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

[dotr]

Just so i don't seem completely silly for referencing a colour (blue) as a trigger, (both positive & negative) for some, noting, fwiw..
February 21, 2025 rbbm.

https://www.sdcda.org/content/office/newsroom/tempDownloads/75bec742-da77-491d-af19-b1fbcef5c946_Brenda%20Spenser%20Denied%20Parole%20News%20Release%202-21-25.pdf

''On the morning of Monday, January 29, 1979, Spencer began shooting from her house at children waiting for 53-year-old Principal Burton Wragg to open the gates to Grover Cleveland Elementary School. She injured eight children. She began with nine-year-old Cam Miller, since he was wearing Spencer's favorite color, blue.''

 

[Rookie D]

I'm a bit concerned that this has been an active case for quite a while now, yet they still haven't re-examined the CCTV, or digitised the case files. The lack of digitisation is weird. It's not like computers weren't around during the initial enquiry.

At least POIs are being reviewed, but I think it's a mistake to presume the killer is in the case files. Christopher Hampton wasn't in the case files for Melanie Road, despite living right there in Bath.

I also wouldn't rely too much on the police using AI, although I hope I'm proved wrong. When the police used cutting edge technology in Operation Enigma, the results turned out to be underwhelming.

I completely agree

AI is not something that can be relied upon, because it will inevitably amalgamate multiple cases into one.

This has already happened with the incorporation of AI in some of the more historical cold cases from the Victorian era.

AI will no doubt be excellent in some areas, but it can never replace that gut instinct that is essential for every case.

The irony will be that AI will learn to mimic "human error" and that will be catastrophic in terms of then being able to then prove that the AI was wrong.



I also agree that it feels wrong to automatically assume that the killer is already in the case files, because as you rightly say; the man who killed Melanie Road in Bath wasn't in the case files.

The idea that the police believe that the man who killed Melanie Hall is in the case files; combined with her family eluding to the idea that they believe someone knows more than they're letting on, would then suggest that the police likely know who the culprit was, but because of the lack of sufficient evidence, the police can't take it any further until another source comes forward, or they have something more concrete to go on.

After all, it's not about what the police know, it's about what they can prove.

That's more frustrating in a way, because while their belief that the killer is in the case files does help to narrow down the suspect pool, it also significantly hinders the case ever moving forward to a favourable outcome, because there's a likelihood that the killer is someone they've never considered before.

If the police had applied that same logic to the Melanie Road case, they would never have caught their man in Christopher Hampton.

 

[Rookie D]

The fact that Melanie Hall went missing in the early hours of the 9th June 1996, and Melanie Road was murdered in the early hours of the 9th June 1984, may also be a factor to consider.

One would assume that Christopher Hampton; who was convicted of killing Melanie Road, has already been definitively ruled out as the potential killer of Melanie Hall, after she was abducted on the 12 year anniversary of Melanie Road's murder in 1984.

Of course, the idea that the latest comments by DCI Lavender prove that the convicted serial killer Christopher Halliwell STILL hasn't been definitively ruled out as the man who took Melanie Hall's life, then his presence as her potential killer will continue to linger over the case.

 

[rvlvr]

Good video posted yesterday on the Mirror’s YouTube channel about the case

 

[tes1984]

The fact that Melanie Hall went missing in the early hours of the 9th June 1996, and Melanie Road was murdered in the early hours of the 9th June 1984, may also be a factor to consider.

One would assume that Christopher Hampton; who was convicted of killing Melanie Road, has already been definitively ruled out as the potential killer of Melanie Hall, after she was abducted on the 12 year anniversary of Melanie Road's murder in 1984.

Of course, the idea that the latest comments by DCI Lavender prove that the convicted serial killer Christopher Halliwell STILL hasn't been definitively ruled out as the man who took Melanie Hall's life, then his presence as her potential killer will continue to linger over the case.

I'm not sure how they are ruling anyone out, other than by cast iron alibi.

They have the partial DNA profile, but even ruling someone out as the source of the DNA doesn't rule out involvement. Particularly as the police have hinted at more than one perp being involved.

Halliwell is one of many, many possibilities. The region was full of murderers, abductors and highly mobile rapists in the 80s and 90s.

DCI Lavender mentions the possibility of a Bath and Thornbury connection, but then also mentions Halliwell who AFAIK has no link to either area.

Hampton for obvious reasons has ridiculously strong links to Bath. Julie Mackay said Hampton was a member of the snooker club which later became Cadillacs Nightclub.

Marc Shillibier also has confirmed links to Bath, as does the Batman Rapist, who was highly active in Bath in 1996, so it seems strange Halliwell is the one being name checked. Perhaps Hampton/Shillibier/Batman have been ruled out somehow, but I've never seen any confirmation.

 

[Rookie D]

I think that there may be another potential suspect who should also be definitively ruled out.

Allow me to explain

If we look at the e-fit of the man who was seen talking to Melanie, he looks rather tanned.

I suggested that the killer may have had a penchant for silk and chose Melanie because her blue silk dress stood out in the club.


IMO the e-fit looks similar to the serial killer, Steve Wright.

There's a police photo of Steve Wright taken on the 19th December 2006, aged 48. He is looking up and to his right, and interestingly also looks tanned.

When you compare this photo with the e-fit of the man seen talking with Melanie Hall, I believe there is a striking similarity in terms of facial shape, skin tone, same hairline shape, and general countenance features.

Steve Wright would have been 38 when Melanie Hall was murdered.

Of course, he has no known links (?) to the west country, but it is true that he owned a a pub in South London at one time and therefore wasn't based solely in Ipswich.

Now I know that nothing can be discussed at the present time concerning Steve Wright because coincidentally he is about to go to trial after being charged with the alleged murder of Victoria Hall in 1999 after she had just left a nightclub.

I obviously can't talk about THAT case whatsoever.

All I can say is that I do find it interesting that Victoria Hall was wearing a black SILK dress when she was abducted and murdered.

I just wonder whether the murder of Melanie Hall in 1996 and the murder of Victoria Hall in 1999, could have both been at the hands of the same aforementioned killer?

I don't believe I am permitted to upload a photo of Steve Wright, but I would say that if anyone gets a chance to look at the photo I'm referring to (it's a stock image available in the public domain) and then compare it to the e-fit, and then see what you think?

I don't believe that the police do have any DNA profile evidence from the Melanie Hall deposition site, but I may be wrong.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Did Phillip Kurlbaum have an alibi that night or was he ruled out based on the lack of evidence in his car? I think in today's world of phones and tracking etc it is easy to forget how we lived in the 90s - it just seems so absurd that even after a falling out, he would leave her in the club, knowing she had her stuff at his flat. I appreciate he probably feels really guilty about this, and was cleared by police ...

 

[tes1984]

Did Phillip Kurlbaum have an alibi that night or was he ruled out based on the lack of evidence in his car? I think in today's world of phones and tracking etc it is easy to forget how we lived in the 90s - it just seems so absurd that even after a falling out, he would leave her in the club, knowing she had her stuff at his flat. I appreciate he probably feels really guilty about this, and was cleared by police ...

AFAIK he said he went back home, and stayed there until Monday morning, when he went to work. He said he didn't see or speak to anyone on the Sunday.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

AFAIK he said he went back home, and stayed there until Monday morning, when he went to work. He said he didn't see or speak to anyone on the Sunday.

Thanks - I guess we really do need to view this through the 90s lens. He may not have known her landline number, and if they'd had words I guess wouldn't necessarily call. Hopefully fairly solid reasons to rule him out.

 

[Rookie D]

It may also be a case that you can't prove a negative

Another way to look at it would be to say that if Philip went home and then claims he didn't see or speak to anyone, then his story can't be definitively corroborated either.

The point about him not seeing or speaking to anyone works in reverse; i.e. nobody saw or spoke to him either.

That's an alibi that can't be proven as either true or false.

That makes his story either genuine, or convenient

 

[InVinoVeritas]

It may also be a case that you can't prove a negative

Another way to look at it would be to say that if Philip went home and then claims he didn't see or speak to anyone, then his story can't be definitively corroborated either.

The point about him not seeing or speaking to anyone works in reverse; i.e. nobody saw or spoke to him either.

That's an alibi that can't be proven as either true or false.

That makes his story either genuine, or convenient

Yes - absolutely agree.
In terms of leaving the Club - it has been said that Melanie must've known the person she left with, as she wouldn't "usually" have gone off with someone she didn't know. However, this presumably doesn't factor in alcohol consumption. If they were all fairly merry and this led to the dancing with another man and subsequent disagreement, decisions may have been hampered.
Do we think this was planned? That whoever met Melanie that night in the club intended to kill her and was therefore likely to have done this before, or go on to do it again?
Could Melanie have left the club, realised how drunk she was when the fresh air hit, and accepted a lift? Was she upset about Philip leaving, and had she known dancing guy before? Hopefully the other couple they were out with could help with these a little.
The van keys at the site were clearly left accidentally - in a rush?

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

It is probable that the doctor’s car/the doctor was scrutinised on cctv to try to determine if he returned at all that night.

 

[tes1984]

It is probable that the doctor’s car/the doctor was scrutinised on cctv to try to determine if he returned at all that night.

Bath had limited CCTV in 1996. His car may have been seen on CCTV at some point, but there were routes in and out of Bath which avoided the cameras.

AFAIK Melanie wasn't spotted at all on CCTV. The police are currently reviewing all the CCTV footage, which worryingly they don't seem to have done for a long time, if ever.

 

[rvlvr]

I assume they’ve looked at whether they could tie the car keys to him (or any of the individuals they’ve arrested over the years) but have drawn a blank. Assuming, that is, that the keys actually belonged to the killer or whoever deposited the body there.

 

[rvlvr]

Assuming the woman sighted in the club was Melanie, it seems peculiar that the silk shirted man has never been identified, if he wasn’t the killer. What are the odds you visit a nightclub for perhaps the only time in your life (given no one seemed to recognise your face/attire), and leave it with a woman who later that night disappears and is found murdered? I mean it’s not impossible but it seems a stretch to me.

 

[tes1984]

I assume they’ve looked at whether they could tie the car keys to him (or any of the individuals they’ve arrested over the years) but have drawn a blank. Assuming, that is, that the keys actually belonged to the killer or whoever deposited the body there.

There doesn't seem to be any mention of the car keys in the new update.

Perhaps A&S police no longer consider the keys relevant to the investigation. In the Shelley Morgan case, they mentioned two postcards in the public appeals, but eventually decided the postcards weren't relevant.

 

[tes1984]

Assuming the woman sighted in the club was Melanie, it seems peculiar that the silk shirted man has never been identified, if he wasn’t the killer. What are the odds you visit a nightclub for perhaps the only time in your life (given no one seemed to recognise your face/attire), and leave it with a woman who later that night disappears and is found murdered? I mean it’s not impossible but it seems a stretch to me.

It does seem peculiar.

They no longer seem to mention the man possibly wearing an earring in his right ear. I wonder why that witness detail might have been dropped.

 

[Rookie D]

There doesn't seem to be any mention of the car keys in the new update.

Perhaps A&S police no longer consider the keys relevant to the investigation. In the Shelley Morgan case, they mentioned two postcards in the public appeals, but eventually decided the postcards weren't relevant.

I'd suggest that the keys are indeed relevant, because they were dated from the same year that Melanie was abducted and murdered, and to find a full set of 3 Ford keys (including the red programming key) so close to the body, when the site wasn't a public footway or a place where people walked (apart from the man who deposited her body) is too much of a coincidence IMO.

What's interesting is that there were a full set of 3 keys. We know that they weren't (at face value) the keys needed for the killer's escape vehicle, and it would seem highly improbable that they belonged to Melanie herself, then we are left with the likelihood that the killer deposited them.
But why?

It means he would have been carrying an entire set of keys that weren't from his own getaway vehicle.

It would seem that the killer and/or man who deposited the body, placed the keys there intentionally, because to drop a full set of car keys and not realise, is unlikely.

However, I think that there's a possibility that the keys may not have necessarily been put there at the same time the body was. In other words, the killer may have revisited the site and put the keys there by Melanie's body afterwards; for whatever reason.

It is strange that the owner of those keys can't be traced. I am not sure the statistical likelihood of that happening, but the killer seems to have been lucky in that the keys couldn't be definitively linked or traced to a specific vehicle and/or owner.

It's almost as if the killer was aware of this.

So what kind of man would have the awareness to know that the keys couldn't be traced back to him?

Someone who worked with cars and similar vehicles.

As I've mentioned before, at the time of the murder there was a 2nd hand "Ford" garage located just a few miles east of the deposition site. Unfortunately, because that garage is still open and functional today, I am not permitted to comment further.

All I would say it that If I was investigating the case, I would certainly have questioned the 2nd hand official Ford car dealer/ Ford garage that was (and still is) located relatively close to the deposition site.

Could the killer have visited that garage and purchased a 2nd hand Ford, that he used to transport Melanie's body?

Was there a Ford car that was registered as scrapped, but the killer still had the keys for the car...and then chose to go BACK to the deposition site some time afterward, and then drop the keys for the Ford car he had previously used to abduct, murder, and then transfer Melanie's body in?


Perhaps the police could look at the DVLA registers for any Ford vehicle that was SCRAPPED in 1996. It can't have been sold, because all 3 keys were found by the body.

But when you scrap a vehicle, you get to keep the keys.

I think that's what the killer did; he scrapped the Ford car he had, and then took the keys to the deposition site at a later date.

The Ford keys are IMO, an absolutely crucial clue to the entire investigation.

The keys have been ruled out by the police as having been the killer's, because the killer seemingly couldn't have used those same keys to then drive off after he deposited the body.
However, that's not necessarily an accurate assessment, because he could have driven off in his Ford car, and then after he scrapped the car in a bid to destroy evidence, he then chose to go back to Melanie's body and then place the Ford car keys from his old car.
When he went back to the deposition site, he must have been driving a newly acquired vehicle, because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get back home without a car.

The keys are IMO, absolutely crucial to solving this case