John Cannan

Name

John Cannan

Background

Susannah “Suzy” Lamplugh was a British estate agent reported missing on 28 July 1986 (aged 25) in Fulham, west London. She was officially declared to be dead, presumed murdered in 1994.

John Cannan was convicted in 1989 of murdering Shirley Banks, 29, a sales manager from Bristol, in 1987. He was given three life sentences for that murder and a series of sex attacks. Cannan, 53, had already served 18 years for the 1987 murder of Shirley Banks in Bristol at the time of the July 2006 reports. Cannan had violently raped a women in Leamington Spa. Detectives had interviewed him three times at Full Sutton jail in Yorkshire about Suzy Lamplugh. Cannan had always refused to admit he killed her.

The offence

Susannah “Suzy” Lamplugh disappeared on July 28 1986 after arranging an appointment to see a client called Mr Kipper in Fulham, West London, to view a house. Her body was never found. Police were convinced her abduction involved her own car, followed by transfer to another. Scientists used adhesive tape on every inch of every surface to collect every piece of available scientific evidence from her car.

Detectives long suspected that Suzy Lamplugh’s killer used a black or dark BMW to abduct her after she went to show “Mr Kipper” a house at 37 Shorrolds Road in Fulham, west London, in July 1986. It was understood that officers wanted to discover how Cannan might have obtained the car, which could have been borrowed from a friend, a BMW dealership or a car rental. The car may, unusually, have been a left-hand-drive vehicle.

Investigation

Further police investigations in 1998 and 2000 failed to uncover any trace of Suzy Lamplugh.

In 2000, Gilly Paige, a former girlfriend of John Cannan’s, told police that he had suggested Lamplugh’s body was buried at Norton Barracks, a former RAF barracks in Worcestershire. One of Cannan’s fellow prisoners told police that Cannan had buried Suzy under the patio of his mother’s house in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.

Scotland Yard reviewed the Lamplugh case in 1999. Among the new evidence collected was a statement from a jogger who saw a woman struggling with a man in a car, believed to be a black BMW, close to where Miss Lamplugh’s Ford Fiesta was abandoned. Scotland Yard reviewed the case again with new developments in technology.

In July 2006 reporting, forensic experts planned to use a tiny spec of DNA found in her car to grow a larger piece for examination. Police were convinced the DNA belonged to sex killer John Cannan, their only suspect, and were confident it would land him in the dock for Suzy’s murder. Detective Superintendent James Dickie said the following:

"We believe new developments in technology mean we will bring John Cannan to justice. " "Everything from Suzy's car was carefully stored. Today we know every contact leaves a trace and if Cannan was in that car his DNA will be, too. " "We now have a tiny piece of tissue we can work on scientifically. Ten years ago trying to work on a sample this small would have been impractical. The mere act of analysing it would destroy it and thus destroy the evidence itself. What specialists now do is to use that piece of human tissue to grow another piece of identical tissue. " "It means you have a piece to analyse and still have your evidence intact. We think Suzy was abducted in her own car, then transferred to another. Scientists used adhesive tape on every inch of every surface to collect every piece of available scientific evidence from her car. But in the 80s DNA testing was in its infancy and we did not have the ability to analyse what we had."

Another set of July 2006 reporting stated that detectives investigating the murder of Suzy Lamplugh made a potential breakthrough just days before the 20th anniversary of her disappearance. A new witness had come forward with evidence that John Cannan had access to a dark BMW at the time she vanished. Det Supt Jim Dickie, in charge of the case, confirmed the following to The Sunday Telegraph:

"We are looking at a new line of inquiry which could be very interesting." He refused to comment further on the breakthrough.

In November 2002, Scotland Yard held a press conference in which officers named Cannan as the man they believed murdered Miss Lamplugh.

Arrest

Cannan had been interviewed in prison by detectives over the case.

Trial

Cannan had already been convicted in 1989 of murdering Shirley Banks in Bristol in 1987 and had been given three life sentences for that murder and a series of sex attacks.

Sentencing

Cannan had been sentenced to three life sentences for murdering Shirley Banks. In 2006 reporting, the sentencing details were stated as three life sentences. The current status also included a recommendation that he never be released.

Detect Supt Dickie said the following:

"I hope we will have him convicted for the murder of Suzy. I don't think he should ever be released. He will always be a serious danger to women."

Appeals

No appeal details were provided.

Outcome

Suzy Lamplugh was officially declared dead, presumed murdered in 1994. Her body has never been found. There was no hard evidence despite investigations in relation to speculation that John Cannan could have killed Lamplugh. Cannan denied any involvement in her disappearance.

Aftermath

The Lamplugh family continued to hope that her body would be found and that her killer would be convicted. Diana Lamplugh, who launched a charity in her daughter’s name, suffered a massive stroke and was in a care hospital at the time of the July 2006 reporting. Her condition included inability to recognise family or friends. Mr Lamplugh stepped back from The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the charity set up months after his daughter’s disappearance to promote personal safety, and remained a trustee of the charity. The couple ran it together for 17 years.

Mr Lamplugh said:

"If her body was found, it would be massively important," and: "The stroke totally destroyed her memory relay system which means she has no recollection of facts and no understanding of concept,"

Other details

Cannan’s prison nickname was alleged to be “Kipper”. It was also alleged that Cannan resembled a photofit of a man seen with Miss Lamplugh on the day she vanished, and that the estate agent had been pestered by a man from Bristol.

The disappearance and murder context included that officers believed Suzy was abducted in her own car, then transferred to another.

Similar cases mentioned

There was a similar case in 2006 involving a 48-year-old female estate agent in Wiltshire who met a client called Mr. Herring. She was attacked with a sharp object which caused her to have cuts to her arm and she was pushed to the ground, but she managed to release herself and Mr Herring ran away. Police said there was no connection between this case and the disappearance of Lamplugh.

Michael Sams kidnapped Stephanie Slater in 1992. She was an estate agent working in Birmingham. Slater’s employers paid a ransom and she was released. Michael Sams was later found guilty of her kidnap and of murdering 18-year-old Leeds prostitute Julie Dart. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was still behind bars as of 2008, and was being held at Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire.

Lamplugh had been working as a beautician on the ocean liner QE2 in 1982. Steve Wright, who was convicted in February 2008 of the murder of five prostitutes in Ipswich, worked as a steward on the QE2 at the same time. Police were investigating whether Wright was connected to Lamplugh’s disappearance.