New appeal to solve shocking 40-year Bristol murder mystery Shelley Morgan

Police are marking the 40th anniversary of the disappearance of Bristol woman Shelley Morgan with a new appeal to find specific items they believe may have been taken by her killer.

The mother-of-two disappeared on June 11, 1984, and a four-month missing persons investigation ended tragically when her body was found in woodland near the north Somerset village of Backwell.

The 33-year-old’s killer has never been found and now, 40 years after her disappearance, police are renewing their appeal for information about what happened to her and have urged people in the town who know who killed her to come forward finally kill. Come forward.

Read more: Missing camera could hold key to finding Shelley Morgan’s killer

Unsolved murders: Sister imagines ‘unimaginable pain’ in Shelley Morgan’s final moments in heartbreaking appeal

The renewed police appeal focuses on trying to find the distinctive camera she had with her on the day she disappeared, as well as items of clothing that have never been found. The young mother, who was originally from the US and lived in the Windmill Hill area of ​​Bedminster at the time of her killing, was stabbed multiple times and although there was no evidence of sexual assault, police at the time believed the attack on her was motivated sexual.

The case shocked Bristol in the mid-1980s, but despite a huge murder investigation, her killer was never found.

Shelley was studying art at Bristol Polytechnic and on the day she disappeared, she was due to go to Leigh Woods after being commissioned to do artwork in the area. She dropped her two children off at school and planned to take the bus home from South Bristol. It is unclear whether or not she made it to Leigh Woods, but she never returned to pick up her children from school that afternoon and was never seen alive again.

Her remains were discovered in October of that year – more than four months later – in a grove near Backwell Hill in Backwell.

Now Inspector Dave Marchant, from Avon and Somerset Police’s ‘cold case’, has said he believes people there will know who was responsible for Shelley’s murder, and now may be the time they can finally come forward.

“We will never give up trying to identify the person responsible for killing Shelley and leaving her two young children without their mother,” he said.

“Forty years may have passed, but our resolve has not waned and we remain committed to providing answers to her family and, if her killer is still alive, to bringing them to justice.

“We know that after dropping her children off at school on June 11, 1984, Shelley headed to Leigh Woods where she planned to take photographs and sketch.

“While we can’t say definitively that she has arrived at Leigh Woods, we have had unconfirmed sightings of her on a bus traveling to the area and near Ashton Court,” he added. Shelley’s clothes and her camera have never been found – and detectives hope they have been discovered or can now be identified.

“We know Shelley was wearing a scarlet top, a white skirt and brown tights, along with large red circular glasses. And we know she had a homemade mosaic bag and an Olympus OM20 35mm camera with her.

“Neither the clothing nor the camera have ever been recovered, but we are hopeful that someone may still come across the camera as it is still popular with collectors.

“If you own an Olympus OM20 camera from the 1980s with serial number 1032853, please get in touch,” he added.

Shelley’s husband and mother have since died, but her sister Hollie Brian and her two children are still waiting for answers about what happened to her. Speaking five years ago on the 35th anniversary of Shelley’s disappearance, her sister Hollie said: “Shelley’s death had a profound effect on our family and her loss has been felt ever since.

“For 35 years I have watched the events of Shelley’s life pass by without her, 35 years of silence in the life she didn’t get to live.

“I’ve come to believe that people aren’t really dead until the people who love and remember them pass on too. As long as we carry Shelley in our hearts, she will always be with us, but we all grow old and the time will come when all those doors will be closed.

“Please, if you know anything about what happened that day in June 1984, please come to the police.

“Maybe you were afraid to speak at the time. Maybe your situation has changed. Out of love and respect for my sister, we really want to know what happened and make sure that the person who killed her never hurts anyone again,” she added.

Det Insp Marchant said forensic science had advanced enormously in the 40 years since Shelley’s body was found and he remained confident they would be able to discover who killed her.

“It may seem difficult to imagine that we can still solve this horrific crime 40 years ago, but with the advancement of forensic science and the passage of time, we remain positive,” he said. “Our public appeals are also effective in generating new lines of inquiry and helping us answer previously unanswered questions.

“Five years ago we released images of two postcards showing the River Avon in Bristol and St Andrew’s Church from the direction of Backwell Hill.

“Several members of the public contacted us in response to this appeal and officers were subsequently able to rule out any significance of the postcards for the investigation.

“Loyalties and relationships change over time and there may be someone who didn’t feel able to speak to us then or even five years ago who may be able to do so now,” he added.

“We believe the locations Shelley visited that day hold the key to the identity of her killer. It is highly likely that her killer was familiar with the Leigh Woods and Backwell areas and may have had connections through work or other associations. It is also more than likely that they had access to a vehicle.

“If you have any information, however small or irrelevant you think it might be, please come forward. You might have the missing piece that helps complete this case. If you can help, please call the Major and Statutory Crime Review Team on the non-emergency number 101,” he said.