The grandmother of murdered Warminster schoolgirl Zoe Evans has written a heartfelt letter of support to the parents of Melanie Hall.

Ann Hamilton, 64, whose nine-year-old grandaughter was killed by her stepfather Miles Evans in 1997, has offered her condolences to Pat and Steve Hall, of Bradford on Avon. Their daughter’s remains were found on the side of the M5 on October 5, after the 25-year-old went missing in June 1996 – just seven months before Zoe disappeared.

Mrs Hamilton, of Westfield Road, Trowbridge, said she is able to sympathise with the Halls, having gone through a similar trauma when Zoe’s body was found in a badger sett, just a mile from her home in Pepper Place, Warminster, six weeks after she went missing.

“I hope the police will find the fiend who took your beautiful Melanie from you,” her letter read.

“I know they will, as they will never stop looking for the monster. She can now rest in peace.”

Mrs Hamilton said the discovery of Melanie’s bones provided a stark reminder of the trauma her family, including Zoe’s mum Paula, had to endure when the little girl’s remains were found.

“It brought back memories of what happened to us,” she said.

“I remember the story of Melanie going missing. It was in 1996 and I was working in the magistrates’ court in Trowbridge, and I thought ‘how awful that something like that could ever happen to a family’.

“Little did I know that we were going to go through something like it ourselves.”

Zoe’s stepfather Miles Evans, a soldier, was convicted of her murder in 1998 and sentenced to life imprisonment. His tariff runs out in 2014, when he will be up for parole.

Mrs Hamilton said: “When they found Zoe’s body I got a call at work and went home and had to wait 24 hours before they could tell us how she had been murdered.

“I try not to think about what he did to Zoe. It makes me feel cold talking about it now. It was very difficult writing that letter but having gone through it myself I had to.”

Ann Hamilton has signed up to a local support group seeking justice for families affected by murder and manslaughter. As reported in last week’s Wiltshire Times, the group has been launched by Samantha Richards, whose pregnant sister Hayley was stabbed to death by her boyfriend, Hugo Quintas, in 2005.