Shopkeeper 'murdered by hitman' in 1981 revealed cheating husband's affair to ... trends now
A shopkeeper allegedly murdered in a plot arranged between her husband and his lover told a relative weeks before she died that she was 'fighting a losing battle', a court heard today.
Carol Morgan is said to have confided in her uncle, George Wilkins, that things hadn't been going well in her marriage to Allen, although he claimed to be looking to mend their relationship.
But the mother-of-two, 36 – who was found hacked to death at her shop in 1981 – suggested the she didn't think it would work out.
'She said Allen was never in the shop and was always making excuses for being out at night,' Mr Wilkins said.
The pensioner's evidence was heard from beyond the grave as he died aged 84 in 2000. His statement to police, made days after his niece's murder, was read out in court today.
Carol Morgan (pictured) was found hacked to death at her shop in Leighton Buzzard in 1981
Allen and Margaret Morgan, aged 73 and 75, who are on trial for conspiracy to murder. Allen's first wife, Carol Morgan was murdered in 1981
The shop in Linslade open today in 2024, more than 40 years after Carol Morgan died after being repeatedly struck with a sharp and heavy weapon at her shop on Finch Crescent
Jurors have been told other statements from deceased witnesses will be admitted during the trial because of the length of time since the murder.
Another witness, Carol's cousin Pamela Smith, now 83, described how she had rung her on the day of the Royal wedding between Prince Charles and Diana married – two weeks before she was killed - to reveal the affair.
'She couldn't believe it. She said it had been going on for a long time,' Mrs Smith said in a statement.
'I had been watching the Royal wedding when she rang. They had only been married four years. I was not aware of any worries.'
Mrs Smith added her cousin met Allen at a group called Gingerbread for single parents after her first husband, Richard Curtis, left her for another woman. She described her as a 'lovely' girl whose 'children came first'.
Mrs Morgan was killed in the storeroom of Morgans Food Fayre in Linslade, near Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, on August 13, 1981. A weapon similar to axe or machete was used in the brutal assault.
Allen Morgan, now 73, and his lover Margaret Spooner, 75 – who he subsequently married – are said to have arranged for a hitman to murder her because they would face financial difficulties otherwise.
Carol had paid for a large share of the corner shop with money from her previous marriage. There was also around £5,000 of a loan outstanding on the store that was covered by a policy that meant the
