The Real Unforgotten, a two-part documentary airing on ITV, delves into the chilling murder of Carol Morgan in 1981, a case that remained unsolved for over four decades. Filmed across six years and granted full access to the police investigation, the documentary shadows real detectives as they strive to unravel the truth behind Carol's death.
Carol and her husband, Allen Morgan, operated a convenience store on a council estate in Linslade, Bedfordshire. On August 13, 1981, Allen reported finding Carol dead in their store.
At the time of the murder, he was at the cinema with his step-children, during which £435 in cash and some cigarettes were stolen from the store. Despite this, local gossip suggested Allen might have been involved in his wife's murder.
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The initial investigation revealed Allen's affair with a woman named Margaret Spooner, but given his solid alibi, he was never thoroughly investigated.
Police redirected their efforts towards identifying a mysterious figure who fled the scene with plastic bags. Despite multiple attempts in the media to clear his name, the relentless chatter compelled Allen to shut up shop and move to Brighton.
Residents and journalists recalled how Allen never looked particularly upset when speaking about his wife's death, which raised suspicion.
In 2018, Det Supt Carl Foster took over the cold case squad covering Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire. It was during this fresh look at the old case that Jane Bunting, once a protégé of Margaret Spooner and just a teenage witness at the time, brought new insights to light.
Alarmingly, it appeared Allen might've floated the concept of killing his wife to Jane amidst musings for a hitman – all driven by the desire to keep an affair going and escape financial strains.
Allen and Margaret went to court for a two-month trial at Luton Crown Court in 2024. At 74, Allen was found guilty of conspiring to murder and handed a life term bearing a minimum stint behind bars of 21 years.
Margaret was acquitted. Whereas the hitman, who had used an axe or machete to kill Carol, was never found.
Prosecutor Pavlos Panayi lamented in court, "We do not know who they eventually found. That man may never be brought to justice."
The Real Unforgotten will be broadcast on ITV on February 18 and February 25.
