THE death of Suzy Lamplugh’s suspected murderer has left the case shrouded in mystery decades on.
John Cannan, 70, died in HMP Full Sutton while serving a sentence for the abduction, rape and murder of newlywed Shirley Banks, with many questions still unanswered.
RexKiller John Cannan has died in prison aged 70[/caption]
RexThe 25-year-old was declared dead, presumed murdered, in 1994[/caption]
Professor and author David Wilson exclusively spoke to The Sun about the cold case
Monster Cannan was caged for a minimum of 35 years in 1989 for heinous crimes and named as the prime suspect in the Suzy Lamplugh case in 2002.
The 25-year-old estate agent disappeared in 1986 and her body has never been found but she was presumed murdered in 1994.
Cannan has always denied killing Suzy, but his death means that more questions than answers have been left behind.
Now, criminologist David Wilson has helped shed some light on one of Britain’s most notorious unsolved crimes in an exclusive chat with The Sun.
Did John Cannan kill Suzy?
Cold case detectives named Cannan as the prime suspect of her murder in 2002 but the Crown Prosecution Service said there was not enough evidence to prosecute him.
Cops publicly announced that they suspected Cannan of the crime, despite him not being charged when he was arrested two years earlier.
And Professor Wilson, who worked closely with Suzy’s family on the case, believes that Cannan was guilty despite denying her murder.
The criminologist told The Sun: ” I am convinced he is Suzy Lamplugh’s murderer.
“The Lamplugh family also accepted this explanation and believe Cannan was the killer.
“Cannan was the prime suspect in the case and cops said publicly in 2002 that they believed he killed Suzy, so it is not just speculation.”
Wilson went on to describe how there were a number of signs and clues that all point towards Cannan being the killer.
He said: “John Cannan knew the area where she disappeared and was living in a hostel at Wormwoods Cross at the time.
“He was allowed out on day release to work at a theatrical props company.
“Cannan also fitted the photo fit of the man who she was seen with on the day that she vanished.
“Thirdly, he had a background in committing rapes connected to young professional women and being interested in properties for sale.”
“Everything points towards this.”
Wilson added: “The fact that he was released from prison and was released from the bail hostel just three days before Suzy disappeared is telling.”
Who is Mr Kipper?
Suzy vanished after leaving her office to meet a mysterious client known only as “Mr Kipper” to show him two houses in Fulham.
Former car salesman Cannan also had access to a BMW car of the type thought to have been driven by ‘Mr Kipper’ and resembled a photofit of a man seen with Miss Lamplugh outside the Fulham flat on the day she disappeared.
And there were other clues which suggested he was Mr Kipper long before cops were alerted.
Cannan was given the nickname “Kipper” by others at a bail hostel where he lived at the time of the murder — due to his fondness for the fish and a habit of having a “kip”.
His behaviour at the hostel was also described as very similar to the Mr Kipper that met Suzy
Away from the hostel, he dressed in sharp suits and posed as a successful businessman when in reality he funded his life via petty theft and chequebook fraud.
His associates at the bail hostel told police he cruised the bars of South-West London, drinking heavily, in search of sex.
Cannan told them he liked “Hooray Henry types” — well-dressed, well-educated, well-spoken women in business suits, particularly navy pleated skirts — and bragged of “one special girlfriend in Fulham”.
Cannan was released from the bail hostel on Friday, July 25, 1986 — just three days before Ms Lamplugh went missing.
That same evening, she went to the Prince of Wales in Putney, a pub which was also one of Cannan’s haunts.
What DNA was found in the car?
RexMissing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh vanished in July 1986[/caption]
It was later revealed that Cannan had access to a car that was linked to Suzy’s kidnapping.
The investigation of Lamplugh’s disappearance was reopened in 2000 after police traced a car that may have been linked to her vanishing.
Lamplugh, was connected through DNA evidence, to a Ford Sierra that Cannan once used with the false number plate SLP 386S.
Professor Wilson said: “Cannan owned the car. Suzy Lamplugh’s DNA and how it got there, is the question.”
Was his fake number-plate in reference to Suzy?
The fake number-plate has also been the subject of mystery with many believing it was a nod to Suzy’s name and initials.
And Professor Wilson believes that this could definitely be true given Cannan’s reputation as a “game player”.
He said: “Cannan liked to play games and tried to outwit the police investigation.
“He buried the body after murdering Shirley Banks in 1986 in a place called ‘dead woman’s ditch’ – it was that sort of game play he would engage in.
“Cannan had false numberplates on a car SLP 386S and my opnion is that those initials link to Suzy Lamplugh.
“The police interviewed him about the significance of the numberplates of the car.
“He even accepted when it was put to him it could have meant Suzy that it could be true.
What did he do with her body if he killed her?
News GroupAn artist’s impression of the man wanted in connection the Suzy Lamplugh case[/caption]
A fellow prison inmate came forward after Cannan was named as the suspect in 2002.
He claimed that Suzy had been buried under the patio at Cannan’s mother’s house.
Cops returned to the property to dig up a section of the garden in 2018 but nothing was found.
Professor Wilson sadly believes that Cannan likely dumped her body shortly after killing her.
The expert criminologist said: “My own personal view is that he would dispose of Suzy’s body as he left london and drove west and that probably means she is in water close to London.
“I believe that is what he would have done with her body.
“People by and large dispose of the bodies in areas they are familiar with quite quickly. You don’t want to be driving around with a dead body for any length of time wherever you are.
“The chances of you being arrested and your car being stopped and searched are quite high.
“It’s a sad thing but I imagine that the body is never going to be found, it will be a case for many people who have gone missing.”