Husband sentenced to 22 years in prison for plotting to murder wife in 1981

A man in his 70s has been jailed for a minimum of 22 years for plotting the murder of his former wife in Linslade more than 40 years ago.

Allen Morgan, 74, Stanstead Crescent, Brighton, was sentenced today at Luton Crown Court, with the Judge describing the death as "particularly brutal".

Carol Morgan suffered between 10 and 15 blows during the attack in Leighton Buzzard.

Allen Morgan was convicted by a jury at Luton Crown Court of conspiracy to murder Carol Morgan on 13 August 1981.

Cold Case reopened

The brutal assault took place in Morgan’s Store on Finch Crescent, the grocery shop being run by Allen and Carol at the time.

Detectives working on the case in 1981 were unable to gain sufficient evidence to charge anyone with her murder, despite a painstaking investigation which involved speaking to hundreds of people from the area as well generating 7,000 original documents.

Carol’s murder remained unsolved until detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit re-opened the case in 2018.

The review by the Cold Case Investigation Unit established that there were further opportunities to progress the investigation.

In 2023, Allen was arrested and charged with conspiring to kill Carol.

Over a nine-week trial, the jury were presented evidence from people who knew the defendants and victims at the time. It was also revealed that the killer, who has never been identified, had stolen cash from a secret drawer in the office, suggesting they had been given inside knowledge, and the money was part of the payment for the murder.

Allen and his now-wife Margaret Morgan, 75, – with whom he had been having an affair – went on to live a life on the south coast with Carol’s son and daughter.

Margaret, who also stood trial alongside Allen, was acquitted last month.

Speaking at the time of conviction, Retired Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Prickett, who led the original investigation for Bedfordshire Police between 1981 and 1983, said: “Carol Morgan’s murder was vicious and the image of the scene will remain etched in my memory forever.

“The fact this case remained undetected for over four decades has remained a thorn in the side of all the officers who worked on the case. The original investigation spanned two years and even after this time was frequently reviewed. It was a meticulously run operation, with multiple lines of enquiry even before DNA science and other technological advances that we know in policing today.

“I am grateful to the Cold Case Investigation Unit for resurrecting the investigation and bringing Carol’s murder before a jury, and I have given the proceedings my full support.

“I hope that the result will bring some closure to those who knew and loved Carol.”

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