Brighton man found guilty of plot to murder wife, over forty years ago
Carol Morgan was fatally assaulted in the shop she ran with her husband Allen Morgan, now 74 - in 1981
Husband found guilty of plotting 1981 murder to start new life with lover
A man in his 70s has been found guilty of plotting the murder of his former wife in Linslade more than 40 years ago.
Allen Morgan, 74, Stanstead Crescent, Brighton, was convicted by a jury at Luton Crown Court of conspiracy to murder Carol Morgan on 13 August 1981.
He's due to be sentenced on July 31st.
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.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Carl Foster has continued to lead the investigation despite retiring before it reached trial. He said: “Carol was killed in a frenzied and sustained attack, suffering horrific injuries which cruelly cut short her life.
“Over the last four decades methods of gathering evidence have changed and improved, but the key in this case has been a change in people’s allegiances and loyalties. As a result, the re-investigation relied on good old-fashioned detective work, retracing the evidence obtained in 1981 and revisiting numerous witnesses.”
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.
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.”
Det Supt Foster continued: “Carol was effectively erased from all memory, including those of her own two children, who have grown up without their mother, being raised by the man responsible for her death. This trial has had a significant impact on them, as well as the numerous witnesses who have given evidence, and I am grateful for their bravery and support following what was a truly traumatic period of their lives.
“Bringing this case to justice has been the right thing to do. Anyone capable of committing such a brutal crime should not be allowed to live freely among our society.
“Allen Morgan has had more than 40 years of freedom that Carol will never have. He has today finally faced justice for the role he played in her murder.
“In the absence of a confession, we may never know who carried out the physical act of murdering Carol. However, we will do all in our power to secure new evidence and bring them to justice.”