‘My murdered daughter’s bedroom has laid untouched since she vanished 30 years ago’
Holding an old teddy bear and rummaging through a collection of antique clay pipes on the windowsill, Steve Hall looks thoughtfully at his murdered daughter’s bedroom, virtually unchanged since the evening she disappeared 30 years ago.
The neatly made bed sits beneath a faded picture on the wall, there are books on the shelf, and a wooden dressing table is placed in one corner.
“Nothing prepares you for this,” he says. “It’s a bit like car accidents; you always think it’s going to happen to someone else, but occasionally it happens to you.”
Melanie Hall, 25, went missing while out with friends at the old Cadillacs nightclub in Bath in 1996. She had spent the afternoon with her boyfriend watching the opening day of the European football finals, in which England drew with Switzerland.
The college graduate was last seen sitting on the edge of the dance floor. His disappearance triggered a major police operation, but 13 years later, in 2009, his body was found wrapped in bin bags next to the M5 motorway. Police have arrested 11 people but so far no one has been charged with his murder.
Avon and Somerset Police are launching a new appeal on Friday, the anniversary of her disappearance, hoping for a “major breakthrough” in solving the thorny case.
For Melanie’s family (parents Steve and Pat and sister Dominique), the pain of what happened to her and why will continue until justice is served.
“The biggest [thing] I put what she was afraid of and what she was afraid of in a box,” says Dominique. “I find it a little overwhelming. I hope and pray that what happened to him happened quickly and that he didn’t know it was going to happen.
“To be fair, I’m angry. I’m angry that she lost her life at 25, that someone chose to take that from her. I’m angry that I lost my sister. I lost a part of myself, a part of my identity.”
Sitting next to Dominique at the family home just outside Bath, Mr Hall said: “This will never bring Melanie back, it will never take away the 30 years we lost with her. I want justice for her, I want to understand why.”
The family said the pain was too much for Melanie’s mother, Pat, who has advanced dementia.
Mr Hall adds: “I think when Melanie was found she gave up. I think she kept going until that point and when she got her daughter back I think that was the end of it for her and it wasn’t the same afterward.”
On the anniversary of Melanie’s death, Avon and Somerset Police will launch the Justice for Melanie campaign, which aims to take people back to the month of her disappearance to bring back details or memories.
During the match between Bath Rugby and Leicester Tigers on Saturday, messages will be shown on a digital screen, and advertisements will be shown on a minibus traveling around the city, as well as in businesses and council services.
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Lavender said: “Just one small detail or memory… could go a long way and solve Melanie’s murder.”
Melanie’s remains showed that she had suffered severe head trauma. Her clothes, jewelry and belongings were never found. These include a pale blue silk dress, black suede mule shoes, a cream single-breasted jacket, Next watch, silver drop earrings, and a black purse.
Independent charity Crimestoppers has offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Miss Hall’s murder.
Information can be reported to Avon and Somerset Police’s Operation Denmark team online by calling 101 or visiting an investigations office. Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously via the website or on 0800 555111.
