Man and woman in their 70s arrested in connection with murder of shopkeeper

25 July 2023 , 16:40

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An undated file handout photo issued by Bedfordshire Police of Carol Morgan (Image: PA)

Two pensioners have been arrested over the 1981 unsolved murder of a 36-year-old shopkeeper.

Carol Morgan's body was found at Morgan's Store in Finch Crescent, Linslade, Bedfordshire on August 13 1981.

On Tuesday, officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit arrested a man and a woman aged in their 70s from Brighton, East Sussex, on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

Detective Superintendent Carl Foster, leading the investigation, told how a murder investigation into the cold case of Carol Morgan was started more than five years ago.

He said: "We launched a murder investigation into the cold case of Carol Morgan over five years ago.

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Carol Morgan's body was found at Morgan's Store in Finch Crescent. Pictured in 2019

"My team have worked relentlessly to piece together the events that led to her untimely death and have explored investigative opportunities available to us in the time that's passed since the 1980s. I want to thank our community for supporting the investigation.

"Our cold case unit continues to review every unsolved murder and no murder investigation is ever closed."

A number of arrests were made at the time of Ms Morgan's death, and again in 2019, but no one has ever been charged.

Anyone with information about Carol Morgan's death can submit it to police via a dedicated web page.

A statement from Bedfordshire Police read: "Detectives investigating the death of a woman more than four decades ago have arrested two people on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

"On 13 August 1981, Carol Morgan’s body was found at Morgan’s Store in Finch Crescent, Linslade. She was only 36 years old at the time. An investigation into the death of Mrs Morgan was launched by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit in 2018.

"Today (Tuesday), a man and a woman in their 70s from Brighton were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and are currently in police custody for questioning."

Tim Hanlon