An elderly couple from the city have appeared in court charged in connection to the murder of the man's first wife decades ago.

Allen Morgan, 73, and Margaret Morgan, 74, of Stanstead Crescent, Brighton, have denied conspiring to murder Carol Morgan 42 years ago.

The body of the 36-year-old was found in her shop called Morgan’s Store on August 13, 1981. She was repeatedly struck with what police described as a sharp and heavy weapon at the shop in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

A cold case investigation was reopened in 2018 and the couple were arrested in late July of this year, accused of conspiracy to murder.

On Tuesday they pleaded not guilty at Luton Crown Court and were released on bail, the BBC reports.

The trial is due to take place on April 9, 2024.

Bedfordshire Police Detective Superintendent Carl Foster previously said: “We launched a murder investigation into the cold case of Carol Morgan over five years ago.

“I want to thank our community for supporting the investigation.

“Our cold case unit continues to review every unsolved murder and no murder investigation is ever closed.”