A Garnant shopkeeper was killed in 1921, with his killer never being found.

Thomas Thomas was the Star Supply Stores shopkeeper when he was beaten to death on February 12, 1921.

The 44-year-old is believed to have been working late on the Saturday night at his store and a neighbour found his body the following morning after becoming concerned.

He saw that the back door of the shop was open, and the lights were on.

He called up the stairs but received no reply so he met the shop assistant and they entered together, finding Mr Thomas’ body in a pool of blood at the front of the shop behind the provisions counter.

He had a puncture wound to the front of his throat which had severed his carotid artery and jugular. He also had a fractured skull and a stab wound in his abdomen.

There was a blood-covered yard brush near his head and a knife from the shop was recovered from a stream during later investigations.

It was believed an iron bar was also used.

It is believed the attack happened after 9pm on the Saturday night as Mr Thomas was seen by shop assistant Millie Richards who bolted the back door as she was leaving around that time.

So, it is believed the killer had hidden himself in the shop prior to this as around 9.45pm Phoebe Jones, a senior shop assistant, checked the door Miss Richards had closed and that the windows were shut before leaving through a side door that she then closed behind her.

Around £126 was taken which was said to have been the shop’s takings from Friday and Saturday. Not all of the money on the premises was taken as there was some change left on the counter.

It was reported in the Western Mail on February 14 that it could have taken place between 10-11pm when the streets were busy outside the shop and traffic would have drowned out any sounds coming from the building.

Miss Jones returned past the shop around 11pm after attending a concert and commented about the lights still being on and said that Mr Thomas was “shop mad” but didn’t suspect anything because he often worked late into the night.

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Later that night, she saw the lights were still on from her house next door and tried to look through the window.

She concluded that he was in another part of the building as she could not see him but did see his apron hanging up.

Other people including a police constable noticed the lights were still on but saw nothing suspicious. Morgan Jeffreys was the first to raise the alarm.

He lived next door with Miss Jones and had noticed that the lights were still on and the door was open the following morning and having received no reply, he woke Miss Jones and they entered together.

Mr Jeffreys later said: “A few minutes to nine o’clock I was out in my garden. I saw the lights on at the stores and the back door open.

“I told my eldest son there was something wrong at the stores seeing as the door was open and the gas on. I went to the shop and called the manager but had no reply.

"I then went into the house and called Miss Jones, who lodges with me. She is the senior assistant at the stores.”

Miss Jones said: “When called by Mr Jeffreys I went to the shop and ran up the stairs leading to the front door.

"The safe was open and insurance cards and small tins of money were thrown out on the floor, and the two drawers of the safe were half open.

“Through the door leading into the shop I saw the body of Mr Thomas.”

A £100 reward was offered by the Star Tea Company’s directors for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer.

Mr Thomas’ funeral took place on February 17 and the inquest was held on March 8 but did not bring any light to the murder.

There were three suspects, Mr Thomas’ housemate Thomas Mountstephens, Mr Jeffreys and Tom Morgan, a known 'liar and thief'.

Detective Inspector George Nicholls had eliminated Mr Jeffreys and Mr Mountstephens early in his enquiries – the latter having been convicted in the court of public opinion as he did not want to go with his landlord to the shop when his landlord noticed the lights on late on Saturday night.

The killer was not found, however, Steve Adams, former editor of the South Wales Guardian revealed he may have found the killer in a 2015 book where he says the murderer was a man called Tom Morgan, who was a suspect according to Mr Nicholls who questioned him on a number of occasions.

Unfortunately for Mr Nicholls, according to Mr Adams, the coroner was adamant that the attack was committed by a right-handed individual and six months earlier, Morgan had lost most of his right hand in a bizarre and unexplained accident.

He was unable to link Morgan to the incident due to the women of Garnant forcing their way in to clean the shop, removing forensic evidence and therefore the potential link that could have proven the coroner wrong.