Murder of Melanie Hall

Melanie Hall (20 August 1970 – disappeared 9 June 1996; declared legally dead 17 November 2004 ) was a British hospital clerical officer from Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, who disappeared following a night out at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath.

She had graduated from the University of Bath in 1995 with a degree in sociology and psychology; Hall's mother, Pat Hall, said graduation had been a "cherished" dream of Melanie's for four years.

Melanie Hall worked as a clerical officer at Bath's Royal United Hospital.

Her father, Stephen Hall, has served Bath City Football Club as Chairman.

Hall had arranged to stay with her boyfriend Philip Karlbaum on 8 June and her mother dropped her off at his home.

On the night of 8 June 1996 Hall went to Cadillacs nightclub in Bath with Karlbaum and another couple.

Hall was reported as having had an argument with Karlbaum, and he left the club "upset" after he allegedly saw her dancing with another man.

Hall was last seen sitting on a stool in the club at around 1:10 am on 9 June 1996.

She was reported missing on 11 June 1996 by her parents after she failed to turn up for work.

Karlbaum described his devastation at her disappearance on 17 June 1996.

Avon and Somerset police launched several searches of the River Avon after her disappearance and interviewed thousands of clubbers and taxi drivers.

A £10,000 reward was offered for information, and the BBC show Crimewatch and Crimestoppers both made appeals to the public for information, as did Hall's sister Dominique, but no trace of Hall was found.

The Crimewatch appeal broadcast on 5 November 1996 included details of unconfirmed sightings of Hall around the time she disappeared: one witness saw a woman who resembled Hall in Cadillacs nightclub, talking to a man and saw them leave together; at approximately 2 am on 9 June, two women had left Domino's Pizza on Walcot Street and were heading towards the nightclub, when they witnessed a woman who looked like Hall arguing with a man outside the church hall; around the same time, further along Walcot Street, another witness saw a man coaxing a woman, who may have been Hall, into the Podium car park.

In 1998, the suspected killer of Suzy Lamplugh, John Cannan, was questioned over the murder.

Known for his Bristol connections, Cannan was spoken to by police after allegations came to light that he had plotted the murder of Hall from his prison cell at HM Prison Durham.

Detectives investigated claims from sources that said that Cannan had spent many hours planning what he described as the "perfect" abduction with a fellow inmate.

The other inmate was a convicted rapist who supposedly put the plan into action after being released from prison.

Inexplicably, although Cannan was in prison at the time of Hall's abduction and murder, some witnesses came forward to say they were certain that Cannan was the man they had seen abducting Hall that night.

Hall's parents said that they feared if Cannan was responsible for their daughter's death they would never know the truth of what happened to her, as Cannan was infamous for tactically withholding information about victims in order to maintain a sense of control over investigators.

In 2003, police arrested two men in connection with Hall's disappearance but they were released without charge after police searched buildings and a field near Bath.

She was declared dead in absentia in 2004.

Hall was declared legally dead on 17 November 2004.

On 5 October 2009, her partial remains were discovered, after a garbage bag containing human bones was found by a workman on the M5 motorway near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire.

On 7 October 2009, the bones, which included a pelvis, thigh bone and a skull, were analysed and identified as belonging to Melanie Hall.

It was determined that Hall had suffered severe fractures to her skull and face, and had been tied up with rope, although a definitive cause of death could not be established.

Over the years, various people have been arrested in connection with the murder, but subsequently released.

Hall was described by her parents as a "young, vibrant daughter".

On 5 October 2009, a motorway worker found a plastic bin bag containing bones while he was clearing a vegetation patch on a slip road at Junction 14 of the M5 motorway.

The bones in the bag included a skull, pelvis and thigh bone and further remains were found buried and spread around the field by the side of the motorway.

Police confirmed that the remains were human, and they showed a piece of jewellery found at the site to Hall's parents, who confirmed that it had belonged to their daughter.

Despite this, police refused to confirm that the body was that of Hall until a post-mortem had been carried out.

The remains were formally identified as being Hall's through dental records on 7 October.

She had incurred severe blunt trauma to her head resulting in a fractured skull, cheekbone and jaw.

Blue rope had been used to tie the bin bags around Hall's body.

Hall's parents launched a fresh appeal on 8 October for anyone with information to come forward, while Avon and Somerset CID DS Mike Britton stated that he was staying on after his retirement to continue working on the Hall disappearance, codenamed Operation Denmark, having spent 13 years on the case.

On 29 October 2009, police announced that three keys to a Ford vehicle, possibly a Transit, Fiesta or Escort, had been found near the body, and that they were working with Ford to try to identify the vehicle.

Crimewatch also launched a fresh appeal for information, which resulted in more than 200 phone calls from the public.

The reward for information leading to arrest was also increased to £20,000.

In October 2019, police revealed they had obtained a partial DNA profile from the rope wrapped around the bag containing Hall's remains and stated that they remained confident that Hall's killer would be caught.

Her parents reinstated a £50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.