Melanie Hall murder: 'Insufficient evidence' to charge suspect

Melanie Hall was last seen alive in Bath in 1996

A suspect in the investigation into the 1996 murder of Melanie Hall will not be charged, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.

The CPS said there was "insufficient evidence" to charge the 45-year-old man, who was arrested on suspicion of her murder in November 2013.

Miss Hall, 25, from Wiltshire, was last seen leaving a Bath nightclub. Her remains were found near the M5 in 2009.

The man, who was arrested at his home in Bath, was bailed until December.

Bin liner

Nicola Haywood, the South West's deputy chief Crown prosecutor, said: "Having carefully reviewed the file presented to the CPS by Avon and Somerset police in line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I have decided that there is insufficient evidence to charge anyone in relation to the disappearance on Melanie Hall."

Det Ch Insp Gareth Bevan, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We respect the decision of the CPS and will continue to work with them as this investigation continues."

Miss Hall, who was a clerical worker at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, had been for a night out at Cadillacs nightclub when she went missing.

A black bin liner containing her bones and skull was found by a workman clearing vegetation next to a slip-road at junction 14 of the motorway, near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, on 5 October 2009.

Melanie Hall murder timeline

• 9 June 1996 - Miss Hall is last seen at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath and a missing person inquiry is launched the next day

• 13 March 2003 - Police investigating the 1996 disappearance of Miss Hall search several sites in the Bath area, following the arrest of two men in connection with the case. Months later they are released without charge

• 7 October 2009 - Bones found by the side of the M5 motorway to the north of Bristol are identified as those of Miss Hall's

• 11 December 2009 - The funeral of Miss Hall takes place in Bath - 13 years after she went missing

• 25 November 2013 - A man is arrested on suspicion of the murder of Miss Hall