Father-of-four admits murdering Bath teenager
A man has admitted murdering a teenager from Bath 32 years ago.>Melanie Road was 17, when she was repeatedly stabbed in the city in June 1984.>Today father-of-four Christopher Hampton pleaded guilty to her murder after police used developments in forensic techniques - and had a lucky break in the investigation.
For three decades Hampton, now 64, hid his murderous secret from the woman he would go on to marry and the children he would father.>Police had a perfect DNA sample from the scene. He had left a trail of blood as he fled the attack.>But Hampton didn't appear on any DNA database, because he hadn't reoffended.
His daughter Clare was arrested and cautioned for a minor offence in 2014. As a matter of course, she was swabbed for her DNA. >When this record was added to the database, it suggested a 'familial' link to the killer of Melanie Road.>Detectives then swabbed Hampton, and it provided a perfect DNA match. A one-in-a-billion chance it was not him.>In the face of this persuasive evidence, Hampton, who had always made 'no comment' interviews' to police, and pleaded 'Not Guilty' in court changed his plea and admitted he was the murderer.
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