Man jailed for plot to kill wife plans appeal

A man who hired a hitman to murder his former wife has lodged an appeal against his conviction.

Carol Morgan, 36, was killed in a “frenzied attack” inside the shop she ran with her husband Allen Morgan in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

The killer, who has never been caught, used an axe or machete to kill her in August 1981, before escaping with cash and cigarettes.

Lawyers representing Morgan have told the BBC a challenge to his conviction has been lodged with the Court of Appeal.

The 74-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years and 325 days after he was found guilty of conspiracy to murder following a trial at Luton Crown Court.

His current wife, Margaret Morgan, with whom he was having an affair at the time his former wife was killed, was found not guilty of the same offence.

Mrs Morgan, 75, attended the sentencing hearing where the judge outlined how the murder of Carol was "particularly brutal".

Carol Morgan had received between 10 and 15 blows during the attack on 13 August 1981 at the couple's shop in Leighton Buzzard.

Allen Morgan had taken her two children, then aged 14 and 12, to a cinema to see two films in Luton, and found his wife's body when he returned.

It was initially believed she had been a victim of a burglary gone wrong, but, in 2018, a new witness, Jane Bunting, told officers Morgan had asked if her ex-boyfriend knew anyone who could kill.

Carol’s son, Dean Morgan, told the jury it was a "real shock" in 2019 when the police said his step-parents had been arrested on suspicion of being involved in his mother’s murder.

The 57-year-old said he had last spoken to his stepfather in 2023, when he was charged.

"He told me it was all a mix-up and I told him I had no idea about what happened," he continued.

"The argument became heated and he put the phone down on me. We have not spoken since."

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