Raymond Morris must die in jail say victim's family

The family of one of the Cannock Chase murder victims today says that Raymond Morris should die in jail and not be given the chance to appeal against his conviction.

Morris, now 81, was the prime suspect in the murders of five-year-old Diane Tift and six-year-old Margaret Reynolds.

Their bodies were found in a ditch in January 1966 - days after they disappeared. He is now challenging his conviction for the murder of seven-year-old Christine Darby from Walsall, who was also discovered at the beauty spot a year later.

He was never charged with killing the other two children.

Diane's brother, niece Vanessa Barrett and sister-in-law said that his appeal was stirring up terrible memories.

The schoolgirl was abducted as she walked back from her grandmother's house in Chapel Street, Bloxwich, on December 30, 1965.

Her brother Terrence, now aged 54, was the last family member to see her alive.

Today he said that he had felt guilty all his life that he could not save her.

The father-of-six said that his family had been ripped apart by the tragedy, with his mother Irene still grieving for the violent loss of her daughter every day and his father "dying of a broken heart" in 1989.

Mr Tift said: "I thought it was my fault for most of my life.

"I still feel that way now. I could never give anybody an answer as to what happened.

"I was heartbroken over it afterwards because I never got to see my sister again.

"Raymond Morris should die in jail and be left there to rot.

"Life should mean life. We still miss Diane even though it's been over 40 years. We've missed out on her growing up and having a family of her own.

"Things haven't got easier to cope with over time for our family.

"I would like to have a say in this appeal case,"

Morris, who was sentenced to life imprisonment when he was 39, was never charged with the murders of Diane and Margaret and their cases have remained on file ever since.

The former engineer from Green Lane, Walsall, has been in prison for 42 years.