Pictured: The white VW Golf that police believe was used by the killer of nightclubber Melanie Hall in 1996

  • Police believe white VW Golf GTi could be linked to Melanie Hall murder
  • Car disappeared from official records around the time she was killed
  • Hospital worker last seen at Cadillac's nightclub in Bath 17 years ago
  • Her remains were found beside a slip road on the M5 in 2009
  • Officers are appealing for anyone with information to contact police

By Lizzie Edmonds

PUBLISHED: 16:12 EST, 19 March 2014 | UPDATED: 16:12 EST, 19 March 2014


This could be the car used by the unknown killer of nightclubber Melanie Hall who was brutally murdered 17 years ago, police revealed today.

Melanie, then 25, disappeared on a night out in Bath, Somerset, in June 1996. Her remains, dumped beside a slip road on the M5, were not found until 13 years later.

The hospital worker had been battered around the head and her body was wrapped in black bin bags and bound with blue rope.

Detectives investigating the murder of Melanie Hall believe this car may be linked to the murder

Detectives investigating the murder of Melanie Hall believe this car may be linked to the murder

The car - registration C752 CYE - disappeared from official records around the time of Miss Hall's death

The car - registration C752 CYE - disappeared from official records around the time of Miss Hall's death

Today, police released this photo of a white VW Golf GTi hardtop that disappeared from official records shortly after Melanie vanished.

The vehicle - registration C752 CYE - was last known to be registered on August 7, 1996.

Police say they do not know what happened to it since - and are appealing for anyone with information about it.

 

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They are particularly interested in sightings around the Bath area at the time Melanie disappeared.

They also say the car was linked to the Pentwyn area of Cardiff around the time.

The latest developments were announced on Crimewatch this evening.

Detective Superintendent Mike Courtiour said: 'We are very interested in this car and its possible connection to Melanie's disappearance.

'We are appealing for anyone with knowledge of it to contact us, even after all these years.

Hospital worker Melanie Hall, who was last seen in a Bath nightclub in 1996
Hospital worker Melanie Hall, who was last seen in a Bath nightclub in 1996

Hospital worker Melanie Hall, who was last seen in a Bath nightclub in 1996. Her remains were found wrapped in plastic bags bound by tape by the side of the M5 motorway 13 years later

'Our work into Melanie's murder remains very much active and positive. We are following up a number of leads, of which this missing Golf GTi could be very important.'

Last November a 44-year-old man from Bath was arrested and questioned for two days before being released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Detectives also searched a property on an estate in the city.

His was the fourth suspect to be questioned about Miss Hall’s murder since her remains were discovered.

At the time, her father Steve, who lives near Bradford-upon-Avon, Wiltshire, said the development was 'progress'.

He said: 'We are hopeful that progress is being made. It is a long and painful process 17 years down the line.

'This would appear to be connected to the appeal we made at the beginning of October, which is great. We are keeping our minds open on these things.

‘The police are keeping us informed and we are hopeful. It is not the first time someone has been arrested in connection with her death but we are remaining positive.’

Steve Hall and Pat Hall pictured at a press conference shortly after their daughter's remains were found

Steve Hall and Pat Hall pictured at a press conference shortly after their daughter's remains were found

Miss Hall, who worked in a hospital, was last seen in June 1996 after apparently arguing with her doctor boyfriend in a nightclub.

Despite a huge police operation, no trace of her was found until 2009 when a workman found parts of her skeleton hidden in plastic bags.

He was clearing undergrowth just a few yards off the northbound slip road at junction 14 of the M5 near Thornbury, Gloucestershire, when he found the remains.

The find was almost 30 miles from where the psychology graduate was last seen in Cadillac’s nightclub.

Five bin-liners contained or covered her remains, including arm and leg bones and her pelvis and skull.

Other parts of her skeleton were found partially buried nearby.

In the four years since Melanie's discovery, her parents and sister Dominique have issued repeated appeals for members of the public to help police with their inquiries.


 

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What a sad sad case. Somebody must know something.

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