher Hampton a suspect for this murder as well

According to Julie Mackay, the police are looking at other suspects for Melanie Hall. They think she left the nightclub with someone roughly her own age, and Hampton was almost twenty years older than Melanie.

 

[tes1984]

Revisiting this case, it seems like the police are basing things on one of the original witness statements. This witness didn't see anything outside the club though.

The Melanie Hall case is an active one, which makes me hope there's potential progress with the DNA. Perhaps the fairly recent documentary also persuaded the police to review the case.

There have been many arrests, and apparently a lot of local gossip, yet there's still no conviction.

Without a confirmed sighting of Melanie outside the club, I don't think we can rule out the possibility that she was abducted on her way back to her car or boyfriend's flat.