Carol Morgan murder: Husband who hired hitman jailed for 1981 murder of ex-wife in Bedfordshire
ITV News Anglia's Sophie Wiggins reports from Luton Crown Court as Allen Morgan is jailed for ordering a hitman to murder his wife.
A husband who plotted to murder his wife has been jailed for his part in her death more than 40 years ago.
Carol Morgan died in a "frenzied attack" in August 1981 at her shop in Bedfordshire, but those responsible for her death went unpunished for decades.
Her husband Allen Morgan, 74, was found guilty of conspiring to murder Carol Morgan, his second wife, at Luton Crown Court.
His third wife, Margaret Morgan, with whom Allen Morgan had been having an affair at the time, was cleared of the same charge.
At Luton Crown Court on Monday, Allen Morgan was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 22 years.
The judge told Morgan "you will be spending the rest of your life in prison", despite being eligible for early release due to his health issues.
Judge Justice Martin Spencer said: "Carol was a throughly admirable person, she did not deserve to die. I have no doubt that her final thoughts would have been with her two children."
As he was sentenced, there were audible shouts of "yes" from the public gallery.
In a statement read to the court, Carol Morgan's daughter Jane said: “The man I have spent almost my entire life calling dad, has been lying to me my entire life.
"I am struggling to come to terms with this and will now go through a period of adjustment.
"It’s been an incredible distressing and confusing period of my life, and has made be doubt everything I knew. ‘
Police believe Carol Morgan was killed with an axe, heavy knife or machete, with the attack "particularly brutal, between 10 to 15 blows".
Her murder remained unsolved for several decades and multiple arrests were made but no charges were made.
Then in 2018, the cold case was reopened by detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit.
Allen and Margaret Morgan were arrested last year while living in Stanstead Crescent, Brighton, East Sussex, and the trial lasted nine weeks.
During the trial, prosecutor Pavlos Panayi KC told the jury the couple had been having an affair for more than a year when Carol Morgan died.
The prosecution told the trial that a woman called Jane Bunting, who was 17 at the time and is now 60, came forward to police in 2021 after she heard police were reopening their investigation.
She said Allen Morgan had asked her if she knew anyone who could help him kill his wife.
Carol Morgan's killer has never been identified.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...