News / avon and somerset police
Fresh appeal to catch woman’s murderer 40 years on
It has been four decades years since Shelley Morgan was stabbed to death in 1984.
The 33-year-old was last seen alive near her Bedminster home on June 11 that same year, with her remains found four months later in Leigh Woods.
Her murder remains unsolved.
is needed now More than ever
Now detectives have vowed to catch her killer on the 40th anniversary of her disappearance with a fresh appeal for information in the hope of finally solving the cold case.
Police are appealing for people who own a specific kind of camera from the 1980s as part of their investigation
“We will never give up trying to identify the person responsible for Shelley’s murder and for leaving her two young children without their mother,” said detective inspector Dave Marchant.
“Forty years may have passed but our resolve has not lessened, and we remain committed to providing her family with answers and, if her killer is still alive, to bringing them to justice.”
On the day she was last seen, US-born Shelley dropped her two children off at school before heading towards Leigh Woods where she planned to spend the day sketching and taking photographs.
Police said that it wasn’t known whether Shelley ever made it to the woods and that authorities have never recovered her clothes or her camera – a 35mm Olympus OM20.
They appealed to anyone with that type of camera from the 1980s, with the serial number 1032853, to reach out to police as it may aid the investigation.
At the time, Shelley was wearing “a scarlet-coloured top, a white skirt and maroon-coloured tights along with large red circular glasses” and carrying a homemade patchwork bag.
On October 14, 1984, children playing in a wooded copse in Backwell Hill stumbled across Shelley’s remains
Speaking five years ago, on the 35th anniversary of Shelley’s disappearance, her sister Hollie Brian said: “Shelley’s death had a profound effect on our family and her loss has been felt ever since.
“I’ve come to believe that people aren’t really dead until the people who love and remember them have passed also. As long as we carry Shelley in our hearts she’ll always be with us but we’re all getting older and the time is going to come when all those doors are closed.
“We beseech you if you know anything about what happened that day back in June of 1984 please come to the police.
“Maybe you were afraid to speak out at the time. Maybe your situation has changed.
“Out of love and respect for my sister we really want to know what happened and be sure the person who killed her will never hurt anybody ever again.”
All photos: Avon & Somerset Police
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