Brown Clee Hill murder: Richard Hall's family on harrowing wait

A granddaughter has told of the harrowing hours her family waited for news of a missing hill walker who had been stabbed to death at random.

"Incredibly fit" Richard Hall had gone walking on Brown Clee Hill, Shropshire, after waving goodbye to wife Sheila.

But his path crossed with Moses Christensen, who had trekked 20 miles to the area intent on killing someone.

He stabbed 70-year-old Mr Hall 26 times and was this week found guilty of murder by a jury.

Speaking for the first time, granddaughter Rachael Rhodes said the first she knew anything was wrong was when she took a call from her worried grandmother.

"She said 'have you heard from your grandad? have you spoken to your grandad?' and I said no," the 23-year-old said.

"She said 'oh he hasn't come back, he's not back home - the last time I seen [sic] him, I was going out to the hairdressers and he was going out for his normal walk' - which he did every day.

"Alarm bells started to ring when we were trying to phone him and there was no answer."

She added: "There was no point in my mind that went, like, he'd been murdered, he'd died, I just thought maybe he'd lost his way, or got no signal on his phone."

The family reported him missing and spent a frantic night waiting for news. But Mr Hall, who was still working part-time as an engineering company director, was found the next morning.

Christensen, who the court heard dreamed of being a "lone soldier" in the Royal Marines and had suffered several bouts of depression, wanted to kill someone, "just for the sake of killing somebody" - as a "sort of lifelong desire and ambition".

The 22-year-old denied murder by reason of diminished responsibility but was found guilty by a jury at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday.

"I think up until the trial I was just in shock I couldn't really contemplate what had happened," said Ms Rhodes.

"I didn't really process it because I sort of live in a bubble and I thought everyone was lovely and the world was a great place and to hear someone actually is that evil really did shake me up."

Mr Hall's wife of 35 years said her husband was her "rock" and "soul mate".

"I was very happy and proud to be his wife, the light has gone out of my life and I will never, ever get over this," she said.

Mr Hall was known for his physical fitness and it is believed he was geocaching that day on Brown Clee Hill, his "favourite place to go and walk".

"He was a legend, he's always been in our lives, he was so fun - the life and soul of the party," his granddaughter said.

"He always challenged himself and he was the first one up the slope at skiing," she said.

"[We have] just lots of memories together, it is such a loss."

Christensen, of Stourbridge, told police officers he "had planned to kill people" and had gone out to search for victims.

"I don't understand how somebody could be that sick and that is all he wanted to do," said Ms Rhodes. "Why pick on an innocent man?"

The killer was told by Mr Justice Pepperall to expect a sentence of life imprisonment on 16 March, but his granddaughter said "it is not justice".

"We have lost someone that we can never get back for the worst possible reason. We miss him so much and it is not going to bring him back."

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