'Carol's memory will not be erased': New ITV documentary reveals police's nailbiting journey to solve Linslade murder
"We've got this case coming. We don't know if it will go anywhere – do you fancy following it?"
These were the words of lead investigator Carl Foster to documentary filmakers Brinkworth Productions – as the police set out to do what seemed like the impossible: find justice for murdered Linslade shopkeeper, Carol Morgan.
In a powerful new programme called The Real Unforgotten, ITV audiences are invited to follow detectives on a journey to bring down a man who had plotted to kill – and one who tried to make sure that Carol's memory would be erased.
"We heard how this had haunted the community," said series director Matt Kennedy. "Filming on Finch Crescent, we had people coming up to us and they knew why we were there.
"Everybody had an opinion – even if they were too young to remember – the kids running out of the corner shop – 'is this about the murder?'"
On August 13, 1981, Carol was the subject of a "frenzied and sustained" attack, suffering horrific injuries that ended her life. She was found dead by her husband in the storeroom, but with no DNA evidence and weak witness testimonies, the case stood cold for over 35 years.
"She could have been anybody," said Matt, explaining what drew him towards the project. "She was the local shopkeeper, your everyday lady, that's what's so lovely about her. She was a figurehead of the community. The shock that [the murder] would have had on people..."
When Brinkworth Productions started rolling their cameras in 2019, they joined lead investigator Carl Foster and detective constable Denise Brown, from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire Police, in an uphill battle to gather new evidence.
There had always been whispers that the killer was Carol's husband, Allen Morgan – who had since remarried and had brought up Carol's two children as his own – but the odds were not in the police's favour.
"One of the fascinating things about it – there's no DNA evidence," explained Matt. "A lot of documentaries are reliant on a 'golden nugget' of evidence – finger prints on the murder weapon – but there's nothing like that.
"That's what makes it more interesting from a storytelling perspective."
The documentary features important locations from the investigation, including the shop that was formerly Morgan's Store on Finch Crescent, and the former Dolphin pub, where Matt says a "key meeting" took place.
It even features Luton's Odeon cinema – where Morgan took Carol's children on the evening of her murder.
Matt explained: "We wanted to transport the audience back to 1981 using different techniques. We use archive footage of Allen Morgan speaking to the police literally days after the murder, and photos of the Odeon and Dolphin from the 80s.
"We also have actors reading witness statements, all talking to the police back in 1981, taking viewers back to the tragic event."
Fast forward to the 2020s, and police put the success of the investigation down to "a change in people’s allegiances" and "good old-fashioned detective work", as they reinterviewed "numerous" people.
"What I haven't seen before is actually seeing what the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] is thinking," said Matt, "I think this is a 'documentary first', as we filmed with the CPS and the King's Counsel Prosecutor.
"For a long time during this case it felt like there wasn't enough evidence. It was quite an uphill struggle."
Then aged 74 and living in Stanstead Crescent, Brighton, he had faced a nine-week trial which revealed that he had hired a hitman to kill Carol – leaving Morgan free to start a new life with his lover, Margaret.
"We were filming around the arrest but didn't go in the house," explained Matt. "We use police body cam footage, so you can see the police station as he was brought into custody, and when Allen and Margaret were being interviewed by the police."
Morgan was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years at Luton Crown Court. Meanwhile, Margaret Morgan – who had stood trial alongside her husband for conspiracy to murder – was acquitted.
"I hope the audience will feel that some justice was done for Carol," said Matt. "And I hope that they will see the length that the police will go to to crack crimes from decades ago."
But of course, it is Carol's family for whom justice speaks the loudest.
In The Real Unforgotten, viewers have the chance to meet Carol's niece, Julie Welsch, and sister-in-law, Joan Sutton (relatives from her first marriage, before Allen Morgan).
"It was a privilege to be let into their world," said Matt. "Even 40 years later, you could tell that all this was still very, very upsetting for them. The investigation had reopened old wounds, but finally the truth had come out.
"They had always had their suspicions – and their suspicions turned out to be correct."
Viewers can watch The Real Unforgotten on Tuesday (February 18) at 9pm on ITV 1. Episode two will air the following Tuesday (February 25) at 9pm. Both programmes will be available on ITVX straight after episode one has been broadcast.
"It was an admirable risk of Brinkworth Productions to follow it for all this time – there was no gurantee of a conviction; it could have petered out," concluded Matt. "We are a small team and we have put everything into it.
"I just hope Carol's memory is honoured in the right way, and I feel like we have done that.
"Those responsible wanted her memory to be erased from history. But this will bring her voice to the forefront."
> Allen Morgan lodged an appeal against his conviction in August 2024. The identity of the hitman is still unknown.