Father of missing woman from one of Britain's most high-profile murder mysteries dies without finding out identity of the killer
It has been revealed today that the devastated father of an estate agent who disappeared 32 years ago died without finding out who her killer was.
In 1986, 25-year-old Suzy Lamplugh vanished after she left her office to meet a man known only as Mr. Kipper, and show him a house in Fulham, West London, The Daily Mail reported. Three decades later, it is still considered one of Britain's most high-profile murder mysteries.
The father, 87-year-old Paul Lamplugh, suffered from Parkinson's disease. He passed away with his three surviving children by his side.
Since the dissapearance of his daughter, he had dedicated his life to try and find her body. Paul, who is from East Sheen, spoke about his daughter's alleged murder last in 2016. He said, "The older I get the more I miss her". He also said that he "had to accept" the "awful" realization that she was murdered and that he would probably never find out who did it.
Paul and his wife Diana, who passed away in 2011, were given an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) after the two of them set up the 'Suzy Lamplugh Trust' in memory of their missing daughter.
The organization, which has been set up as a personal safety charity, has been helping thousands of people in the country every year. The trust was set up because the couple was determined that other members of the public should "stay safe" after their daughter disappeared.
A spokesperson for the family said in a statement on June 13, "Dad celebrated a wonderful 87th birthday party, surrounded by friends and family, just two weeks ago, which he thoroughly enjoyed. It was typical of Dad to want to throw a party to entertain everyone. In end, he went very peacefully and will be greatly missed not just by our family, but by his many friends."
The family has said that Paul will be sorely missed by his three surviving children — Richard, Tamsin, and Lizzie — his grandchildren and the rest of his family and friends.
His wife, Diana Lamplugh, died in her sleep in 2011 from a massive stroke at the age of 75.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust was born out of this family's tragedy and the organization has, and still will, continue to fight for the safety of other women. Many generations of freshers in universities were given free rape alarms, which have come to be known as "Suzy Lamplugh Alarms", and the organization has battled for more street lights to be set up on the streets of London to protect women. The trust is also launching a Stalking Awareness Week in Britain.
In 1994, Suzy Lamplugh was officially declared dead. Her body has still not been found.
John Cannan, a serial rapist, and murderer, is considered the prime suspect in the murder. Cannan is known to have a long history of highly violent sexual attacks on women. Just three days before Suzy disappeared, he was granted a day's release after he had completed serving 5 years in prison for rape. It was revealed only later that his fellow inmates in the prison would call him Kipper. This was also the name of the mystery man Suzy reportedly went to meet on the night of her dissapearance.
Cannan was a former car salesman who had access to a BMW that was the same type of car that was known to be what "Mr. Kipper" used. He also looked like the man who was seen with Suzy in the photofit, a reconstructed picture of a person that is made from composite photographs of facial features. Suzy had also complained at work that she was being hounded by a man who is from Bristol, the city Cannan is from.
The convict was questioned a few times while he was in prison but he always denied having anything to do with Suzy's disappearance.
Paul Lamplugh admitted that he knew no one was going to be arrested because there was a lack of evidence and proof of who did it. Cannan was named by the authorities as their chief suspect.
Witnesses claim that they had seen Suzy struggling with a man who was standing next to a BMW which police believe to be one that Cannan had access to. In what is considered an extremely rare move for Scotland Yard, the agency named Cannan as the killer who murdered Suzy Lamplugh. The convict was released from a hostel only a few days before she was reported as missing.
Cannan, now 64-years-old, is serving out his three life sentences for murder and multiple sex attacks. He still maintains to this day that he did not kill Suzy.
It emerged in 2008 that the wife of Steve Wright, otherwise known as the Suffolk Strangler, had come forward and said that Suzy Lamplugh was his first victim. The truck driver, who is based in Ipswich, went on a six-week frenzy in 2007 and murdered five prostitutes. Detectives from Scotland Yard told Paul and Diana Lamplugh at the time said that they were going to review the case after this bombshell confession from Wright's wife. The case, at the time, had been unsolved for 22 years.
The Lamplugh case of 1986, which has been touted as one of the greatest mysteries of recent times, was suddenly in the forefront again after Wright's ex-wife, Diane Cole, revealed that Wright, a former QE2 steward, and Suzy, who had worked as a beautician on a luxury liner at the time, knew each other very well.
When Cole checked her diaries, she found out that her ex-husband coincidentally had shore leave around the same time that 25-year-old Suzy disappeared on July 28, 1986. She has given all the information she has to the authorities.
Cole, who also worked on the QE2 liner, said, "I knew Suzy Lamplugh by sight. I saw him talking with her in the corridor. I was too downtrodden to challenge him about it then because he was such a Jekyll-and-Hyde character and you never knew when he would flip. But when I look back I can see how he was probably flirting with her."
She added, "I really want him to tell us if he killed her for my peace of mind and for her family's sake. I'm sure Steve used the word 'kipper' as slang for face. He used to say, 'What's up with your kipper?'"
Paul Tennant, a fellow QE2 shipmate and a former waiter on the liner, said that Wright had "tried to become a friend of Suzy's all the time". Steve Adler, another member of the ship's crew, said, "Steve would sniff around all the girls and particularly the beauticians such as Suzy."
Paul Lamplugh had said at the time that the detectives from the Yard were keeping in touch with him and informing him of any developments but then the calls stopped.