UK UK - Melanie Hall, 25, Bath, Somerset, 9 June 1996
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I think the only speculative link to Halliwell was he abducted and killed Sian O'Callaghan in 2011 after she left a Swindon nightclub at just before 3am and got into his taxi.
Swindon and Bath aren't that far apart, probably 20 minutes by road and seems from reading above there was taxi rank right outside the club?
However seems she didn't leave the club on her own going by eye witness accounts so that surely points to who possibly hurt here hours later.
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It's a bit of a paradox isn't it? Bit like Andrew Gosden, family saying one thing and his actions another.
Family say she's quite shy and timid and wouldn't have liked being left in a nightclub on her own and yet if we believe the BF's account she was quite happy to hit on other men with her BF about ten feet away!
Bath and Bristol were both plagued by predators posing as taxi drivers. Swindon is 35-40 miles away from Bath, a good 45 minutes drive. Halliwell fits the general MO but there were a lot of offenders closer to where Melanie vanished.
IIRC Halliwell was mentioned because he owned boats, and a witness overheard a couple on a barge discussing a Melanie.
The media were (generally) somewhat sympathetic towards victims to maintain public interest in cases.
Melanie was a psychology graduate, who had spent four years at Bath University. She wasn't a stranger to the city, or a stranger to nightclubs. Her sister mentioned that they used to go out clubbing together.
Melanie had lived with another ex boyfriend, before she moved back in with her parents. She was 25 years old. She wasn't a naive 17 year old, like poor Melanie Road, who was still a schoolgirl and was murdered on one of her first ever nights out as an 'adult'.
I think it's terrible that people are naming innocent relatives of suspects and linking their social media accounts.
I also think it's terrible how Melanie's murder has been forgotten.
There are a lot of suspects, and I'm not talking about Shillibier, Hampton, Halliwell etc...
The police think it was someone who had assistance. The expert Jane Monckton-Smith thought that a 'professional' dumped the body and was well aware of avoiding camera etc.
I'm not sure I agree completely with JMS. It could have been a panicking offender, with a dead body in his boot. IMO a professional would have stripped Melanie's body. DNA was well known by 1996, yet this guy left bindings and Melanie's ring.
The big hope is that the partial DNA profile is looked at. I hope it will be upgraded to a full profile one of these days.
There are a lot of suspects, and I'm not talking about Shillibier, Hampton, Halliwell etc...
The police think it was someone who had assistance. The expert Jane Monckton-Smith thought that a 'professional' dumped the body and was well aware of avoiding camera etc.
I'm not sure I agree completely with JMS. It could have been a panicking offender, with a dead body in his boot. IMO a professional would have stripped Melanie's body. DNA was well known by 1996, yet this guy left bindings and Melanie's ring.
The big hope is that the partial DNA profile is looked at. I hope it will be upgraded to a full profile one of these days.
SteveH
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"In the past, the convicted double killer Christopher Halliwell...has been linked to Hall’s murder, but Avon and Somerset police have insisted there is no evidence linking him to it."
DNA discovery raises hopes of finally finding killer of Melanie Hall
Police say they are confident of solving case, 23 years after NHS worker went missing in Bath
"Police have yet to rule out the suggested links to John Cannan and the murder of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh (who disappeared in July 1986 and whose body has never been found). They have also not ruled out links to the case of a serial sex attacker in Bath, nicknamed the "Batman rapist" after he left a baseball cap bearing a Batman logo at the scene of one attack. The unknown assailant is known to have attempted to carjack a woman at knifepoint, leaving her wounded when she fought back and managed to escape, in the same area of the city a few hours before Hall was abducted.
It has also been suggested that there may be a link between Hall's murder and Levi Bellfield...A suggested link with convicted killer Christopher Halliwell, who is serving a life sentence with a whole life order for the murders of Sian O'Callaghan and Becky Godden-Edwards, has been ruled out by Avon and Somerset Police."
(Wikipedia)
You are right about Melanie's murder not getting the same attention as, for example, the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh - look at the number of threads on that case, and the original ones were zapped.
Interesting to see Cannan's name come up in connection with Melanie. Supposedly in cahoots with another gentleman I believe. The more I have looked at the Suzy Lamplugh case the more I believe Cannan is guilty. When she went missing Berkshire Police contacted the cops in London about the 1986 Reading rape. but the then lead detective Malcolm Hackett wasn't interested. He resented DL's interference saying she was "middle class". Later investigators thought he did a terrible job. The tip from Berks was before the Shirley Banks murder. Hackett did interview Cannan in 1989 but had made up his mind he wasn't involved. The woman in the Birmingham area who gave him an alibi (he was "chatting her up") later said she wasn't actually sure of the date. All info from C5's excellent Vanishing of Suzy Lamplugh (2020) which you can still find on the internet.
Also, from the Telegraph (9 July 2006): "Detectives investigating the murder [sic] of Suzy Lamplugh, the estate agent, have made a potential breakthrough in the case, just days before the 20th anniversary of her disappearance. A new witness has come forward with evidence that John Cannan, the man police have previously named as their chief suspect, had access to a dark BMW at the time she vanished...It is understood...that officers want to discover how Cannan might have obtained the car - it could have been borrowed from a friend, a BMW dealership or a car rental."
I don't think it is at all likely than Cannan planned the "perfect murder" of Melanie Hall when he was banged up though, but who knows. Why are all these so called experts so taken with the idea that a "professional" was involved in all murders. I've been looking at the Alistair Wilson doorstep killing and commentators like David Wilson keep saying it was carried out by a "master" professional hitman, even though he let Alistair go back into his house for a few minutes, only shooting him when he opened the door again! Odd behaviour for a "master" to stand on a doorstep for that long when there was a busy pub dead opposite.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Fred West's brother John as a suspect in Melanie's killing given how many wild theories are floating around. He hanged himself in his Gloucester garage in November 1996. Gloucester isn't far up the M5 from where Melanie's remains were found.
From the Mirror 29 November 1996:
"Dustman John West, 54, was on trial for the alleged multiple rape of his brother's daughter. The jury were due to retire today to consider their verdict....
Neighbour Ann O'Reilly said: "I saw a police car at his house at about 9pm but I didn't realise why it was there.
"I knew John West as a very nice, reliable, friendly neighbour who was there when we needed him."
In court yesterday, relatives of John had described him as "kind and gentle"."
That guy who made the video I linked is an obvious troll. Unfortunately these sorts are rife in true crime discussions and forums and think they have a right to harass anyone they believe might be involved. Think the Nicola Bulley case.
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Or maybe her family were right, and her boyfriend was a jealous, childish idiot who got upset when his new girlfriend dared to dance with someone else in a nightclub.
I might be wrong, but I don't think Melanie's dad was speaking about PK.
Not sure if PK had any family or close friends in Bath. The police seem to think that the killer had assistance in removing Melanie's body.
SteveH
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The cops do believe that Melanie knew her killer.
"Police probing cold case of murdered clubber Melanie Hall in 1996 say they believe 25-year-old clerical worker 'did know her killer' and 1996 e-fit of man is 'still very much a focus' of their appeal:
Now as a Channel 5 documentary is set to explore the cold case, the lead officer on the investigation said he believes Melanie 'did know her killer'.Superintendent James Riccio also pleaded for the public to help identify who the man in the e-fit is, saying it is 'still very much the focus' of their appeal.
The Body in the Bag: The Murder of Melanie Hall, features interviews with Melanie's father and sister, who were left devastated by her death."
Police probing Melanie Hall murder believe clubber 'knew her killer'
The 25-year-old, who was a clerical worker at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, was last seen on Sunday 9 June, 1996, at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath city centre at about 1.45am.
"Police released an e-fit in 1996 to identify a man who two witnesses said they saw with a woman [not the man she was dancing with] matching Melanie’s description inside Cadillacs nightclub.
He is described as being white, 27 years old, 5ft 10ins, of medium build with dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, bushy eyebrows and clean shaven. He was wearing black trousers, black shoes and a brown silk shirt.
It is possible he had a gold hooped earring in his right ear and wore a flashy gold watch."
I doubt Phillip had any family or pre-existing friends in Bath. He was a newly qualified doctor and I don't know how long he had been at the RUH. He said that he and Melanie had been going out for three weeks. He now practises in Cheltenham. In other circumstances his actions on that night and over the weekend would be highly suspicious.
"On Saturday, June 8, 1996, the pretty blonde had arranged to stay at the Bath home of her boyfriend, Dr Philip Karlbaum [sic].
They had been dating for three weeks after meeting on the orthopaedic ward of the Royal United Hospital, where they both worked.
Melanie's mum Pat dropped her off at Philip's home with an overnight bag. This was the last time she ever saw her and she reported Melanie missing three days later, when she failed to turn up for work.
Psychology graduate Melanie and Philip had been to a colleague's party on the night of Friday, June 7, and the following day they slept in until 11am.
After breakfast, they went into Bristol to do some shopping where Melanie, who lived with her parents in Bradford Leigh, near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, bought a blue dress.
That evening the couple again went out, to a busy barbecue packed with around 60 people.
Later, she and Philip, along with another couple they knew, headed to the Cadillacs Nightclub in Walcot Street, Bath.
At some point, Philip is thought to have left in a "jealous rage" after he thought he saw her dancing with another man.
Her friends said goodbye to Melanie and left the club at about 1.10am on June 9, believing Philip was still there.
The man Melanie was dancing with in the club later came forward and was eliminated from inquiries...
When Melanie failed to return home or get in touch, the police and her family believed she had been murdered.
But it was not until an inquest at Bath County Court 2004 that coroner Paul Forrest pronounced she was dead.
Although he recorded an open verdict, he speculated it was likely she was unlawfully killed, and probably died soon after her disappearance."
Melanie Hall bones found bag M5 motorway | Bristol news | This is Bristol
The mystery of what happened to Melanie Hall on June 9, 1996, has tortured her family – and baffled police officers – ever since.
web.archive.org
According to the Crimewatch reconstruction Melanie's mother left a note for her on the Monday on her mini, which seems to have been parked at the RUH over the weekend, for her to contact her, and when Melanie didn't the family contacted police. Yet the Evening Post article says Melanie's mother drove her to Phillip's place on Friday. Did her mother drive her back home as well on the Friday and she just left her car at the RUH? Then she could go straight to the hospital from Phillip's on Monday and drive home herself that night. Melanie had told Phillip at the RUH on Friday that she was going back home to pick up some stuff. and would come round to his place later.
In the reconstruction it shows Melanie and the other couple getting out of the car near the club but not Phillip so he may have driven on to the Podium car park. Looks like a rather cheesy club too but maybe I was spoilt in the '80s when I lived in Manchester and used to go to the Haçienda - I was at the very first Chicago House night there in 1987!
Melanie's father Steve, who was well known in Bath as chairman of Bath City FC, made this statement which implies he thinks that the killer and his family are locals:
"This is a tale of two families who, although possibly living quite close to each other, are worlds apart. Sadly, in the summer of 1996, the paths of these two families crossed. In one home resides a fairly ordinary family whose members, although not perfect, strive to work hard, respect their fellow citizens and uphold the law. In the other home there lives a very different family, separated from the rest of society, a family governed by a very different code of conduct and one that lacks the moral fibre that binds the majority of our human race together. Within that family is the person who murdered our daughter Melanie and who probably still resides in or near the city of Bath, surrounded by his or her version of their family and friends."
Why 'dark secret' about who dumped body may be key to murder probe
Melanie Hall went missing in Bath in 1996
Crimewatch:
Link to the Channel 5 doc: No access outside UK
Good point about PK possibly dropping the others off, then going to park in the carpark.
It's interesting that Melanie's dad mentions that the killer may have been helped by "his or her" family. None of the many arrests so far have been of female suspects though.
It's interesting that Melanie's dad mentions that the killer may have been helped by "his or her" family. None of the many arrests so far have been of female suspects though.
Looking at some of the POIs named recently, I think Shillibier is the only one with links to Bath, who looks like the composite sketch. He had accomplices too, although I doubt he killed Melanie. He couldn't keep his mouth shut and IMO he would have told people straight away, like he did with his other murders.
Bellfield is a fantasist who makes false confessions. Cannan's former cell mate Christopher Clark didn't have access to a car or a property.
John West was mentioned as a POI for Suzy Lamplugh, because he shared his name with a major UK company who sold tinned kippers. IIRC the Wests also had a cousin who was a sex offender.
The Batman rapist wasn't confirmed as the perp in the abduction attempt a few hours before Melanie disappeared. A man in his 30s was arrested for the Bath abduction, but IIRC the victim failed to pick him out in the identity parade. The police don't list the attack as one of the confirmed Batman rapist attacks.
Bellfield is a fantasist who makes false confessions. Cannan's former cell mate Christopher Clark didn't have access to a car or a property.
John West was mentioned as a POI for Suzy Lamplugh, because he shared his name with a major UK company who sold tinned kippers. IIRC the Wests also had a cousin who was a sex offender.
The Batman rapist wasn't confirmed as the perp in the abduction attempt a few hours before Melanie disappeared. A man in his 30s was arrested for the Bath abduction, but IIRC the victim failed to pick him out in the identity parade. The police don't list the attack as one of the confirmed Batman rapist attacks.
He most probably was. Unfortunately, lots of men would behave in a similar way. Fortunately, 99% of the time no harm is done. Melanie, tragically, was hugely unlucky.
A week after Melanie’s disappearance Janet Murgatroyd was murdered after a night out in Preston. England played that day too. I remember neither case from the time, but I do remember the IRA bomb in Manchester dominating the news on the weekend of Janet’s murder - both cases were probably overshadowed by that.
I’ve always thought Halliwell and LB must have more victims but as the years tick by it seems to me less likely they’ll be conclusively linked to any unsolved crimes. I don’t know why but I’ve always had the feeling that Hampton was a ‘one and done’ kind of killer. If Melanie’s case ever gets solved I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the killer turns out to be someone left field.
They never mention if he had been drinking that night. Was he drink driving, or was the sober designated driver?
Alcohol is obviously a major trigger for violence.
They never mention drug taking either. Ecstasy was common in the mid 90s, and I wonder if Melanie had taken a pill. I could be barking up the wrong tree, but might it fit in with her dancing with strangers, and hanging around in the reception area before leaving, waiting to 'come down'?
There was a hostel for paroled prisoners in central Bath. This is where Christopher Clark was living when he tried to rape a woman leaving a nightclub a month after Melanie vanished.
There was also Leyhill open prison in Bristol, which had astonishingly lax security. In 1995 the governor was jailed for taking bribes from prisoners. In 1996, 26 prisoners absconded from the prison, including 9 convicted murderers.
The serial killer David Burgess was one of those who absconded, and was questioned by police regarding Melanie Hall. He didn't abscond until September 1996, but presumably wasn't exactly under lock and key in June.
There was also Leyhill open prison in Bristol, which had astonishingly lax security. In 1995 the governor was jailed for taking bribes from prisoners. In 1996, 26 prisoners absconded from the prison, including 9 convicted murderers.
The serial killer David Burgess was one of those who absconded, and was questioned by police regarding Melanie Hall. He didn't abscond until September 1996, but presumably wasn't exactly under lock and key in June.
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I wouldn't say it's been as forgotten as other cold cases that get a once a year brief press mention on anniversaries of disappearances.
The Channel 5 programme went out in 2021 didn't it so that was prime time prominence to a UK audience. Maybe it's a case David Wilson and Emilia Fox can look at if their crime series on Channel Four returns next year.
And of course in these times you'll get plenty of sleuths on YT doing running commentaries on this case.
Someone said a few pages back that a potential suspect had passed away? So that is something else to factor in for a case that is very near 30 years ago now.
SteveH
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It is possible that PK parked in Walcot Street. There are a few spaces in the area shown in Crimewatch:
The club was just up the street on the right - turn right - and the Podium car park is down the street on the same side as the club - turn left.
Reading the Evening Post article I linked above PK's (supposed) actions were unforgiveable if not downright questionable.
Melanie slept at his place on the Friday night. They spent the whole of Saturday together. She had left a bag containing some of her stuff at his residence. She was presumably intending to stay there on Sunday night as well as Saturday as her car was seemingly parked at the hospital.
And yet PK stormed out of the club in a huff, drove home on his own and then didn't bother to find out where she was when she didn't contact him. What was he doing all Sunday? It was Melanie's mother who started worrying about her especially when she didn't turn up for work on the Monday, and it was her parents who later contacted the cops. What was PK doing about it on Monday? Absolutely nothing it seems although I don't know whether he spoke to Melanie's mother on that day or not. Nevertheless!
SteveH
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As for the place where Melanie's remains were found there is no way the person(s) who disposed of the bags walked far off the slip road. It would have been much too risky to park up for long.
Google Street View. To see images from 2008, before Melanie's remains were found, click on "See more dates" in top left corner and then on the Oct 2008 box:
Google Street View. To see images from 2008, before Melanie's remains were found, click on "See more dates" in top left corner and then on the Oct 2008 box:
The police found a set of three Ford keys (one master key and two spares) near to Melanie's body.
Perhaps the killer lost them when he was dumping the body, but who carries their spare key on the same keyring as their main key, let alone the additional spare key as well?
Perhaps the killer lost them when he was dumping the body, but who carries their spare key on the same keyring as their main key, let alone the additional spare key as well?
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