Bio

Raymond Leslie Morris was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England, in August 1929. He was known to have an interest in photography, and this later became important because photographs found after his arrest were used as evidence in the wider case against him.

Morris married young and later separated from his first wife. He eventually remarried and lived with his second wife, Carol, in Walsall. By the mid-1960s, he was living in the same general area where several young girls disappeared. To people who knew him casually, Morris appeared to live a normal working life, but police later came to believe he had a hidden sexual interest in young girls.

In October 1966, Morris came to police attention after two schoolgirls accused him of taking them to his flat, undressing them, and photographing them. No charges were brought at that time because police did not have enough evidence to prove the allegations. This earlier complaint later became important after Morris was arrested for the Christine Darby case.

Before Morris was convicted, two young girls had already been found dead on Cannock Chase. Margaret Reynolds disappeared on September 8, 1965, while on her way to school. Diana/Diane Tift disappeared on December 30, 1965, while walking between family homes. Their bodies were found together on January 12, 1966. Morris was later suspected in their deaths, but he was never convicted of killing them.

Murder Story

The Cannock Chase murders began with the disappearance of six-year-old Margaret Reynolds on September 8, 1965. She vanished while walking to school in the Birmingham area. On December 30, 1965, five-year-old Diana/Diane Tift also disappeared while walking a short distance between family homes. On January 12, 1966, both girls’ bodies were found on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. Their deaths caused fear across the region and led to a major police investigation.

Police believed the two cases were connected, but they did not have enough evidence to charge anyone. Morris later became a suspect, but he was never tried or convicted for the deaths of Margaret Reynolds or Diana/Diane Tift. These cases remain part of the wider Cannock Chase murder history, but they must be listed as suspected links only.

On August 19, 1967, seven-year-old Christine Ann Darby was playing with other children in Walsall. A man in a grey car stopped and asked the children for directions to Caldmore Green. Christine got into the car to show him the way. Instead of driving toward Caldmore Green, the man drove away in the opposite direction.

Christine’s body was found several days later on Cannock Chase. She had been sexually assaulted and killed by suffocation. The location of her body strengthened police suspicion that her murder may have been connected to the earlier deaths of Margaret Reynolds and Diana/Diane Tift.

Police questioned many local men and checked vehicles that matched witness descriptions. Morris became a person of interest because he drove a similar car and had previously been suspected in a case involving young girls. At first, police could not charge him because his wife, Carol Morris, gave him an alibi. She said they had been together on a shopping trip at the time Christine disappeared.

The case changed on November 4, 1968, when Morris tried to abduct 10-year-old Margaret Aulton in Walsall. A witness saw the incident and wrote down his car registration number. This gave police the direct evidence they needed to identify and arrest him. Morris was arrested on November 15, 1968, while driving to work.

After Morris’s arrest, police searched his home and found indecent photographs involving his young niece. His wife was also questioned again. Carol Morris eventually admitted that the alibi she had given for him was false. She said Morris had not returned home at the time she had originally claimed. This became a key part of the prosecution case.

Morris went on trial at Stafford Assizes in February 1969. He was charged with the rape and murder of Christine Darby, the attempted abduction of Margaret Aulton, and sexual offences involving his niece. He denied murdering Christine and denied trying to abduct Margaret Aulton, but he pleaded guilty to the sexual offences involving his niece.

On February 18, 1969, the jury found Raymond Leslie Morris guilty of Christine Darby’s rape and murder and the attempted abduction of Margaret Aulton. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal was later dismissed.

Although Morris was convicted only for Christine Darby’s murder, police and later case summaries continued to describe him as the main suspect in the murders of Margaret Reynolds and Diana/Diane Tift. Because he was not convicted of those two killings, they should be included only as suspected cases.

Morris remained in prison for the rest of his life. ITV reported that he died of natural causes at HMP Preston in March 2014 at the age of 84. At the time of his death, he was still serving his life sentence for Christine Darby’s murder.