Pensioner, 73, faces dying in prison for arranging his wife's murder more than 40 years ago after hiring a hitman to have her hacked to death while he was locked in an affair with now-wife

A pensioner was facing the prospect of dying behind bars today after he was convicted of arranging his wife's murder more than 40 years ago.

Allen Morgan, 73, was locked in a 'passionate but forbidden' affair with his current wife Margaret, 75, when he decided to have Carol killed.

He hired a hitman – who remains unidentified to this day – and organised a 'cast-iron' alibi for his whereabouts while she was brutally hacked to death with an axe or machete in the storeroom of her corner shop.

Allen and Margaret then embarked on a series of high-profile interviews in which they complained about public suspicions over their involvement in the murder, leading to the corner shop, which Allen co-ran, losing customers.

They went on to marry in 1982 – just a year after 36-year-old Carol's death – and have remained together ever since.

Allen was found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a two-month trial. The jury took exactly a week to reach its unanimous decision. Margaret, who was on trial for the same offence, was acquitted.

Mr Justice Martin Spencer congratulated the police on the conviction, saying: 'This has been an astonishing investigation after so many years and the way the police have approached this has been in the very best traditions and I'd like to mark that with a commendation in due course.'

Carol's death at Food Fayre in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, on August 13, 1981, captured the public imagination, with the police investigation under intense public scrutiny.

Potential witnesses were even controversially hypnotised in an attempt to unlock hidden memories that could crack the case.

As Allen and Margaret protested their innocence, detectives looked for a distinctive suspect with a 'piggy nose' who was seen in the area carrying two shopping bags stuffed with cash before driving away in a green Ford Cortina car.

Around £400 and a large quantity of cigarettes were stolen from the shop, which the prosecution said was intended to make the mother-of-two's death look like a robbery gone wrong but probably acted a part-payment for the hitman.

Carol had more than a dozen wounds about her head and was found lying in a pool of blood.

But prosecutor Pavlos Panayi KC told the jury: 'The murder of Carol Morgan was no random attack.

'It was planned and paid for by the two defendants in the dock.'

The defendants, who moved to Brighton in 1987, met while Allen was on grocery rounds for the shop.

During the torrid 14-month affair before Carol was murdered, they would meet for sex three times a week while Margaret's husband, Michael, was at work.

In a case that relied heavily on financial evidence, Luton Crown Court was told they wanted to move in together but couldn't afford to ditch their respective partners.

'That problem was solved by the death of Carol Morgan,' said Mr Panayi, who explained Allen would walk away with a significant sum of money if his wife died because an insurance policy covered the remaining £5,000 loan on the shop – worth considerably more in today's money.

He also inherited her share of the shop that she paid for with the financial settlement from her first marriage and maintenance payments for her children.

Allen had made sizable withdrawals from their bank account, despite the shop being a cash business – meaning if they needed money they could take it straight from the till. The prosecution said these were to pay the killer.

A key witness was Jane Bunting, a teenager at the time of the murder who told how Allen, who had been in a pub with her and Margaret, had asked her then boyfriend, a 'known criminal', if he knew anyone who could carry out a contract killing.

On the night of the murder, Allen made the 'highly unusual' decision to take his wife's children to the cinema, despite 'not having a strong relationship with them' and never having taken them out on his own before.

They arrived home at about 11pm to discover Carol's body.

Margaret's husband had also found out about the affair and confronted Allen at the shop, as well as giving his wife an 'ultimatum' to decide who she wanted to be with.

This meant the defendants had 'reached something of a crossroads', the prosecution said.

Speaking after the conviction, Retired Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Prickett, who led the original investigation for Bedfordshire Police between 1981 and 1983, said: 'Carol Morgan's murder was vicious and the image of the scene will remain etched in my memory forever.

'I hope that the result will bring some closure to those who knew and loved Carol.'

Detective Superintendent Carl Foster, who took over the investigation and continued to lead it despite retiring before it reached trial, added: 'Carol was effectively erased from all memory, including those of her own two children, who have grown up without their mother, being raised by the man responsible for her death.

'This trial has had a significant impact upon them, as well as numerous witnesses who have given evidence and I am grateful for their bravery and support following what was a truly traumatic period of their lives.

'Bringing this case to justice has been the right thing to do. Anyone capable of committing such a brutal crime should not be allowed to live freely in our society.

'Allen Morgan has had more than 40 years of freedom that Carol will never have. He has today finally faced justice for the role he played in her murder.

'In the absence of a confession, we may never know who carried out the physical act of murdering Carol. However, we will do all in our power to secure new evidence and bring them to justice.'

Sentencing will take place on July 31.