Four arrested as fresh evidence emerges in 32-year-old murder case

Nation.Cymru staff

Four people have been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice as police carry out a fresh investigation into the unsolved murder of a woman more than three decades ago.

Doreen Morris, 64, was found dead in her burned-out bungalow on Mill Lane on the outskirts of Holyhead, Anglesey, in March 1994.

North Wales Police said developments in forensic science, combined with a detailed review of witness evidence, had led to the arrests of a man and three women from North Wales on Wednesday morning.

The force’s Major Crime Review Team began reviewing the case in 2024 and Mrs Morris’s family has been informed of the latest development.

Mrs Morris was found dead after a fire at her home on March 25, 1994. Despite extensive fire damage, a bloodstained kitchen fork was discovered beneath her body and a post-mortem examination established that she had died before the blaze began.

The case was investigated as a suspected burglary which had ended in murder.

Joseph Carl Westbury was charged with Mrs Morris’s murder but denied killing her and breaking into her home. He was acquitted following a trial in the 1990s and died in 2016.

No one has ever been convicted of Mrs Morris’s murder.

Her daughter Audrey Fraser subsequently spent years campaigning for a fresh inquest into her mother’s death.

A new inquest was eventually held and in April 2023 Acting Senior Coroner for North Wales West Katie Sutherland concluded that Mrs Morris had been unlawfully killed.

The inquest concluded on the balance of probabilities that the burglary had been premeditated and that the evidence was indicative of murder.

Following the conclusion, Mrs Fraser said the focus would turn to the possibility of further criminal investigation.

North Wales Police’s Major Crime Review Team subsequently began a review of the case the following year.

‘New opportunities’

Mark Pierce, senior review officer, said: “Forensic results, combined with a detailed review of witness evidence, have provided grounds to interview four people on suspicion of perverting the course of justice as part of the ongoing review of the case.

“Throughout the review our thoughts have been with Mrs Morris’ family, and I hope that this case shows that it doesn’t matter how much time has passed we will always seek out new opportunities to get justice for victims and their families.”

Police have appealed for anyone with information about the case to contact North Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, quoting Operation Epose.

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