About Shelley
Shelley Morgan (AI enhanced)
33 year old Shelley Cameron Brian Morgan was a devoted wife of Nigel, the loving mother of two young children – Liam and Charlotte, a much loved daughter and precious sister.
Born in 1951, Shelley was from a small Midwestern college town in Iowa, United States.
First-born of the family, from a young age her parents knew that Shelley was talented both intellectually and creatively. Her communication skills were advanced for her years, and her natural creative skills no doubt inherited from her arts teacher father.
As Shelley matured through her younger years into a vibrant young woman she excelled at school and expressed her desire to travel and explore the world.
A balanced individual, Shelley enjoyed literature and music, but as a talented all-rounder, she was particularly successful at being creative and innovative with her hands – drawing, making things and sculpting.
As Shelley got older she learned sewing, making all kinds of things out of fabrics and fibres, including amazing stuffed dolls and animals, as well as making her own clothes.
Shelley’s interest in travel and exploration was rewarded when at the age of 17 she was accepted into the American Field Service foreign student exchange programme, spending that summer overseas living with a family in Japan – her first ever overseas trip.
Shelley’s creative flair would eventually lead her to pursuing a career in textiles and costume design, and to further that career she went to college and university to get qualifications in theatre arts.
After her second year at university, Shelley was offered a summer internship at an opera house in Rome. The perfect opportunity to combine her interest in travel and exploration with her love of the arts.
Following her successful internship in Rome, Shelley began looking around for employment opportunities in Europe.
Having always contemplated a move to England, Shelley managed to secure a job with the Liverpool Playhouse as their wardrobe manager, she seized the opportunity and never returned to America.
The theatre lifestyle suited her and the challenges the work presented gave her a real feeling of achievement and excitement when she brought a project together.
During her years working at the Liverpool Playhouse, Shelley met her first love – her future husband Nigel, they got married, had their son Liam and went to live in a small village in South Wales, United Kingdom. Shelley became a committed wife and mother. Shelley became pregnant with her second child, a daughter, Charlotte.
A short while later it was discovered that Liam had been born with a developmental disability and he was diagnosed with autism. To enable Liam to reach his full potential he required specialist educational and therapy facilities that were not available in Wales, so the family decided to relocate to Bristol.
Once in Bristol and the children settled in school, Shelley started to consider returning to work as a designer.
Shelley was also keen to complete her art degree, and was attending art classes at the Bristol Polytechnic Art College, and had started building a portfolio of artwork and photography to help her secure a university place.
At the time of Shelley’s death she had been commissioned to paint three local Bristol scenes, and she had completed two which can be seen below.
On the day of her disappearance and murder, Monday 11 June 1984, after seeing Liam and Charlotte off to school, Shelley had intended to spend the day taking photographs and sketching in the Leigh Woods area of Bristol.
You can learn about the impact Shelley’s murder had on her family by reading the Victim Impact Statement written on her behalf by her sister, Holle Brian.