IT may be 33 years since mum-of-two Patricia Hall vanished without trace after a row with her husband – but her disappearance is not forgotten.
The bubbly Avon lady — who was devoted to sons Andrew, then nine, and five-year-old Graeme — was feared murdered by her husband Keith after he told a covert cop he had “strangled” her and dumped the body.
MirrorpixKeith Hall beams as he is driven away from Leeds Crown Court after he was acquitted of murdering his wife Patricia in 1994[/caption]
It has been 33 years since Patricia Hall’s disappearance after a row with her husband Keith, her family is still seeking answerssupplied
Patricia’s younger sister, Christine Weatherhead — who believes her sibling is dead — has welcomed news the case will be re-examinedMirrorpix
But a trial judge would not allow a secret recording of his confession to be used as court evidence and he was cleared of any crime.
Now, The Sun can reveal that West Yorkshire Police have opened a cold case review in a bid to discover what happened to Patricia.
Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs, the force’s head of specialist crime and criminal justice, said: “Our major investigation review team is currently conducting a cold case review into the disappearance of Patricia Hall, which is a process we carry out periodically as standard procedure for unsolved cases.
“That review is likely to conclude in the next few months.
“We are maintaining contact with Patricia’s family and doing everything we can to support them and keep them informed.
“We would welcome any new information that could assist in getting her family the answers they need.”
I cannot accept that she remains a missing person when she has never contacted me or her lads, who she adored, and has never touched her bank account or passport. Nothing.
Christine Weatherhead
Patricia’s younger sister, Christine Weatherhead — who believes her sibling is dead — has welcomed news the case will be re-examined.
‘Words haunt me’
The 63-year-old, who helps husband Robert on their North Yorkshire farm, said: “I want to get justice for Pat before I die.
“I cannot accept that she remains a missing person when she has never contacted me or her lads, who she adored, and has never touched her bank account or passport. Nothing.
“Only a fool would believe she was still alive, so for me it is important to have on record how she died and who was responsible for that.
“Without a doubt, Pat’s disappearance has taken its toll emotionally and mentally on me. But while I can keep finding the strength to fight on, I will, for Pat.”
Former nurse Christine told how, once a week, she would meet Patricia in Leeds for a catch up with their brother, Brian, over a cuppa.
Still, not a day goes by when she does not think about her sister, who was 39 when she was last seen.
Patricia is still classed by West Yorkshire Police as missing.
No one has ever been convicted of her murder, despite Keith’s claim during a cop sting that he had killed her and dumped her body in an industrial incinerator.
He has always denied harming his wife and subsequently insisted his “confession” was all lies.
This second look at Patricia’s disappearance is, like all cold case reviews, not a reinvestigation.
It is understood that detectives are going over witness statements taken at the time, and liaising with forensic scientists to discover if improved technology can unearth some fresh clues.
A case becomes cold when all viable leads have been ex- hausted and the senior investigating officer considers nothing further can be done.
Patricia vanished from her semi-detached home in the suburb of Pudsey, West Yorkshire, in the early hours of January 27, 1992.
The Saturday before, she and her children had spent the day at Christine’s farm with her family.
Christine said: “She told me she was planning to start a new life with the lads in Scotland, one of her favourite places.
“She had decided to divorce Keith due to his volatile temper.
Patricia and Keith on their wedding day in 1982
Sisters Christine and PatriciaAmazon Prime
Keith Hall today – he says he lied about killing his wife in the ‘confession’Amazon Prime
Ross ParrisPolice dig up a roundabout during the original the Nineties investigation[/caption]
“She was happy and I just thank God that is my final memory of her.”
Keith has said that on the evening of January 26, Patricia told him she wanted a divorce.
He feared losing half their home, his sons and his grocery business.
The sisters were due to meet on January 28, but Christine rang Patricia that morning to cancel their regular get-together.
She said: “I left a message but Pat, unusually, never called me back. Keith rang me that evening and told me she had left their home the day before and he did not know where she was.
“I asked if he’d reported her missing to the police, but he hadn’t.
“I knew Pat would never leave her boys with him, so my brothers and I were suspicious from the start.
“A police officer cousin reported her missing the next day.”
The family car, a blue Ford Sierra, was found abandoned a mile from her home.
A witness told officers that, on the night Patricia disappeared, he saw a man lifting something into or out of the car on the same road, climb over a fence into a field and walk towards a nearby pond.
Police were convinced that man was Keith Hall.
Months earlier, Christine had had a heartbreaking chat with Patricia.
She recalled: “She said, ‘If anything happens to me, will you look after the boys?’.
“I said of course, and thought she meant anything happening due to the depression she had previously suffered — but had recovered from.
“How those words haunt me to this day.”
‘He was cocky, arrogant’
Christine said she even confronted Keith and asked him if he had strangled Patricia, and that he replied, “That’s your opinion, isn’t it?”
Six months after Patricia’s disappearance, Keith answered a lonely hearts advert in the local paper.
One woman took a note he wrote her to police, who then planned a “honey trap” undercover operation, with a female detective pretending to be “Liz”, his would-be love interest.
I am definitely of the opinion that Patricia Anne Hall was murdered by her husband . . . and that her body has been deliberately destroyed by burning and therefore cannot be recovered.
West Yorkshire David Hinchliff Senior coroner
Following a handful of dates and phone calls, and 13 months after Patricia’s disappearance, Keith, now 72 and a retired bread delivery man, told Liz that he loved her and wanted to share a life with her.
On a cold February evening in 1993, sitting in a pub car park in an unmarked police car, Liz told Keith she was worried about Patricia suddenly returning, and sought reassurance she would not.
Keith eventually said: “I strangled her, but it wasn’t easy,” and claimed he dumped “it” — her body — in an industrial incinerator.
His confession was secretly taped, but the recording was not allowed to be heard by a jury a year later when he was brought to trial, as the judge ruled it broke police interviewing guidelines.
Keith was cleared of his wife’s murder and the case remains open.
Christine said: “At pre-trial hearings, two separate judges said they would allow the tape, but the trial judge refused.
“What is the point of trial by jury if they are denied what could be vital evidence?
“Everywhere I have turned to get justice for my sister, I met a brick wall.
“How can this be fair to Pat?”
Christine’s efforts to have her sister declared dead have been blocked over the years.
That is despite the then West Yorkshire senior coroner David Hinchliff writing to the Home Office in April 1994 asking for an inquest, and stating: “I am definitely of the opinion that Patricia Anne Hall was murdered by her husband . . . and that her body has been deliberately destroyed by burning and therefore cannot be recovered.”
In February 1995, the case was debated in Parliament by Patricia’s then MP, Sir Giles Shaw, with his request for an inquest rejected.
Ex-detective constable Andy Kennedy worked on the case from day one, interviewing Keith under caution four times.
He said: “Some members of the public thought we were hard on him, but we were not working for Keith, we were working for Pat — and she was not there to defend herself.
“She had left home without her glasses, coats or shoes.
“If Keith cared about where she was, he would have helped us.
“Instead, he was cocky, arrogant and refused to answer our questions.
“I hope the review gives Pat’s loved ones the answers she and they deserve.”
Hall told police Pat had got into her blue Ford Sierra and sped off into the night, leaving behind their sons Andrew, then nine, and Graeme, fiveAmazon Prime
Patricia vanished from this semi-detached house in Pudsey, West YorkshireAmazon Prime
Prime VideoWest Yorkshire cops have confirmed they are again looking at Patricia’s disappearance[/caption]
Julie speaking at the time of Patricia’s disappearanceAmazon Prime
Happier times for Keth and Patricia, on a day out before their relationship souredsupplied Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
