Melanie Hall Murder

A Cold Case from Bath UK

This is a case that my team are currently reviewing in hope that we can put out a documentary about it. This murder seems to have been committed in 1996 but the victim’s remains were not found until 2009. This murder has to date never been solved.

We are determined that it is time for that to change.

This is one case that we as a team believe can be solved and in fact, should have been solved a long time ago.

Melanie Hall was born on August 20th 1970 and disappeared on June 9th 1996 after a night out at the Cadillacs Nightclub in Bath, UK.

Melanie had graduated from from the University of Bath in in 1995 having achieved a degree in nursing. She went on to get work as a clerical officer at The Royal university Hospital in Bath.

On 8th June 1996 Melanie had made arrangements for an evening out with her boyfriend Philip Karlbaum and then spent the night at his home afterwards. Her mother dropped her off at Philip’s home amd it was from there that they set out with another couple to Cadillacs nightclub in Bath city centre.

During the course of the evening Philip apparently saw 25-year-old Melanie dancing with another male and as a result an argument ensued. He left the club upset and headed home. She was last seen sitting on a barstool at 1.10 am in the early hours of June 9th 1996.

No one realised that Melanie was missing until she failed to arrive at work on June 11th 1996 and only then her parents reported her missing to Avon & Somerset Police.

There was an unconfirmed sighting of a woman arguing with a man between 1.45am and 2am on Old Orchard just around the corner from the nightclub. Whilst police say that they cannot rule out that the woman was Melanie but at the same time there is no way to confirm that it was her.

There is also a report of a male seen talking to a woman matching Melanie Hall’s inside the nightclub. He was described as white, around 27 years old, 5ft 10ins tall, medium build, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, bushy eyebrows and clean shaven.

His clothes were described as black trousers, black shoes with a brown silk shirt. The person who gave the description could not be certain but it seems quite possible the male had a gold hooped earring in his right ear and a flashy gold watch on his wrist.

An e-fit was issued of the male but he has never been traced

Despite a massive police operation Melanie was not found and she was declared legally dead by a court on November 17th 2004 but without her body being found

Then on October 5th 2009 a motorway worker discovered a massive black plastic sack hidden in rough scrubland at the side of the M5 Motorway near to Thornbury, Gloucestershire. The bag contained human bones including a skull, pelvis and a thigh bone which upon forensic analysis was sadly confirmed to be the remains of Melanie Hall. It was confirmed that the young woman had suffered severe fractures to her skull and face, and had been tied up with rope. It was not possible to confirm a definite cause of death due to the advanced state of decay of the remains.

Now before we go any further it is right to day that it has been suggested that a serial sex offender who preyed on women in the Bath area between 1991 and 2000 could potentially have been responsible for Melanie’s disappearance and death but thus far this has never been confirmed.

Officers from Avon & Somerset Police have said that they cannot rule out that the ‘Batman rapist’ was responsible for Melanie’s murder. The rapist is known to have attempted to carjack a woman at knifepoint in the same area of Bath as the club where Melanie was last seen just a few hours before Melanie is believed to have been abducted.

The victim of the attempted carjacking was left wouded when she fought her attacker but managed to escape.

If you are not familiar with the crimes of the Batman rapist you can read a recent blog written by the UK Cold Case Detective by clicking HERE

Coming back to Melanie Hall’s murder the night of her disappearance is a night that may stick in some people’s memory as it was the evening of the opening game of the Euro 96 football championships, England played Switzerland and drew 1–1.

Melanie was wearing quite distinctive clothes and shoes on the night that she disappeared namely a pale blue silk dress with a round neck, black suede mule shoes with straps across the front and an open toe, size 5 or 6, a cream single-breasted, long-sleeved jacket and a black satchel-type handbag. Her jewellery consisted of a Next watch with expanding bracelet and silver drop earrings.

She was also known to have had her Midland bank cheque book and cheque guarantee card with were in her handbag and have never been recovered.

Maybe you were in the club that night? Did you speak to or recognise Malanie Hall? She was a very pretty young lady with very distinctive blonde hair. Were you a can driver in Bath in 1996? Did you take Melanie and a male somewhere in the early hours of June 9th 1996?

Were you offered the items of jewellery to purchase? or even the high quality handbag?

If you know anything at all that could lead police to solve this heinous crime, please contact the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you are willing to discuss the case were a friend or colleague of Melanie and would be willing to speak to one of my research team then please get in touch.

Our contact details:

Email: UCMTUK@protonmail.com

or: lolly.truecrime@gmail.com

Follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LollyTrueCrime

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LollyTrueCrime

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lollytruecrimeworld/?hl=en