Vanishing without a trace: Who was Mr. Kipper? | Forensic Files

[Music] in 1996 London was on the up it had seen steady recovery from the recession of
the early eighties and from the string of crises that plagued the British economy for most of the 70s homegrown
car manufacturing was seeing a resurgence with a record number of new cars sold in Britain there was also a
shopping centre boom with one centre build that year being the largest in Europe the economy was growing despite
the stock market crash that would come the following year eighty-seven two major newspapers were launched today
enter the independent the hunger for thrilling front-page stories was high the real estate market was strong the
house market boom occurred during this period and followed the deregulation of the mortgage market the equal pay and
sex discrimination legislation brought about in the 70s helped push more women into the workforce and progressive
London saw many industries encourage female workers into careers as opposed to just jobs with more women having
greater access to mortgages the rise in female real estate agents also grew young professional women understanding
the needs of other professional women buyers was important 25 year-old Suzy Lampley launched herself into the career
of a southwest London real estate agent in 1985 [Music] born on the 3rd of May 1961 Suzy lamb
who was the second oldest in a family of one boy in the three girls her parents Paul and Diana originally
from affluent children bought them up to be a close-knit family Paul was a solicitor and Diana previously the
co-owner of a nationwide health and fitness organization called slim castex which ran classes combining exercise
with healthy eating stress control and life skills Suzy Lee included was headstrong and independent with a zest
for life often described as insatiable she had a hectic social life surrounded by a tight-knit group of friends her
mother affectionately referred to as the Putney set all well heeled with young professional women who loves socializing
in the wine bars of Putney Putney is a sub over South West London and is where Suzy lived in a flat on her
own Suzy was the one in the family who kept everyone in check she was the one who looked after them all the one they
relied on on the 27th of July 1986 Diana caught up with Suzy as they were having
an early celebration for Diana's fiftieth birthday they chatted about a theater show Diana had seen and caught
up on what Suzy had been up to Suzy had just been windsurfing and she spoke about how exciting it was Diana
questioned whether Suzy was over all these different adventures and Suzy said no my life is philippi Suzy had worked
at Sturgis and Suns real estate on Fulham Road for just over a year upmarket Fulham is part of the inner
city borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in southwest London it lies on the north bank of the River Thames pocketed
between Hammersmith Kensington and Chelsea Suzy lived in her own flat in Putney just south of the river a seven
minute drive or 25-minute stroll across the Putney bridge agents at Sturgis and sons filled their days with her showings
most of the day was spent ferrying would-be buyers from house to house 1996 being a time when prospective buyers
would either phone the office landline or drop into the storefront to make appointments face-to-face diaries were
all handwritten on the 28th of July 1986 25 year-old Suzie lamp who went to work
like every other day she left her flat that morning wearing a peach colored blouse grey skirt black jacket into
black shoes her shoulder-length blond hair had just been diet only days before it was summer in London and Susie liked
the change from her usual dark brown hair the office at Sturgis and Suns real estate was busy and everyone was rushing
about their day just after 12:30 p.m. Susie left the office with her purse which contained 15 pounds her credit
cards and her car keys she left her handbag behind she drove her work car a white Ford Fiesta to an appointment on
Charles Road inform her diary entry red 12:45 mr. kipper 37 Charles Road OS OS meaning media
outside the property she was seen waiting outside the three-story white Victorian Terrace
just after 12:45 and 1:00 p.m. the next-door neighbor at number 35 Charles Road looked out his window and saw Susie
greeted good-looking well-dressed men with swept-back dark hair dressed in a suit and tie he was between five foot
six and five foot nine and around 25 to 30 years of age mr. kipper minutes later
a second witness saw Susie and mr. kipper walking away from the house together mr. kipper was carrying a
bottle of champagne with a large ribbon on both of these witnesses helped with artists composites of mr. Cuba which
turned out to very closely resemble each other other witnesses believed they saw them
lying on the grass in nearby Bishop's Park with what looked like a bottle of champagne a local shopkeeper recalled
that morning he had served a man who asked for the most expensive bottle of champagne he had he left with an
expensive bottle without waiting for the change another witness confirmed seeing Susie
and a man outside another property that was for sale on Stevenage Road full about one-and-a-half miles away from the
first property on Charles Road there was a possibility that Susie had gone from the second property first showing with
mr. kipper as well later witnesses saw Susie arguing with a man in a black or dark-colored BMW also on Steven he drove
a van driver told detectives he had to swerve and hit the curb to avoid a collision when a white Ford Fiesta came
flowing towards him he saw a striking blonde at the wheel arguing with a man in a suit in the passenger seat a jogger
leaving Bishop's Park around 150 p.m. told police that a dark car mather a BMW or Mercedes dragged towards him sounding
the horn continuously the blonde woman in the car who stared at him as they passed appeared to be fighting with a
male companion why late afternoon when Susie hadn't returned to the office her workmates
started to wonder where she was it wasn't like Susie to take long lunch breaks or take time off she would always
let someone know where she was they checked the diary and saw the entry Susie had made for the appointment with
mr. Cooper he was not known to anyone at the agency and there was no one with that name in their records there was no
contact phone number for him either Susie's manager called Susie's mother and said do you have any idea where your
daughter might be mrs. Lane blue we wondered whether she could have called in to home for lunch I don't want to
worry you mrs. Lane blue but Susana left to show a house to a client just before
lunch and she is not returned we just wanted to check anywhere we could Diana recalled that it was so unlike Susie who
usually stuck to the rules and regulations something must have gone wrong Susie's brother Richard received a
call from their father Paul who told him Susie hadn't returned to work after showing someone a house everyone started
to get very worried at 6:45 p.m. her manager reported Suzy's disappearance to the police
with the remaining hours of daylight police retrace Suzy steps and spoke to her work colleagues while the time night
fell they stepped up the search and upgraded Suzy's disappearance from a normal missing-persons inquiry to a
higher-risk incident that night midd Jones of the Metropolitan Police went with other officers the Suzie's
flattened partner and forced their way inside there was nothing in the flat to explain her disappearance no sign of any
struggle or attack nothing out of place or unusual on their way back to full and
police station they received news that other police officers combing the area had found Suzie's white Ford Fiesta it
was found at 10:01 p.m. parked near the property for sale in Stevenage Road the second property she was seen outside of
one and a half miles away from the appointment marked in her diary it looked like her car had been abandoned
it was parked half over at garage driveway it was unlocked the handbrake was off and that the
positioning of the seats suggest that someone other than Suzy had been driving Suzy's purse still containing the 15
pounds was in the glove compartment a case for missing her straw hat was still sitting on the dashboard police
acknowledged that they were likely dealing with a sinister situation extra officers were drafted in and started a
meticulous search of the surrounding area trained search dogs were also called in
divers searched the Thames River near Stevenage Road where her Ford Fiesta was found abandoned and a police helicopter
also covered the surrounding areas Scotland Yard which is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police released an
artist's impression of mr. kipper Susie's parents joined the search and went into overdrive trying to find their
daughter Diana said my initial reaction of frozen shock gave way to a flood of adrenaline which shot me into overdrive
we must find her physically all that energy must be directed into action my husband and I went down to the river
where her car had been abandoned we called we shouted we encouraged our dogs to search velvet we must have been
disturbing the neighborhood but more than that as the police who were there made clear we
were getting in the way initially it was thought Susie had been lured to an empty
property by stranger posing as a client but it wasn't long before they realized that was likely Susie was thought that
this was a plan to kidnapping and she may have even known the assailant if counts of the champagne seemed to fit
this idea Deborah or of the independent newspaper in London described it as follows it appears to be beyond to doubt
that she was pinpointed by a stalker who evolved the plan to ensnare her by using
the vulnerability which her working life necessarily exposed the investigators moved quickly to interview friends
family and work colleagues they wanted to paint a picture of Susie's habits in social life what was clear is that Susie
had a close family and a very tight group of friends Superintendent Carter went public very early on and gained the
help of the media the public reaction to Suzy's disappearance seemed unprecedented at the taunt people saw
themselves in Susie's shoes or her family's shoes a young woman going about her day at work had mysteriously
disappeared it could happen to anyone the metro police thought if they went public as quickly as possible while
people's memories were still fresh they would have the best chance of finding Susie in the days where there was no
CCTV and too no mobile phone records or tower pinging by witness accounts and the media were the number one tool used
in investigations such as this the police felt that something was seriously wrong but what they were yet to realize
was that Suzy's disappearance would become one of the largest investigations in British criminal history the
following day at the 29th of July those are nautical in the London Evening Standard with a headline kidnap fears
first aid agents go Scotland Yard reported there were grave concerns for Susie's safety
police released the information that a black or dark-colored BMW could be involved theory started to fly about the
name mr. Cooper with police investigating possible links to the Dutch name wiper but despite police
investigations nobody of this name is found to be connected police records came up with nothing
an incident room was set up at Fulham police station and more than 100 police were involved in the initial search
detective Superintendent Nick Carter said the longer time goes by the more fearful I become finding her alive
because such behavior two nights away from home without contacting a soul is totally out of character she's
intelligent and a level-headed she is possibly being abducted police asked other local estate agents to compile
lists of empty places in case the men had obtained keys to other properties at the time of Suzy's disappearance police
didn't work on computer systems everything was written down on cards these cards were a little bigger than a
standard envelope and were filed in long drawers or sometimes sat on round spinning holders to make flicking
through them easier Suzie's card started to fill boxes is the amount of information even in the early part of
the investigation surpassed 26,000 cards one thing which confused the public at the time was the Susy was described as
blunt but the photos of Susy released by the police showed her with dark brown hair this was because Suzie had recently
dyed her hair in the weeks that followed shops across London started to sell out
of personal alarms a lot of people mostly young women felt they could be next the following Wednesday the 30th of
July was Diana's 50th birthday in the family home in mortlake was crawling with journalists
Diana welcomed the media hoping it would help find Susy Susie's parents made an emotional appeal to her kidnapper to let
Susy go they said they were convinced that their daughter was still alive but we're terrified she was tied up in a
place where she couldn't get out her father Paul said I don't believe she's being murdered I can't explain it but we
feel very strongly that she is still alive and up with everybody's help we can find her
the next day Diana and Paul appeared twice on television on BBC's breakfast time as well as good morning Britain
Diana told a host I feel she's shut up somewhere that she's being held against her will I feel that because she hasn't
contacted us she's a very strong very fit lady she should be able to cope with most situations as the media interest
grew the family started receiving piles of letters some were from friends who were praying for them this seemed so
particularly unjust the thing to happen to a family which is always shown caring
love for others especially in their distress others were from strangers who had met Suzy Suzy bought my car off me
and she struck my husband and I as a smashing girl and others were harder to decipher but Diana and Paul felt they
needed to read every single one just in case it helped them find Suzy Diana showed a journalist the piles of letters
and said it's something everyone can relate to and a lot of them said they felt almost as if it had happened to
them but after one week had passed diana admitted on television that she was beginning to realize that her daughter
might be dead quote i can face up to the fact that she has died but i cannot face
up to what has happened in between that's too much diana revealed that suzy suffered from
claustrophobia she had once panicked in a cable car they knew she would have been terrified to be shut in some way
they found that easier to believe she was dead than imagine her suffering despite a police reconstruction and
extensive media coverage during the early part of the investigation no information had moved them any further
to determining what had happened to Suzy after returning to work at a fish shop in Hartford sure Suzy's brother Richard
recalled that after the fish came in they would wash the floor of the shop and put a newspaper down as he laid out
the newspaper he noticed the photo of Suzy it was then that it hit home for him he may never see his sister again
by the beginning of August the police had over 700 calls from the public with possible information regarding Suzy's
disappearance they also had 100 calls from people claiming to have seen Suzy on the day she vanished or just after
each lead proved to eventually be a dead end our other witness accounts did seem
to point towards the fact that Suzy may have known mr. kipper family and friends
said Suzy had no enemies and they did not know of anyone who could be capable of abducting her but they did talk about
a new me and Suzy admit not long before she disappeared Suzy had been talking about a new man she had met who came
from Bristol or at least had a connection to Bristol a city one and a half hours west of London Suzy said the
man often had delayed dates early or abruptly but she didn't know why she openly asked friends if they thought he
had a wife always attached to someone else because he was forever making calls to
Bristol during a conversation with her mother Suzy said she wasn't going to be fooled around with the next time Suzy
mentioned the man from Bristol to her mother she said he had taken her motor-racing
but she had become a bit scared of him she was receiving a lot of phone calls at work she mentioned the same thing to
friends and other family members Donna asked if she needed help but Susie said she would handle it she planned to have
lunch with him and tell him it was over Paul and Diana channelled their frustrations into a charity in Suzy's
name the Suzy went blue trust launched on the 4th of December 1986 just a few months after she went missing
the initial aim was to raise money for self awareness courses for people at work but over the years that has
extended to enabling people from all walks of life to live life fully but safely the charity was started from the
land Lewis house in southwest London in an office in the garden they wanted to ensure this wouldn't happen to anyone
else they believed the lack of personal safety within working hours was a huge contributing factor in Suzy's
disappearance they wanted to establish ways of educating people to improve their personal safety without curtailing
their freedom and liberties their focus was to set up laws around safety for loan workers as well as educate
workplaces and individuals they also wanted better education and legislation around stalking Diana and Paul threw
themselves into the charity as a way of honoring their daughter and helping others they felt helpless as police
continued to investigate without getting anywhere the family held a memorial service for
Suzy her brother Richard said it was at this point he knew for sure she wasn't coming back
he admitted to himself for the first time that Suzy had been murdered the family focused on moving forward and
keeping the Suzy lamb blue trust going Diana worked tirelessly on numerous committees and led campaigns for changes
in the law the most successful of which included measures to combat harassment and stalking the registration of sex
offenders ended the registration of minicabs in the UK the charity was the driving force behind the Act passed in
England to ensure registration for all private hire vehicles a popular taxi service called minicabs where at the
time unregulated and drivers didn't have to be registered in any way they saw the
risks of people's safety and were successful in getting an Act passed the change this Diana became the public face
of the trust as she travelled relentlessly up and down the country giving talks and organizing conferences
and seminars for every kind of organization as one year passed there was no suspect no motive no evidence and
still no trace of Suzy by October 1987 the case officially tapered down the police vahdat would not be closed but
they had exhausted all leads and would have to wait for something new to show itself money and resources were needed
in other areas of policing in London there is an active Provisional IRA campaign happening in London at the time
with various bombings and threats occurring throughout the city as well as a number of other high-profile crimes
large-scale bank robberies drug busts a mass shooting a large underground fire killing 31 people end of the great storm
of 1987 which killed 23 people in England and France the investigation into Suzy's
disappearance halted and so did the media attention on the 8th of October 1987 one year in
two months after Susie went missing 29 year-old Shirley banks disappeared from a multi-story shopping centre car park
in central Bristol a major City 240 kilometers west of London she had spent the evening doing some late night
shopping sometime after 7:40 p.m. when she last used her credit card to buy a dress at Topshop she and her orange mini
club and vehicle disappeared Shirley was supposed to meet her new husband Richard for a drink after
shopping but never showed up they had been married for only four weeks when the police launched the investigation
into Shirley banks disappearance the next morning there was not linked in any way to Suzy lamb clue Bristol was 240
kilometers away and the mystery man with ties to Bristol Suzy's friends and family said she was seen wasn't at the
forefront of the investigators minds also police weren't immediately sure Shirley had met with foul play the
morning after she went missing her workplace received a call around a 9:00 a.m. supposedly from Shirley herself saying
she wouldn't be in she'd been up all night with an upset stomach Shirley was not seen or heard from again and
although her workplace was sure it was her who made the call police couldn't prove it one way or the other at the
time Bristol police received another report that the night before Shirley banks disappeared a woman had been
approached by a man with a gun while getting into her car in Bristol she had fought him off and managed to drive away
but suddenly Shirley's disappearance 24 hours later was starting to look very sinister in the nearby town of lemon
conspire three weeks after Shirley banks disappeared a man wearing a motorcycle helmet walked into a dress shop and
attempted to attack two female workers with a knife they managed to chasing me out and scream for help police arrived
and with the help of two locals they found a bag stashed in the street containing the helmet and a knife the
knife had blood on it and the police guessed the attacker may have injured himself while on the run
a short distance away they noticed the men walking calmly and casually they stopped him and asked to see his hands
one was cut and bleeding he was arrested and taken to the local police station his name was John cannon he had a set of
keys in his possession that were traced back to his black BMW parked close to the dress shop locking in was under
arrest the police searched his house they lifted prints and went through all of his possessions in a briefcase they
found a car tax registration sticker which they traced to the vehicle of Shirley banks they also found an empty
bag from the local top shops thought in the back of Karen's BMW Topshop is the store that Shirley had purchased a dress
from off shopping before her disappearance then they found Shirley's car it was parked in the garage of
canon's flat in Bristol it had been badly repainted royal blue and had a new license plate fitted with the
registration SL p3 h6s John Kernan was still in custody in the lemming Tain's bar for the attack at the dress shop at
this point the police were only able to hold him for 36 hours before laying charges or releasing him if they started
asking him questions about Shirley banks the clock would continue to run on the dress shop attack if they then stopped
asking questions about Shirley and went back to the dress shop attack the clock for Shirley's case would continue to run
and it was already getting tight there was no way they could start interviewing Cannon about Shirley banks without
running out of time for the dress shop so they made a decision John Kinnear was charged and granted
bail for the dress shop attack as soon as Cannon signed his bail papers he was arrested by Bristol police in relation
to Shirley banks disappearance so they now had another 36 hours to question him they heard Shirley's car in cannons
garage he was a great suspect but it still wasn't evidence of anything Shirley still hadn't been located they
needed a confession or further evidence or they risk Kinnear walking 50 officers were immediately placed on
the case while holding cannon for that 36 hours six task force teams searched 15 separate areas of woods and 11
different underwater locations in search of Shirley's body the Royal Air Force did aerial searches and a forensics team
closely went over cannons flat that weekend newspapers ran stories of the possible links between King and Shirley
banks and to the disappearance of Suzy lamb blue Suzy's family felt cannon matched the photo feet of mr. Cuba who
Suzy was last seen with plus he seemed to fit the man she was seen just prior to her disappearance the men with links
to Bristol so who was John cannon he was born in 1954 in the small town of Sutton
Coldfield ten kilometers northeast of Birmingham centre it was good at sports although his father didn't approve his
father an engineer was strict and had strong ideas for John's future cannon left school at the age of 17 joining the
Merchant Navy he only lasted three months Janine's father was the general manager
of a prestigious car showroom of British cars and he got his son a job in used car sales kenan earned the nickname
billy lawyer for his devious ways on the job kenan got married and had a child in
1978 they initially lived with his parents as things were tough financially but Canion abandoned his family in 1984
another woman who was seen when this woman left him he brutally attacked her his list of prior offenses included
robbery theft assault with a weapon fraud and rape Canon's arrest record began in 1968 when
he indecently assaulted a woman in a phone box he was just 14 years old he was placed on probation
just after Kinnear married there were a string of sex attacks committed in Birmingham houses with sale signs were
being visited by men who attacked a woman if they were alone in the house although police believed Kinnear may
have been involved they had no evidence and can even denied any involvement kenan rubbed the petrol station at
knifepoint in february 1981 in the following month before being sentenced for that crime he robbed and raped the
shop assistant in a knitwear shop he was sentenced to eight years behind bars in
Bristol for the rape of the shop assistant but he only searched five in December 1985 kenan was sent to London
to begin his rehabilitation this was seven months before Siouxsie disappeared Canion was released into a prison hostel
on a day release program just outside the gates of the prison at Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs is in the London
borough of Hammersmith and Fulham right where Suzy lived worked and disappeared from well on day release Kenan was
allowed to work he got a job as a porter at a local props hiring company he was allowed to go to bars socialise and the
libby's days like a free man Kenan was released from the day release program entirely just three days before
Suzy went missing police looked into him further and discovered that while canam
was still living in the prison hostel he had an affair with a solicitor in Bristol which ended just after Suzy's
disappearance Kinane threatened her and her family Canon also bragged to a workmate that he had met a pretty girl
in a full and bar and told another about a special girlfriend in form he talked often about how women just felt him he
had this charm about him a woman who worked near Suzi notified police that she saw a man staring into
the window of Susie's real estate agency from across the street Susie's flatmate
recalled how she received unwanted phone calls at home and several bouquets of flowers from someone which she was
getting annoyed about it was now being suggested this men was John Kinnear Kenan was never included in the first
police inquiry into Suzy lamb whose disappearance sex offenders and prisoners on day release were not
targeted for questioning Susie's parents said we told them the Suzy had met a man
from Bristol we told them about his personality that he made her feel uncomfortable they did nothing but now
the possible links between John Kinnear and Suzy's disappearance were very clear
but as the Press ran with it and went into a frenzy the police could find no solid evidence linking Kinnear to Suzy
as police near the end of their 36 hour holding time for Shirley Banks disappearance they had to either charge
cannon or let him go with the evidence they had they were able to charge him with the theft of Shirley's motor
vehicle plus there was the assault with intent to rob from the dress shop in Limington Spa this was enough to get
canal in front of a magistrate who granted police three more days to question him in relation to the night
Shirley disappeared cannon told many detailed stories about shops he visited and people he saw police immediately
recognized this tactic he was explaining real situations he had encountered very
convincingly it was convincing because they were true accounts of him purchasing one or inquiring about buying
curtains or seeing a friend but these events were likely to have occurred on different days this was a tactic used so
the police would believe he was telling the truth to make his story seem more genuine but the police could not
corroborate his alibi ball cannon was still in custody several more witnesses came forward a woman
named Christine from a local pottery shop had been invited by John to his house for dinner the Saturday after
Shirley went missing she told police she had tried to phone him all week because
she had to cancel but she never got an answer about 9:00 a.m. on Friday October 9th 1987 the morning after Shirley's
disappearance she tried again this time Johnny answered within one ring and Christine described his behavior as very
odd he didn't remember who she was and he sounded nervous with one day left a question can n police asked the woman
who was attacked at gunpoint at her car in Bristol the not before Shirley's disappearance to attend an identity
parade at the station she agreed she walked into a room with one-way glass and immediately told the officers it was
number three who attacked her number three was junking in this new charge of attempted abduction bought police
another three days a taxi driver then came forward he had seen the location of cannons flat in the newspapers he said
that at 2:00 p.m. the day after Shirley banks disappeared he received the request to pick up a woman from flat 2
at 40 house which is where can-am lived only when he arrived and knocked on the door of the flat which was what taxis
did back then John Kinnear entered the door and abruptly said no woman had ordered any taxi the taxi driver left
confused that same afternoon Kannan asked the neighbor if he could borrow her vacuum cleaner another
neighbor saw him with a bucket and cloth cleaning his black BMW police believe that Shirley banks was
kept hostage and condensed flat until sometime in the afternoon the day after she was abducted so it probably was her
that called in sick to her workplace that morning most likely against her will police found a receipt for a dry
cleaners in Karen's flat and when they followed it up they found it was a raincoat which had been left for
cleaning and it had not yet been collected the woman working at the dry cleaners said that when the raincoat was
dropped off it had been covered in red mud forensic testing confirmed there were bloodstains on the coat at that
time there was only limited forensic testing available so they were only able to confirm the blood group the blood
could have belonged to John Cannon but it also could have belonged to Shirley banks they felt they had enough to
charge can end with kidnapping Shirley if there was a chance that Shirley could be alive police felt their only choice
was to go public with a picture of cannon with the advice of John Drewe the bristol count prosecutor at the time
they released the photo to the media they did this understanding the risk that if the case went to trial then any
identifying evidence of caen and from that point on would be tainted by the fact that public had been exposed to his
photograph there would certainly be an argument from pennons defense that he may not receive a fair trial but they
took the risk headlines across Britain read have you seen this men radio and news reports asked for anyone who knew
John Kernan or had anything to do with him in recent months to come forward fingerprint experts build a composite of
Shirley's prints from various items found around her home they could then try to place a match two prints found in
cannons BMW as well as his flat it was on a single piece of paper found in a wooden chest in John cannons flat where
they got their match on the side of the page was Shirley's thumbprint Shirley touch the piece of
paper while being held captive when Kenan cleaned up afterwards he put the paperwork away in the chest they could
no charge Canion for murder even though the media release hadn't worked and now we yet to find Shirley on Easter Sunday
the following year 1988 seven months after Shirley banks disappeared her body was found a woman going to collect moss
in the forest stumbled upon her remains just over an hour's drive from Bristol in Somerset Shirley was found in a
forest that Quantic Hills in a wooded wetland area known as dead woman's ditch cannon had holidayed in his forests
numerous times as a child three months later police were able to link an end to the rape of a woman in reading under the
attempted abduction of another woman in Bristol both of these attacks occurred on the same day a few months after Suzy
had disappeared advancements in DNA technology played a part in linking him to the rape and although they could link
him to the area of the attempted abduction on the same day as well there was insufficient evidence to charge him
with that attack so in April 1989 John cannon stood trial for the murder of Shirley banks the rape of the woman in
Redding enter the attempted abduction at gunpoint of the woman in Bristol the night before Shirley disappeared by this
time 150 officers from five different police forces had spent around 140 thousand hours on the case
the trial lasted three weeks and the jury deliberated for 10 hours cannon was found guilty and sentenced to serve
three life sentences for the attacks he was given a minimum sentence of 35 years
his appeal against his conviction was rejected in 1991 despite being given a minimum term during sentencing the judge
said you should never again be at Liberty outside of prison walls in the trial that came out that in 1987 almost
a year after Suzy's disappearance and only three days before the abduction and murder of Shirley banks Junkin in went
to a dating agency in Bristol and made a video he used the name John Peterson well I think apart from the physical
side again I think somebody who's pleasant who's natural is relaxed I know somebody who's career oriented to
myself I couldn't blame them for that as soon as Cannon was sentenced the Metro police in London arranged an interview
with him he denied any involvement in Suzy's disappearance he even denied ever being informed he did not have an alibi
for the day she disappeared police knew cannon had a type of woman he liked attractive young professional women he
was charismatic and good-looking he knew how to entice women with romantic gestures he perfectly fit the
description of mr. kipper the men Susie was seen with the day she disappeared he
drove a black BMW and he could live with these but they couldn't come up with any
solid evidence linking him to Susie Lampley when the investigation into command failed to produce any results Susie's
parents went to the High Court and obtained a ruling to declare Susie deceased this became official in
February 1994 Susie Lampley was officially declared dead presumed dead murdered in 1997 the Susie Lampley trust
played a key role in the passing of the protection from harassment act which clamped down on crimes involving
stalking and allowed for stalkers to be prosecuted and imprisoned in late 1999 police pushed to reopen the cold case of
Susie in blue with advances in forensic testing they believed there was a chance
they could move forward with the investigation and in the year 2000 the case was officially reopened with Jim
Dickie named to senior investigator it was codenamed Operation Phoebus Dickie waded through the vast amount of
notes made in the initial investigation and looked into the many different theories that surrounded the case
everyone from criminologist to psychics had sent their theories to police but what the case was lacking was hard
evidence after a review police admitted opportunities were missed due to the sheer volume of information that came in
during the investigation causing the pursuit of a lot of false leads they had a number of suspects on that list one by
one they eliminated every suspect until they got down to the one name they couldn't eliminate John King in cannon
was ring interviewed twice more about Suzy's disappearance he again denied ever visiting form but police had proof
he had he also denied having access to a black BMW in 1986 even though he was arrested with one the following year the
new officers on the case began to uncover a vast amount of circumstantial evidence against cannon during his time
in prison prior to Suzy's disappearance cannon was nicknamed kipper Daphne sergeant an ex-girlfriend of
cannons came forward and said as soon as I heard about Susie I knew it was John I
had all the hallmarks right down to the champagne Canon's own sister told the media that
she believed he did it and implored him to reveal the whereabouts of Susie's body former Detective Chief Inspector
Brian Saunders set inquiry showed that he went window shopping for girls he would spot an attractive girl in an
estate agents office or Building Society and to pursue her they also questioned him on the license plate he had put on
Shirley banks Minnie he had changed the license plate to one that read ASL p38 6s they thought SLP could have stood for
Susie lamp Lou with a number 86 being the year he killed her police felt canon was the type of men to play this sort of
cat-and-mouse games he was extremely manipulative during questioning yet an act of turning the
questioning back on to interviewing officers and would address officers by their first names even though he was
serving life Canion treated police interviews like he was having a casual chat in the pub an officer asked him if
he realized the significance of the letters of the license plate Cannon said yes when asked to elaborate cannon said
I bought that car off a Bristol businessman for 100 pounds that man is in a lot of trouble the police officer
said no John you were in a lot of trouble too which can and said yes but that mean committed the murders of
Shirley banks Susie green blue and another girl the officer said is that me a new genre
he answered yes but within two seconds he retracted his statement and denied it cannon had to pause the interview as he
was overcome with emotion it was the first time he had shown any sign of weakness but police still didn't have
the evidence required to charge Kinnear for Suzy's disappearance a reenactment in 2000 bought new
witnesses Ford with further circumstantial evidence the jogger had seen Suzy in a car with a man fitting
the description of John Kinnear the car was a black or dark-colored BMW police identified a car that Kinnear had used
with another criminal from the prison hostile to commit a crime around the same time of Suzy's disappearance that
car was a dark colored BMW a woman came forward identifying John Kinnear as the man who had appeared at her house in
1986 in full uninvited at the time of Suzy's disappearance the woman's house was for sale and Kinnear knocked on the
door without an estate agent he asked to have a look around and although she felt
uneasy and suspicious she let him in what Kannan didn't know was that the woman's husband was home when Kinnear
saw the husband he acted even more strangely and fled the house this mo mirrored the string of attacks on women
selling their homes in Birmingham also linked to Kinnear another witness came forward confirming she'd seen a man
fitting John cannons description staring into the window of Susie's office the day before Susie disappeared
Kennan's ex-girlfriend Gilly page came forward and gave details of a conversation she remembered having with
Kenan while driving from Bristol to Birmingham via the m5 motorway Janine allegedly confessed to her that he had
raped and murdered the estate agent while driving in the car past Norton barracks at Wooster shooting he said
maybe Suzy is in there by the time police received this information it had been 15 years since Suzy went missing
Jim Dickey said Norton barracks was a completely different place to what it had been in 1986 it had since been sold
off to developers and a housing estate had been built all buildings have been knocked down or completely redeveloped
if they're going to excavate the area they would now have to remove people's homes which they didn't feel they could
do the investigation team did dig up what they could but by no means could they search the entire area prior to the
housing estate the area was isolated army barracks where the SAS trained the use of the site by Special Forces was a
closely guarded secret a former SAS member said the barracks had a number of sellers and passageways and the whole
site was a very isolated adding that it was used for special exercises at least until 1985 the year before Suzy
disappeared the areas that could search on the now redevelop site turned up nothing they decided to search the area
of dead woman's ditch the forest in Somerset where Shirley banks body had been found
Kinnear knew the area well but again they found nothing a year later they did another search in
Somerset this time in an area called the Somerset Levels a coastal plain and wetland area which borders the Quantic
you'll swear Shirley's body had been found police received information that John cannon frequently visited that area
before being sentenced to life in prison the Royal Air Force flew over the area taking photographs for the police to
analyse for other possible spots to search the Royal Marines help search waterways and other local areas but
again nothing was found they came up empty after a second search of the Forman Norton army barracks with
even more advancements in forensics police began the enormous task for testing the DNA of 800 unidentified
bodies and skeletal remains no match was made what had happened though is that John cannon had started talking in
prison several prison inmates told police of silk confessions by cannon since his conviction well the police
accept the need for skepticism have their reliability of cell confessions taken together they were too compelling
to ignore according to one inmate can and confess the sushis murder same yes soft donor but I'll never find the body
there's no body no crime they can't prove a thing another inmate top police that after watching a news
report from prison can and said they won't find her there when asked where Susie was Kanin replied do you honestly
think I'd be daft enough to be walking around with a [ __ ] Spade she's in a house the most shocking revelation came
when one prisoner asking Nye wouldn't just come clean the response he got was it's not as simple as that she's not by
herself she's got company according to prison wardens Canion eventually stop denying his involvement in Suzy's
disappearance saying it's up to them to prove it they'll never prove it police were hoping to get a confession but it
never came they sent the file against canary to the Crown Prosecution Service or CPS a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said
we will review what the CPS has said and take a decision within the next fortnight not Dennis a senior Treasury
counsel ruled the circumstantial evidence against John Keenan was insufficient to take to court in theory
police could ignore the advice and charge can in any way but that would likely lead to the Crown Prosecution
Service dropping the case before it reached trial a statement was issued by the Susie Galea blue trust
the police will be studying advice in detail and will discuss with the family both the advice and the action to be
taken we are satisfied that the police have been doing excellent work and are continuing to do so we await further
developments and whatever happens will continue through the Susy Lampley trust with our work to enable other people to
live to safer lives Scotland Yard hold a press conference operation Phoebus and the inquiry into
the disappearance of Susy green/blue was suspended until such time as new evidence emerged they assured the family
and the public that the case was not closed just suspended prosecutors agreed that operation Phoebus had done a very
thorough re investigation of the case they saw nothing more that could be done that hadn't already been done if new
information came to light they would be waiting but they maintained there was insufficient evidence to take to court
Scotland Yard detective assistant commissioner bill Griffiths admitted it was a matter of great regret that the
original inquiry launched in 1986 had missed significant opportunities he said if these had been grasped at the time
and may have led us toward prosecution many years ago but that did not happen it was revealed that police involved in
the original inquiry did not check prisons for records have recently released sex offenders was also
confirmed that police had failed to act upon information supplied by Susie's parents about the man she was seeing
from Bristol just prior to her disappearance Susie's father Paul said we are greatly distressed and indeed
considerably angered after all these years it is still not possible to prosecute the person who both we and of
the police believes murdered Susie we have come to a conclusion that at this point in time we accept the situation
in November 2002 British police did something very unusual they held a press conference and named
John Kernan as the only suspect in the investigation into Suzy Lane blues killing they publicly acknowledged the
circumstantial evidence against him it was revealed that Suzy may have had a brief romance with Kenan who thence
thought her and took revenge when she dumped him information released in the early 2000s revealed that in the
immediate lead-up to Suzy's disappearance cannon often ignored the hostile curfew and cruised the bars of
Fulham at night to chat out women before returning to the hostel drunk and climbing in through an open window Canon
has denied in police interviews ever visiting form but he's former workmates insist he often bragged about
girlfriends he met there he told colleagues and acquaintances that he liked attractive professional and fun
types well-dressed well-educated well-spoken women in business suits particularly
navy pleated skirts one former colleague told police that cannon had spoken of one special girlfriend in Fulham
police strongly believe cannon was the exciting new man Suzy spoke off to her family but whom they never met who she
went on to say she was having problems with days before Suzy disappeared a young woman working near canons
workplace at the props hire business was approached by men whom police believed to be connect he said he had seen her
through the window and asked her out for dinner she declined politely Kanin left
only to return later with several bouquets of flowers according to his former lovers this was kannon's modus
operandi Kenan wrote letters from prison to criminologist and author Christopher
Barry d boasting that chocolates champagne and roses a ways of saying I love you and never have I felt
embarrassed about buying them or saying those words according to police Canon had the ability to charm women to a
point of near total control and statements from former girlfriends speak of his passion for motor racing and how
we grew them with champagne and red roses before turning nasty and exacting revenge if he was rejected
remember Suzy told her mother that her mystery man from Bristol had taken her motor racing
the suffix strangle our Steve Wright who was jailed in 2006 for the murder of five women who worked as sex workers was
also investigated at one time it was discovered that he had worked with Suzie when she worked as a beautician aboard
the luxury ship the qe2 in the early eighties Suzie and right were acquaintances and regularly met up after
working together on the ship but no evidence was found linking him to Suzy's disappearance and it was chalked up to
nothing other than a bizarre coincidence in 2009 the remains of hospital worker Melanie Hall from Bath were found in a
bin bag near the m5 in Bristol 13 years after she went missing from outside a nightclub police initially linked can
and to her disappearance in the late 90s when an informant told investigators that cannon and fellow inmate
Christopher Clark were talking about the perfect abduction in prison Clarke was released soon after then Melanie Hall
disappeared the theory is that Clarke abducted and murdered Melanie Hall after he was released and Canion helped
orchestrate it from behind bars Clarke was interviewed but not charged due to a lack of evidence but one month later
Clarke attacked another woman in bath and was jailed for life this has never been proven it was only speculation and
several other arrests were made after Clarke in relation to the disappearance of Melanie Hall the case still remains
unsolved though in August 2010 someone came forward to say they had seen a mound of Earth
around the time Suzy disappeared at a site previously searched by officers in Worcester the area is about three miles
away from the former Norton barracks which was searched previously Scotland Yard officers used ground-penetrating
radar to comb the site which they confirmed had been previously searched in connection with inquiry this renewed
hope 24 years after Suzy vanished without a trace quietly faded when again nothing was
found the Suzy Glen polluter trust went from strength to strength and became a full-time venture for the lamp loose
they still continue to help people avoid becoming victims of aggression and offer
counseling and support to relatives and friends of missing people in 2010 the charity set up the National stalking
helpline which gives advice to thousands of people every year who are victims of
stalking diana was appointed OBE in 1992 for her work with the trust ovae stands
for officer of the most excellent Order of the British Empire and is a Queen's honour given to an individual for a
major local role in any activities such as business charity or the public sector
she was also awarded for honorary doctorates for her work and her and Paul also received the beacon prize for
leadership in personal safety diana wrote many books training manuals and articles Diana died in August 2011
having suffered a serious stroke the previous year and also being diagnosed with our Zyliss disease
she was 75 years old and died without answers to her daughter's disappearance but believe the right man was behind
bars regardless 30 years on Suzie's 85 year old father Paul in blue is beginning to lose hope that the case
will ever be solved he said I don't have very much hope that all find out what happened
I miss Suzy more now I think the older I get I miss her Suzy did know how to live
life fully but no one taught her how to be safe lead investigator of the reinvestigation Jim Dickie believes that
Jon cannons thought Suzy he may have had some contact and that his wife Suzy spoke of the new men with Bristol
connections he may have even taken Suzy on a date and they likely spoke on the phone it was probable Canion had viewed
other properties with Suzy possibly playing a character who was more well off than he actually was bringing a
bottle of champagne along to share with her on that day Jeanine was wooing her in his usual fashion Suzy was planning
to break it off for at least cool it down but John cannon didn't like rejection during a meeting Kinnear had
with his solicitor in 2002 he said I'm a tell all when my mother dies he will be
eligible for parole in six years time 2023 when he's 65 years old he can only be released if the parole board rules
that he is no longer a serious danger to the public [Music] you

Case 48: Suzy Lamplugh

On the 28th July 1986, 25-year-old Suzy Lamplugh went to work like every other day. The office at Sturgis and Sons Real Estate was busy, and everyone was rushing about their day.

Just after 12.30pm Suzy left the office with her purse, which contained 15 pounds, her credit cards, and her car keys. She left her handbag behind…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anna Priestland Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-48-suzy-lamplugh

Brief Summary

The episode details Suzy Lampley's 1986 disappearance and the investigation linking John Kinnear to her case.

Key points

The Search Intensifies. As the investigation escalated, police feared for Suzy's safety and began a meticulous search.
The Disappearance of Suzy Lampley. In July 1986, Suzy Lampley vanished after leaving work, sparking a massive investigation.
Family's Emotional Appeal. Suzy's parents made a heartfelt plea for her return, expressing their belief she was still alive.
The Disappearance of Shirley Banks. Shirley Banks vanished after a shopping trip, leaving her husband worried and confused.
Sinister Developments. As time passed, police began to suspect foul play in Shirley's case.
A Race Against Time. Police faced a critical time crunch in questioning John Kinnear about Shirley's disappearance.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

My life is philippi.

Suzy's response about her exciting life during a chat with her mother.

3:13WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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