The mother of a graduate whose remains were found by a motorway 13 years after she vanished has condemned her daughter's killer for dumping her body "like a sack of garbage".
Parents Pat and Steve Hall spoke of their "untold anguish" after police confirmed that bones found in a binliner on a sliproad of the M5 near Bristol were those of their 25-year-old daughter Melanie.
Miss Hall, whose disappearance was one of the highest-profile cases of the 1990s, was last seen in Cadillacs nightclub in Walcot Street, Bath, on June 9 1996. She was found in a bag by a workman clearing vegetation on Monday.
Mr Hall, 65, an ex-chairman of Bath City from Bradford-on-Avon, said he desperately needed to know how his "vibrant" daughter became a "bag of bones". Mrs Hall added: "I feel very angry that she has been dumped on the side of the road like a sack of garbage."
Mr Hall said the killer was probably watching and urged the public to help. He said: "People out there know, they've lived with that secret for 13 years - now I'm appealing for the person who knows to come forward. Thirteen years ago we had a young vibrant daughter with a bright future in front of her... Today we have a bag of bones discarded here on the side of a motorway."
He said it was a "horrendous" crime, adding: "It has caused untold anguish for my wife, myself and my family. An anguish that will not go away over the years to come. We desperately need to know what happened to Melanie on the night she left the nightclub in Bath ... Watching this interview, probably, will be the person or persons involved in Melanie's murder - if not, people who know of the people involved."
The bag included a significant number of bones, including a skull and pelvis, while other bones were found partially buried nearby.
The psychology graduate had been on a night out with friends and her boyfriend of three weeks, Dr Philip Karlbaum, who left the club "upset" after seeing her dancing with another man. Miss Hall, who worked as a clerical officer in the orthopaedic department at Bath's Royal United Hospital where she met Dr Karlbaum, was last seen sitting on a stool near the dancefloor shortly after 1am.
Mr Hall said he had a "good idea" the grim find could be his daughter because officers had found a ring. He said the family now needed help "in our hour of need".
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Detective Superintendent Mike Courtiour, who is leading the investigation for Avon and Somerset Police, said it was his intention to "identify and bring to justice the person responsible". He said: "We are continuing to carry out extremely detailed examinations of her remains. We believe her body had been at the site for a significant amount of time."
