Melanie Hall, 25-year-old clerical officer and clubber who died after being missing, was born into a supportive family. Details about her mom, dad, and sister explored.
British hospital clerical officer, Melanie Hall‘s life was cut short as she died a painful death.
She disappeared on 9 June 1996, following a night out at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath.
Her missing update status stands as “Declared dead in absentia” on 17 November 2004 (aged 34) and her remains were discovered 13 years later on 5 October 2009, in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, UK.
Hall’s family have spoken on the devasting impact her death.
Here’s everything we know about Melanie’s parents Steve and Patricia, and her sister Dominque.
Who are Melanie Hall’s parents?
Melanie Hall was born on 20 August 1970, in England, to parents Stephen “Steve” Hall (father) and Patricia “Pat” Hall (mother).
Her dad has served Bath City Football Club as Chairman but was later working as an artist and teacher.
Her mom was working as a nurse at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.
Hall was described by her parents as a “young, vibrant daughter”.
Growing up, Hall had always wanted to be a health worker. She worked academically towards her dream and graduated with a nursing degree from the University of Bath in 1995. Her mom said graduation had been a “cherished” dream of Melanie’s for four years.
Melanie was a 25-year-old NHS worker and university graduate from Bradford on Avon.
Prior to her death, she was employed as a clerical worker at same hospital where her mom worked.
In July 2016, Steve and Patricia offered a £50,000 reward for any details that would lead to the conviction of Melanie’s killer — and that sum was matched by The Sun.
Did Melanie Hall have any siblings?
Melanie Hall was not an only child to her parents. She had a sister and her only siblings whose name is Dominique Hall.
Dominique is two years older than Melanie.
At the time Melanie disappeared, her sister was 27 years old.
Dominique said she was in a “sisterly strop” with Melanie as her younger sibling wanted to meet up with her new boyfriend rather than stay for the BBQ.
But her resentment was quickly forgotten as she watched Melanie leave looking “pretty and happy” in a pink, flowery skirt.
Dominique said: “I can still see it now.”
As time goes on, Dominique has helped keep her sister’s memory alive through her own three daughters.
She believes loyal Melanie would have loved her nieces “unconditionally” and been a strong female role model to them.
Dominique said: “I have my own photos of Mel in the lounge but one of my daughters has a little photo of her, in her room upstairs which is nice.
“In my quieter moments I sometimes speak to Mel in my mind and ask her to look over my girls.”
What actually happened to Melanie Hall?
Melanie Hall disappeared following a night out at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath on June 9, 1996.
Melanie’s sister, Dominique, last saw her sibling at her mum and dad’s home on the Friday prior to her disappearance.
The alarm was later raised when Melanie failed to show up to her job at the Royal United Hospital on June 11.
Mum Pat, who worked at the same hospital, had called dad Steve to report Melanie had failed to show, with Steve then ringing Dominique.
As the news trickled down, it emerged the family believed she was staying with her boyfriend, who later revealed Melanie had left the club and gone back home for the weekend.
Dominique said: “From what I remember both Mum and Dad felt from the onset that something terrible had happened.
“It wasn’t a sixth sense, but just the fact that Mel was such a home loving woman without a care in the world.
“I was more hopeful than Mum and Dad in the first few days that she may come home. I hoped she had just got into a bit of trouble and was embarrassed about coming home for a couple of days.
“However, by the end of the first week I thought she would really be missing her home comforts by now, and she was too kind to cause this sort of worry (especially to Mum), if she actually could come home.
“Also, her bank accounts and car hadn’t been touched, so it wasn’t hard to work out something was seriously wrong. And then the dread sets in – and as time goes on you go from hoping she is alive to knowing that the best outcome is probably finding a body.”
After reporting her disappearance, police launched a huge search.
Thousands of clubbers and taxi drivers were interviewed, while elsewhere, the River Avon was also searched several times.
Despite police efforts, no trace of Melanie was found.
On November 17, 2004, Melanie Hall was legally declared dead.
What have Melanie Hall’s sister said about her death?
Dominique has opened up about her sister’s tragic death to The Sun Online.
She said: “I feel really cross that Mel lost her life and we had ours turned upside down by someone else. I wonder if they have any thought or compassion for what they have done, I doubt it.
“I feel incredibly sad for Mel, that she never got to have her life… a career, love, the joy of having children etc.
“I hate not knowing what happened. I know she had significant injuries, but I hope and pray that whatever happened it was quick for her, or that there was only one person involved not a gang or something awful like that.
”Obviously, I have no idea what happened to her. All I know is that she was incredibly kind and trusting and I’ve often said that, because of this, she might have trusted the wrong person that night. Almost like her naivety was her own demise.”
Dominique also opened up on how she has helped to keep her sister’s memory alive through her own three daughters – who she believes Melanie would have loved “unconditionally”.
She said: ”I have my own photos of Mel in the lounge but one of my daughters has a little photo of her, in her room upstairs which is nice.
“In my quieter moments I sometimes speak to Mel in my mind and ask her to look over my girls.”
What is the documentary about Melanie Hall about?
A new Channel 5 documentary explores the disappearance and death of Melanie Hall.
Body in the Bag: The Murder of Melanie Hall, airing Thursday, September 28 at 9pm on Channel 5.
Steve now hopes the documentary will lead to more people coming forward with information.
Dad Steve tragically tells how he wished he “didn’t wake up in the morning” as each day passed without his daughter.
He adds: “But you do. You wake up and you got that little split second and you know something’s wrong and then it kicks into your brain.
“And you think, ‘oh yeah, it’s Melanie’.”
If you have any information regarding the murder of Melanie Hall, please call 101 and ask for Avon and Somerset Police and say you have information relating to Operation Denmark.