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

[Inspector Evans]

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

Great theory!

Shame the body wasn't discovered in say late 90s as then I presume the needle in the haystack task of tracing the keys might've been more realistic?

Leaving the keys near the body especially if it wasn't done when the body was actually dumped is odd. Trying to understand why a killer would do it if that was the timeline as surely car keys don't qualify as any kind of trophy in their warped mindset?

If a car was getting scrapped and so long had passed between murder and discovery of body then I can't get the logic of going back to the body and putting keys there.

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

I think Melanie’s dad at one point in an appeal said that he had driven past the deposition site many times (without knowing she was there).
I wonder if he meant on the actual slip road or on the M5 proper.
I also wonder if that may have been a factor in the choosing of the site? I really hope not.

 

[Rookie D]

Great theory!

Shame the body wasn't discovered in say late 90s as then I presume the needle in the haystack task of tracing the keys might've been more realistic?

Leaving the keys near the body especially if it wasn't done when the body was actually dumped is odd. Trying to understand why a killer would do it if that was the timeline as surely car keys don't qualify as any kind of trophy in their warped mindset?

If a car was getting scrapped and so long had passed between murder and discovery of body then I can't get the logic of going back to the body and putting keys there.

I think the killer had a Ford car that he used to transport Melanie to the deposition site, but because he had to get rid of the car, he then has it scrapped soon after, but keeps the keys.

But seeing as the car is now scrapped, it's highly likely that it can't be traced, because the car is no longer registered in anyone's name.

Thus, once the car has been scrapped, he only has the keys left and rather than just throw them away, he decides to go back to the deposition site and then put the keys by the body.

He never expects the body to be found, but he can't be certain. So he deliberately places the keys because he knows the police can't trace the vehicle, and he also believes that the police would never think the keys belonged to him, because in their mind, the killer would have had no way to exit the scene via his car just after he deposited Melanie's body, if his own keys had just been left or dropped by the body.

It's a calculated risk, but in a way the keys act as a form of counterintuitive alibi for the killer then not having used a Ford vehicle to transport the body, based on the assumption that the killer would never have chosen to go back to the deposition site for a 2nd time.

 

[Rookie D]

Interestingly, if you go to Google Street maps and go to the slip road beside where the body was deposited, but then choose "more dates" and then go back to "Oct 2008," you'll see what the site looked like BEFORE Melanie was found the following October in 2009.

If you then pan the camera around to look directly at the greenery/trees, you'll see something potentially interesting.

Just past the sign that reads;

M5
M
118.8

there appears to be a dark blue jacket or coat hung up.

It's hard to spot at first, but if you look at the correct angle (facing the camera slight south west back up toward the top of the junction) you can see what appears to be a dark blue coat of some kind?

It may not be relevant at all, but it's interesting that this jacket appears to be left hanging up just a few yards from where Melanie's remains were found.

Of course, there's every chance that my eyes are just seeing things, but IMO it does look like a dark blue jacket of some kind

I still have no idea how to do a link as I am not tech savvy, but I would urge y'all to take a look at what I'm referring to and see whether you think I'm right, or just seeing things that aren't there.

Note that it only works if you go back to Oct 2008 on the street view.

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

Rookie, why would you think that the killer went back with the keys? Because he was revisiting anyway for warped kicks? Or because he wanted to play games with the police once the car was safely scrapped?

Do you have any suspicions as to the real identity of the killer?

 

[Rookie D]

Rookie, why would you think that the killer went back with the keys? Because he was revisiting anyway for warped kicks? Or because he wanted to play games with the police once the car was safely scrapped?

Do you have any suspicions as to the real identity of the killer?

In terms of the keys; I'm not entirely sure, but I think that the killer may have dealt with the local Ford dealer/garage located just a few miles east of the deposition site. I would check their historic records (if they still exist) of anyone who approached them to ask to scrap their car. As a Ford dealer, the business would likely have bought the car for scrap, and inadvertently destroyed any trace evidence as a result.

The garage has been running for decades; started in the 70's or 80's I believe, and is still running today. Hence why I am not permitted to name the garage.

In terms of the killer, I have no idea. But I think a local tradesman/builder/mechanic/builder/roofer/canal boatman, from South Gloucestershire, would be a good place to start.

Melanie was said to have stood out in the club because her blue silk dress reflected with the lighting. I just think that a great ruse for a stranger befriending her, would be a man in a silk shirt going over to her and complimenting her on her dress. If she had just had an argument with her BF, the silk shirt man may have used this as an opportunity to make his move; especially if they had been dancing previously.

Of course, there is another ruse that the man may have used to breach her natural instinct defences, and that may have been in the form of telling her he was gay. She may have felt more at ease if she felt he wasn't going to come onto her, and may be a reason why she allegedly left the club with him.

Of course, that's just conjecture, but if he was the killer, he would have needed a ruse to find a way in and make her feel like he wasn't a threat to her. A degree of superficial charm would have also helped to convince her she was safe.

 

[Rookie D]

If you look at Oct 2008 on google street view and place the camera at the top of the slip road junction that comes OFF the M5 motorway, you'll see 2 street signs for 2 different prisons
H.M Prison Leyhill to the right
H.M Prison Eastwood Park to the left.

So IF those street signs were there back in 1996, did the killer drive off the M5 motorway and get to the top of the junction to either turn west or east (to go over the bridge across the M5) but then read BOTH those H.M prison street signs, and then he panicked and realised he had to quickly dump the body.
And so instead of turning left or right, he makes a slight right and drives straight ahead and onto the slip road that leads BACK onto the M5. He then drives down the slip road with the intention of re-joining the motorway to go and find somewhere to dump the body, and then looks to his left and realises he can just pull up on the hard shoulder and then just dump her body in the undergrowth close to the slip road.

Could the killer have read those 2 prison signs and had a moment when he knew he had to just dump the body as quickly as possible?

The psychological impact on reading those 2 signs may have been the trigger to choose that particular deposition site.

That is of course IF those signs were actually there back in 1996?

I would ask the DVLA or whoever is in charge of road signs to confirm when those signs were put up.

If they were there, then it could imply that the killer lived close to that M5 junction. If that's the case and he had initially intended to turn right and then drive east over the motorway, he would have been heading directly toward that Ford garage I have mentioned earlier.

Probably a coincidence and likely to be confirmation bias on my part, but it would be good to determine when those H.M prison signs were put up, and how the killer would have been facing those street signs as he drove to the top of that slip road junction with Melanie's body in his vehicle.

Food for thought

 

[dotr]

January 27, 2026 Pete Gavan Senior Editor and Tom Pettifor

Police issue new e-fit in cold case murder 30 years after woman killed

Melanie Hall, 25, was last seen in Cadillacs nightclub in Bath in 1996

www.somersetlive.co.uk

'On the night Melanie disappeared, England had secured a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in Euro 96's opening match.'

' One witness observed a woman matching Melanie's appearance at approximately 1.20am seated in an armchair conversing with a sun-kissed man wearing a brown silk shirt, black trousers and black shoes''
''The woman left at 1.45am with the man following behind her up the stairs towards the exit, according to a witness.''

Det Chief Insp Ben Lavender, who is leading the cold case team, stated: "He was described as being very smart looking. If that person was you or you recognise that description then please let us know."

'On the evening she disappeared, Melanie was wearing a pale blue silk dress, black suede mule shoes, a cream single-breasted long-sleeved jacket and was carrying a black satchel-type handbag. These items have never been found.''

'Mr Lavender described it as a "strange" location to leave a body, given the more isolated spots nearby.'
''The key to unlocking it is the suspect potentially could have links northbound and to Bath and drawing in on that would be really interesting," the officer said.''

 

[rvlvr]

Of course, there is another ruse that the man may have used to breach her natural instinct defences, and that may have been in the form of telling her he was gay. She may have felt more at ease if she felt he wasn't going to come onto her, and may be a reason why she allegedly left the club with him.

Of course, that's just conjecture, but if he was the killer, he would have needed a ruse to find a way in and make her feel like he wasn't a threat to her. A degree of superficial charm would have also helped to convince her she was safe.

I think @tes1984 mentioned the possibility he was gay/bi (or claimed to be) a few pages back, I definitely think it’s a decent shout. I think this would put someone like Shillibier in the picture, imo the e-fit isn’t a bad likeness for him.