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

[Konstantin]

Public Portal

The A&S constabulary's appeal page for Melanie.

Interesting that John Cannan was put forward by witnesses as being sighted near the nightclub that night, even though he was in prison at the time!

 

[tes1984]

Public Portal

The A&S constabulary's appeal page for Melanie.

Interesting that John Cannan was put forward by witnesses as being sighted near the nightclub that night, even though he was in prison at the time!

Yes, Cannan was definitely under lock and key in 1996. He was interviewed in prison by the Melanie Hall investigators and cleared of any involvement!

 

[Konstantin]

Yes, Cannan was definitely under lock and key in 1996. He was interviewed in prison by the Melanie Hall investigators and cleared of any involvement!

Indeed. He was incarcerated. The Wikipedia page for Melanie's case suggests that Cannan has not been cleared of links to this case, which is clearly ridiculous.

 

[tes1984]

Indeed. He was incarcerated. The Wikipedia page for Melanie's case suggests that Cannan has not been cleared of links to this case, which is clearly ridiculous.

The theory was that Cannan planned the perfect murder with his cellmate, the serial rapist Chris Clark, who was transferred to a hostel in Bath just before Melanie disappeared.

 

[tes1984]

Melanie's remains were found after thirteen years, next to a motorway slip road.

I'm amazed she lay undiscovered for that long in a fairly public location.

Who owned/managed that verge and why wasn't it cleaned or cleared for thirteen years?

Did the killer really expect a body to remain hidden there for years?

 

[tes1984]

How long had Melanie's boyfriend been a doctor in Bath for? 2 months or 2 years?

 

[Konstantin]

Melanie's remains were found after thirteen years, next to a motorway slip road.

I'm amazed she lay undiscovered for that long in a fairly public location.

Who owned/managed that verge and why wasn't it cleaned or cleared for thirteen years?

Did the killer really expect a body to remain hidden there for years?

The killer must just have been desperate to get rid of the evidence so he trussed up Melanie's remains like that and just dumped them at a place he thought would be safe for at least a while. No ANPR, dash cams or CCTV to worry about then.

Even so I am also amazed that it took so long for her to be found. I suppose whoever manages the motorways, or owned the land (council? leased by private owner to motorway company?) just don't think they need to maintain the verges very often. It probably seemed like a smart place to dump her remains because people don't tend to walk next to slip roads, but still you'd think there would be a periodic litter pick and tidy at least.

 

[Kittypoo]

The killer must just have been desperate to get rid of the evidence so he trussed up Melanie's remains like that and just dumped them at a place he thought would be safe for at least a while. No ANPR, dash cams or CCTV to worry about then.

Even so I am also amazed that it took so long for her to be found. I suppose whoever manages the motorways, or owned the land (council? leased by private owner to motorway company?) just don't think they need to maintain the verges very often. It probably seemed like a smart place to dump her remains because people don't tend to walk next to slip roads, but still you'd think there would be a periodic litter pick and tidy at least.

Are there any visuals of the area where she was found that I’ve missed?

 

[dotr]

New documentary about Melanie Hall whose remains were found near Thornbury

THE family of a murder victim whose body was found along the motorway have spoken of their 'deep sorrow and grief' as part of a fresh plea to help…

www.gazetteseries.co.uk

Dec 2009

Melanie Hall: ex-boyfriend tells of sorrow as missing woman's bones are found by M5

The former boyfriend of missing hospital worker Melanie Hall has spoken of his sadness after her remains were found in a bin bag by the M5 motorway.

www.telegraph.co.uk

''Detectives have looked at possible links with other cases, including that of the estate agent Suzy Lamplugh and the "Batman rapist", a serial sex attacker in Bath who has evaded capture for years.
In 2003, police arrested two men in connection with her disappearance. They were released without charge.''

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.com

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.
"My appeal today is for them to show some decency, some honesty and above all some compassion towards Melanie's parents and family and to tell us what they know.''

 

[Eastend Eagle]

Melanie's remains were found after thirteen years, next to a motorway slip road.

I'm amazed she lay undiscovered for that long in a fairly public location.

Who owned/managed that verge and why wasn't it cleaned or cleared for thirteen years?

Did the killer really expect a body to remain hidden there for years?

The killer must just have been desperate to get rid of the evidence so he trussed up Melanie's remains like that and just dumped them at a place he thought would be safe for at least a while. No ANPR, dash cams or CCTV to worry about then.

Even so I am also amazed that it took so long for her to be found. I suppose whoever manages the motorways, or owned the land (council? leased by private owner to motorway company?) just don't think they need to maintain the verges very often. It probably seemed like a smart place to dump her remains because people don't tend to walk next to slip roads, but still you'd think there would be a periodic litter pick and tidy at least.

It does seem a strange place to have left her remains. Scattered underwater would seem more obvious and even if the person who left her remains there expected them to go undiscovered for a long time they surely couldn't have expected them to go undiscovered there forever? JMO

 

[tes1984]

Why doesn't he just bury her in the forested area a few yards from the slip road?

Perhaps the ground is too hard. He has bin bags and rope, but does he have a shovel?

 

[Konstantin]

It does seem a strange place to have left her remains. Scattered underwater would seem more obvious and even if the person who left her remains there expected them to go undiscovered for a long time they surely couldn't have expected them to go undiscovered there forever? JMO

Desperate to get rid of the remains, panicking, doesn't know what to do, this is what he came up with in that frame of mind. Was in a car I assume, probably drove there at night when it felt safe and secure. It was a good hiding place - in retrospect, and it should not have been of course - because sadly no one found Melanie for years. Now the police need a hit on the DNA profile they found.

Why doesn't he just bury her in the forested area a few yards from the slip road?4

Takes more time and more risk involved? Need a shovel as you say? Lot more effort? If he was panicking and had a car, hiding the remains where he did makes some sort of sense. If he was thinking clearly, not panicking, and had time to plan then there would be better options. His choice of location suggests something about his frame of mind. Maybe he was not planning to kill Melanie, but things escalated in the moment and he lost control, then panicked afterwards. Does that point to a particular type of perpetrator?

 

[Eastend Eagle]

AIUI Melanie was found as a bag of bones not as a full skeleton so presumably her remains weren't dumped immediately after she was killed but sometime later so there is surely no reason why the killer would have been in a panic? MOO

 

[Eastend Eagle]

Desperate to get rid of the remains, panicking, doesn't know what to do, this is what he came up with in that frame of mind. Was in a car I assume, probably drove there at night when it felt safe and secure. It was a good hiding place - in retrospect, and it should not have been of course - because sadly no one found Melanie for years. Now the police need a hit on the DNA profile they found.


Takes more time and more risk involved? Need a shovel as you say? Lot more effort? If he was panicking and had a car, hiding the remains where he did makes some sort of sense. If he was thinking clearly, not panicking, and had time to plan then there would be better options. His choice of location suggests something about his frame of mind. Maybe he was not planning to kill Melanie, but things escalated in the moment and he lost control, then panicked afterwards. Does that point to a particular type of perpetrator?

As you say, the killer presumably got there in a vehicle and presumably would have had to stop the vehicle on the slip road to deposit the remains. Does anyone know if this slip road would be particularly quiet in the middle of the night 20-30 years ago? It would seem very risky to stop on the slip road to drop the remains there if this spot was not known to be particularly quiet. If someone did know this it would presumably be someone with good local knowledge. Or could the remains have been dropped off when the slip road was known to be closed? Even is it possible that police may have been involved in this crime?

 

[tes1984]

AIUI Melanie was found as a bag of bones not as a full skeleton so presumably her remains weren't dumped immediately after she was killed but sometime later so there is surely no reason why the killer would have been in a panic? MOO

I thought the police suspected that Melanie was taken there soon after her murder.

I was wondering if scavenging animals could have removed/scattered some of the bones.

 

[Eastend Eagle]

Melanie was abducted in Bath. Where would the killer likely have been travelling from to deposit her remains just north of Bristol?

 

[Eastend Eagle]

I thought the police suspected that Melanie was taken there soon after her murder.

I was wondering if scavenging animals could have removed/scattered some of the bones.

If Melanie was taken there as a full body it does seem all the more remarkable that it took so long to discover her remains JMO

 

[tes1984]

Melanie was abducted in Bath. Where would the killer likely have been travelling from to deposit her remains just north of Bristol?

The police seem to suspect she was taken to somewhere local, and then deposited in Thornbury, at a spot where the killer could then double back towards Bath.

The car enquiries in the case however seem to have pointed towards Wales.

 

[tes1984]

The slip road wasn't covered by CCTV and was presumably fairly quiet in the middle of the night.

Was the location chosen in advance, or was it a panicking killer, driving away from Bath, looking for the first spot he could find?

If it's a planned location, then the proximity to the motorway certainly makes it a good spot for a necrophiliac type to return to the body.

 

[Eastend Eagle]

The police seem to suspect she was taken to somewhere local, and then deposited in Thornbury, at a spot where the killer could then double back towards Bath.

The car enquiries in the case however seem to have pointed towards Wales.

Desperate to get rid of the remains, panicking, doesn't know what to do, this is what he came up with in that frame of mind. Was in a car I assume, probably drove there at night when it felt safe and secure. It was a good hiding place - in retrospect, and it should not have been of course - because sadly no one found Melanie for years. Now the police need a hit on the DNA profile they found.


Takes more time and more risk involved? Need a shovel as you say? Lot more effort? If he was panicking and had a car, hiding the remains where he did makes some sort of sense. If he was thinking clearly, not panicking, and had time to plan then there would be better options. His choice of location suggests something about his frame of mind. Maybe he was not planning to kill Melanie, but things escalated in the moment and he lost control, then panicked afterwards. Does that point to a particular type of perpetrator?

If Melanie was taken somewhere local and then taken to north of Bristol then IMO it is unlikely that the killer would have been in a panic when heading to deposit the remains but would have already thought things through.