An inquest has opened into the presumed death of a woman who vanished 34 years ago.
Mother-of-two Patricia Hall, 39, from Pudsey in West Yorkshire, disappeared in 1992.
Her husband Keith was tried for her murder in 1994 after he made an extraordinary murder confession to an undercover policewoman where he claimed to have strangled Mrs Hall and dumped her body in an industrial incinerator.
Hall’s words were never heard by the jury and, after a nine-day trial, he was found not guilty at Leeds Crown Court.
The alleged taped confession was ruled inadmissible by a judge who said it broke police interviewing guidelines. Mrs Hall’s body has never been found.
Today, an inquest into her death was opened and adjourned at Wakefield Coroner’s Court by coroner Oliver Longstaff.
Mr Longstaff explained how a fresh application to hold an inquest had been made to him by Mrs Hall’s sister, Christine Weatherhead, and he had then successfully applied for permission to the deputy chief coroner, Judge Georgina Sharkey.
Mother-of-two Patricia Hall (pictured), 39, from Pudsey in West Yorkshire, vanished in 1992
Mrs Hall’s sister Christine Weatherhead beside the tree and plaque placed in memory of her sister. It was Mrs Weatherhead who put in an application for a fresh inquest into the case to be launched
The coroner outlined how two courts had made orders over the last 34 years on the basis that Mrs Hall was dead.
There was a 2001 ruling that granted Keith Hall a divorce, and a 2006 High Court ruling which granted probate to her two sons.
Mr Longstaff explained to the hearing that it was ‘a very unusual set of circumstances that has led us to be here’.
He said that Mrs Hall was last seen on January 25, 1992 ‘when family members spent the day in Ripon’.
The coroner said there have been no sightings of her since, and no ‘circumstantial evidence’ that she is alive, including no attempts to use her bank accounts.
He added that no attempt had been made by Mrs Hall to ‘contact any family member or social acquaintances’.
Mr Longstaff told the hearing there is reason to believe Mrs Hall’s ‘abrupt and complete disappearance’ was a consequence of the mother having died a ‘violent or unnatural death’.
The coroner said that Keith Hall had been contacted about Thursday’s opening hearing but was ‘unable to make arrangements to attend’.
Mrs Hall with her husband Keith on their wedding day. Hall was tried for her murder in 1994 after he made an extraordinary murder confession to an undercover policewoman where he claimed to have strangled Mrs Hall and dumped her body in an industrial incinerator
Speaking outside the court on Thursday, a tearful Mrs Weatherhead said: ‘We’ve tried so many times over the last 34 years, it’s quite a tremendous milestone’
Adjourning the hearing to a date to be fixed, he said the court will be inviting Mr Hall to provide a statement.
Speaking outside the court on Thursday, a tearful Mrs Weatherhead said: ‘We’ve tried so many times over the last 34 years, it’s quite a tremendous milestone.
‘To finally get this day is hard to put into words. I’ve always said that she would never have left her family – certainly not her two boys.
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‘Something untoward has happened to Pat and hopefully this inquest will give us that evidence about what may have happened.’
Mrs Weatherhead continued: ‘Pat was my big sister and she was just like a mother to all of us.
‘She was always there. She was always supportive. She was always a buoyant, bright, bubbly person.’
‘I want that recognition for Pat, in that she was a person, she was a mum, she was a sister and a daughter.
‘I think after 34 years she deserves that recognition. It’s the least everybody can do for her.’
Since 1994, Mrs Weatherhead has repeatedly applied to the West Yorkshire Coroner and Home Office for an inquest so that at least her sister’s case can be reviewed.
She said: ‘For 34 years, we have fought the judicial system to have Pat acknowledged not as missing, or just a number on a case file, but as a kind, loving, devoted mother, sister, and daughter who would never have left her sons, Andrew and Graeme, or her family.’
Paying tribute to her sister, Mrs Weatherhead said Mrs Hall was known for ‘her warmth and generosity, always putting her family first’ and that her disappearance had ‘left a void that has never been filled’.
Keith Hall was charged with murder after he allegedly admitted on tape to an undercover policewoman, with whom he had started a romance, that he had strangled his wife and disposed of her body in an incinerator.
At his trial, the judge, Mr Justice Waterhouse, ruled that the tape was inadmissible as evidence.
Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jones, West Yorkshire Police lead for Specialist Crime and Criminal Justice, said on Thursday: ‘Our Major Investigation Review Team conducted a thorough cold case review into the disappearance of Patricia Hall, which concluded last year without uncovering any new lines of inquiries.
‘Throughout the review, we remained in contact with Patricia’s family to offer support and keep them informed, and they were advised when the review came to an end.
‘The case remains unsolved, and we continue to appeal for any new information that may help provide Patricia’s family with the answers they deserve.’
