Four released after arrests in 32-year-old murder case

Nation.Cymru staff

Four people arrested as part of a fresh investigation into the unsolved murder of a woman more than three decades ago have been released under investigation.

The man and three women, all from north Wales, were arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in connection with the death of Doreen Morris, who was found dead in her burned-out bungalow near Holyhead, Anglesey, in March 1994.

North Wales Police confirmed that all four were released under investigation on the same day they were arrested, Wednesday, September 2.

The force said its investigation remained active and Mrs Morris’s family was being kept informed.

Mrs Morris, 64, was found dead following a fire at her home on Mill Lane 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 found not guilty of murder in 1995 and took his own life in May 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.

North Wales Police’s Major Crime Review Team began a review of the case in 2024.

Forensic science

Police said last week that developments in forensic science, combined with a detailed review of witness evidence, had provided grounds to arrest the four people on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Senior review officer Mark Pierce said at the time: “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.”

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact North Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, quoting Operation Epose.

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