Cold case detectives ‘launch forensic probe on new clue in Suzy Lamplugh case’ as prime suspect’s parole hearing date nears
- Estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, 25, went missing in Fulham, in July 1986
Cold case detectives have ‘launched a forensic probe on a new clue in the Suzy Lamplugh case’ as the prime suspect’s parole hearing date nears.
Suzy Lamplugh, 25, went missing in Fulham, West London, in July 1986 and her body has never been found, even after three decades of searching.
John Cannan, 68, is serving his minimum 35-year term for the 1987 murder of Shirley Banks in Bristol.
Cannan, a former car salesman serving time for multiple sex offences, is the only suspect in the disappearance of estate agent Lamplugh, who went to meet a house buyer in London calling himself ‘Mr Kipper’ in 1986 and has not been seen since.
But in a rare move in November 2002, Scotland Yard said they believe Cannan was behind her disappearance, despite having insufficient evidence to charge him.
Suzy Lamplugh, 25, went missing in Fulham, West London, in July 1986 – and her body has never been found, even after three decades of searching
John Cannan, 68, is serving his minimum 35-year term for the 1987 murder of Shirley Banks in Bristol
An artist’s impression of a man calling himself Mr Kipper who is thought to have abducted estate agent Suzy Lamplugh
Cannan maintains he knows the real identity of the killer, and says the same person also killed Banks, the crime for which he himself was convicted.
READ MORE: Suzy Lamplugh prime suspect launches bid to walk free: John Cannan, 68, has parole board hearing on MONDAY after spending 35 years in prison for battering newlywed to death
Cannan has always denied any involvement in the case and the absence of a body or forensic evidence means there has been little chance of linking him to Suzy.
However, hairs, fibres and body tissue samples from her car are thought to be of new interest to forensic cops, The Mirror reported.
A Scotland Yard spokesman declined to say which materials were being looked at but said: ‘The investigation is still active with the most recent forensic review being this year.’
Last year Ex Detective Supt Jim Dickie said a tiny sample was taken from a smudged print on the white Ford Fiesta after the 25-year-old’s disappearance – and now technology may be able to extract a profile, after failing to do so 22 years ago.
Mr Dickie said: ‘I am unaware if the DNA sample from the fingerprint has been progressed and whether there is sufficient to test it without destroying it.
‘My advice from the experts was scientific advances may improve sometime in the future and DNA science may develop to enable testing without destroying it.
‘I am unaware if this is still the case or a review and test have taken place and if so what the result was.
‘Certainly up to two to three years ago this had not taken place.’
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