Shopkeeper 'murdered by hitman' in 1981 revealed cheating husband's affair to relative just weeks before she was found hacked to death, court hears

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.

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 remaining capital would be paid off in the event of her death.

Prosecutor Pavlos Panayi KC has told the court £400 disappeared from a desk during the raid, suggesting a burglary gone wrong. Cigarettes were also taken.

But the drawer could only be accessed using a 'secret mechanism', which indicated the intruder had 'inside information', and the 'cash may well have constituted part-payment for the murder'.

Both defendants are also said to have made unexplained cash withdrawals in the days leading up to the murder.

The jury have heard that a witness will describe how she overheard a man in a pub in Dunstable brag about how he got £500 and between 500 and 1,000 cigarettes 'for a job in Leighton Buzzard'. The witness allegedly saw Allen speaking to the man on two occasions.

Mr Panayi said another witness, Jane Bunting, who was 17 at the time of the killing, will allege that she was with Allen in the Dolphin pub in Linslade when he asked a 'known criminal' if he knew anyone who could help him kill his wife. Margaret was allegedly there at the time.

Divorced Allen, who didn't remain in contact with his own children, is said to have made the 'unprecedented' decision to take Carol's two kids, Dean and Jane, to the cinema in Luton on the night of the murder, providing himself with an alibi.

Secret recording between Allen and Margaret that were made by police when the couple were taken in for questioning in 2019 have been played in Luton Crown Court.

Margaret was heard to say 'Shush', indicating she thought they were being taped. Allen said 'I am sorry and 'I don't want to say anything because they might have…..'.

In another recording on their way to a police station in July last year, Margaret said: 'Stop going over it. They are probably listening in.'

Allen replied: 'I ain't done nothing. Neither of us have.'

The prosecutor said: 'The defendants planned and agreed the murder of Allen's first wife Carol.

'They were tied to each other. Each with the power to bring the mutual destruction of a criminal prosecution on each other.

'There was an unbreakable bond based on their joint responsibility for the killing of Allen Morgan's former wife.'

The Morgans, of Woodingdean, Brighton, both deny conspiracy to murder.

The trial continues.