A man found guilty of plotting to murder his then wife more than 40 years ago has been jailed for life with a minimum of 22 years.
Allen Morgan was sentenced at Luton Crown Court on Monday.
He had been having an affair with his current wife - Margaret Morgan, 75 - when his former wife Carol was found hacked to death at the grocery shop they both ran in Linslade, Bedfordshire, on 13 August 1981.
The 74-year-old was unanimously convicted by a jury of conspiracy to murder in June.
Mr Justice Martin Spencer said while sentencing Morgan on Monday: "The brutality of the killing shocked all those who attended the scene.
"Only one person knows the identity of the murderer and that is you, Mr Morgan.
"That is the secret which you have harboured for the last 40 years.
"The law has now caught up with you, and you must pay due punishment for your part in this crime, but the murderer remains at large, if indeed he is still alive."
'Divorce was not a viable solution'
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Officers originally believed Carol was the victim of a burglary gone wrong as her husband took his two stepchildren to the cinema in Luton to see a double bill on the day she was killed.
But a cold case investigation in 2018 uncovered Jane Bunting, a witness who was 17 years old at the time, who linked Allen Morgan to the killing.
The jury heard she came forward in 2021 and told police that Morgan had asked her if she knew anyone who would be prepared to kill his wife.
The court also heard Morgan wanted to end his relationship with his wife, but it was "apparent a divorce was not a viable solution" due to the couple's debts in 1981.
Mr Spencer noted that Carol Morgan had written a will leaving everything to her husband, and that there was a life insurance policy attached to the store.
He said a payout on the insurance "would clear the debt on the business, allowing you to move north" and so "accordingly, you arranged for Carol to be murdered".
'Truly wicked'
Carol Morgan was killed inside a store room after she closed the shop by an unknown attacker, who struck at around 7pm on 13 August, 43 years ago.
The killer, who has never been identified, used a heavy weapon to hack at the 36-year-old, causing fatal injuries to her body and skull, the court was told.
Pamela Smith, her cousin, wrote in her victim impact statement that Morgan took his stepchildren to the north of England after the murder.
In remarks read by the judge, she said she believed Morgan "induced them to write letters to their grandparents saying that they had new lives now and did not want any contact".
She added it was "just tragic" and "wicked of whoever made Dean and Jane write those letters to their grandparents".
Mr Spencer said: "There's only one truly wicked person in this court Allen, and that is you."
The judge also read remarks from Jane, who said: "It made me feel as though my life has been a lie, and the people I trusted most in the world may have been capable of a terrible betrayal of that trust."
'Carol did not deserve to die'
The court also heard the killer had stolen £475 in cash from a secret drawer in the shop's office, which Bedfordshire Police suggested could have constituted payment from Morgan.
Margaret Morgan - who left her husband and moved in with Allen Morgan after his wife's death - was also charged for conspiracy to murder but was later acquitted.
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Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Carl Foster, who has since retired but took over the case in 2018, said: "Seeing Allen Morgan sentenced to what will likely be spending the rest of his days behind bars is a momentous end to a six-year investigation.
"For over four decades, Carol's murder went undetected, and no one had ever been prosecuted for their involvement in this truly sickening act.
"Carol did not deserve to die for someone else's gain. She did not deserve to be erased from history. And I am extremely pleased that we have finally been able to deliver her justice.
"Allen Morgan's actions have caused irreparable damage to those who knew and loved Carol, and he has been able to freely enjoy life in his prime.
"Now facing his latter years in prison, he will finally pay the price for cutting short an innocent life."
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