Murder plot couple asked friend for help, trial told

Allen and Margaret Morgan have denied conspiracy to murder

A couple having an affair who plotted to kill the man’s then-wife asked a friend to help with the alleged assassination, a court heard.

The body of 36-year-old Carol Morgan was found in her shop, Morgan's Store, in Linslade, Bedfordshire, on 13 August 1981.

Allen Morgan, 73, and Margaret Morgan, 75, of Brighton, East Sussex, who are now married, are on trial accused of conspiracy to murder.

A friend of Margaret, who was 17 at the time, told Luton Crown Court that the pair discussed killing Carol with her that summer.

Jane Bunting said that while at the former Dolphin pub in Leighton Buzzard, Allen asked whether an ex-boyfriend would know anyone who could kill Carol.

She recalled him asking: “What about that Danny Mayhew you went out with. He’s a bit of a criminal, would he know someone?"

Carol Morgan was found at her shop in Linslade, Bedfordshire, in 1981

Ms Bunting said Margaret brought up how Ms Bunting had previously raised the possibility of killing the wife of a man she herself was having an affair with.

Killing someone with insulin or in a car accident had been discussed, Ms Bunting told jurors.

Allen, a diabetic, described using insulin as “really stupid” - she recalled.

Of a car crash, Margaret allegedly said “neither of us are car mechanics so that is not going to happen”.

Ms Bunting said Allen told her “I hate Carol, I wish she was dead… wouldn’t an accident be nice”. They were trying to be “flippant”, she said.

Ms Bunting said she was “appalled”.

Allen then said “you could always pay someone”, she claimed.

The witness said she passed on no contact details and Margaret later asked that she did not tell anyone about the conversation.

Allen and Margaret Morgan are appearing at Luton Crown Court

Ms Bunting said she did not mention this at a police interview at the time as “Margaret asked me not to… I owed her and I was loyal to her”.

She told police when they made contact with her in 2021 having moved away from Bedfordshire, she said.

The trial continues.