A man has been found guilty of plotting to kill his then-wife to start a new life with his lover more than 40 years ago.
Allen Morgan, 74, of Brighton, was unanimously convicted by a jury of conspiracy to murder Carol Morgan at Luton Crown Court on Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Carol Morgan, then aged 36, was found hacked to death at the convenience store she ran with her husband, then aged 31, in Linslade, Bedfordshire on August 13 1981.
At the time of the victim鈥檚 death, there was not enough evidence to charge anyone in connection with the case and her husband was not considered a suspect, the CPS said.
Morgan was tried alongside his current wife, Margaret Morgan, 75, who was also charged with conspiracy to murder but was acquitted, police said.
The court heard that the killer, who has never been identified, used a heavy weapon to hack at Carol, causing fatal injuries to her body and skull.
The prosecution told the jury that Allen Morgan had been having an affair with the second defendant at the time of Carol鈥檚 death, but felt he could not divorce his wife because of financial issues.
After Carol鈥檚 murder, Margaret Morgan, who was then called Margaret Spooner, left her husband and moved in with Allen Morgan.
The couple later married and have been together ever since, the court heard.
The jury was told that a witness, who was 17 at the time of the murder, had come forward in 2021 and told police that Margaret Morgan had brought her to a pub where Allen Morgan had asked whether she knew anyone who could help him kill his wife.
In a statement, retired Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Prickett, who led the original investigation for Bedfordshire Police between 1981 and 1983, said: 鈥淐arol Morgan鈥檚 murder was vicious, and the image of the scene will remain etched in my memory forever.
鈥淭he fact this case remained undetected for over four decades has remained a thorn in the side of all the officers who worked on the case.鈥
He added: 鈥淎llen Morgan has had more than 40 years of freedom that Carol will never have.
鈥淗e has today finally faced justice for the role he played in her murder.鈥
Lawyer Shan Saunders, of the CPS, said: 鈥淔or decades, Allen Morgan hid the truth about how Carol died.
鈥淗owever, when an investigation into her unsolved murder was reopened almost 40 years later, a thorough review of the evidence gathered by the original inquiry team together with new evidence from a witness was sufficient to link him to Carol鈥檚 death, enabling us to charge him with conspiring to murder her.
鈥淲ith no CCTV or forensics available, we relied almost exclusively on testimonies from dozens of witnesses during the trial.
鈥淭he strength of their evidence was enough for us to prove that Morgan had plotted to kill Carol, and for the jury to subsequently convict him.鈥
Morgan will be sentenced on July 31.
