Fresh torment for parents of tragic Melanie Hall
THE murder of Sian O’Callaghan has sparked renewed anguish for the family of graduate Melanie Hall.
Melanie, 25, vanished after leaving a nightclub in Bath nearly 15 years ago in circumstances starkly similar to Sian’s disappearance.
The psychology graduate had gone to the Cadillacs club with her partner and a group of friends.
The couple had a row when he spotted her dancing with another man and she was last seen sitting on a stool near the dance floor at 1am on June 9, 1996.
Avon and Somerset Police questioned thousands of clubbers and taxi drivers but her fate remained a mystery for 13 years until her remains were found hidden under five plastic bags at the side of the M5 in Gloucestershire in October 2009. A ring which had been in her family for generations was also found.
Her father Steve, a former chairman of Bath City FC, spoke at the time of the torment he and his wife Pat were suffering.
He said: “It has caused untold anguish for my wife, myself and my family – an anguish that will not go away over the years to come.
“People out there know, they’ve lived with that secret. Now I’m appealing for the person who knows to come forward.
“We had a young vibrant daughter with a bright future in front of her. Today we have a bag of bones discarded here on the side of a motorway.”
Melanie’s mother Pat added: “I feel very angry that her body has been dumped on the road like a sack of garbage.”
Melanie worked as a clerical officer in the orthopaedic department at Bath’s Royal United Hospital.