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| By Family members of Lamplugh or friends, distributed nationwide in the media by the Metropolitan Police* |
The disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh in July 1986, is a case that continues to be talked about. How could a bright young woman in the prime of her life go to meet a client in broad daylight and never be seen again? No trace of the 25-year-old has ever been found.
At the start it seemed as if the police had a good, solid starting point. Written down in the estate agent's diary was the name Mr Kipper. Next to his name was the address of a property she was going to be showing him.
It seemed a simple task for the police to trace this Mr Kipper and find out what he knew about her disappearance. Despite their efforts they couldn't find the man named.
I remember the 80s well. Women were more liberated then than they had been in the 70's. Jobs for women didn't mean just traditional job roles seen as women's like secretarial and nursing. Not to say that there is anything wrong with those jobs.
Despite the progressiveness, I remember one of my teachers - a technical education teacher - who used to smack all the girl pupils on the bottom. These days you would be charged with sexual assault but in days gone by behavior like that was ignored.
In the 1980s there was one other thing other thing from 70s that remained. Men often wore kipper ties.
What is a kipper tie?
Kipper ties are broad ties known for having horrendously garish patterns and colours. When I think of used car salesmen I think of kipper ties.
The police at the time did consider the possibility that Mr Kipper wasn't the man's name at all - or even an alias - but did her killer definitely use that name? Or was it that he told Suzy he would be wearing a kipper tie so she would recognise him when they met? Hence, she wrote down Mr Kipper not bacuse it was his name but because he told her that's how she could recognise him?
Shirley Banks - murdered by a psychopath
Convicted killer John Cannan, the coward who abducted and murdered newlywed Shirley Banks has been constantly linked to the Suzy Lamplugh case. In prison, he'd gained the name Mr Kipper because of the big ties he wore but what if he wasn't the Mr Kipper Suzy wrote about at all, which is possible?
Cannan's MO doesn't match the Lamplugh crime
Arrogant Cannan is hardly a criminal mastermind. He doesn't come across as a planner. Instead, his attacks were more opportunistic. He seems to have crossed paths with his victims rather than have planned his vile crimes and arranging to meet the estate agent at a house would have taken some planning.
Consider his previous known crimes.
1. He used a knife on a shop assistant at a dress shop. Thankfully, passers-by intervened.
2. He tried to abduct a woman at gunpoint in a car park the night before he targeted tragic Shirley.
3. When he abducted Shirley Banks, she was out shopping. He took her back to his own flat and held her hostage before he killed her. Then, he stupidly put the tax disc from her car in his glove compartment where it was later found.
Dumb criminal
It seems inconceivable that he could have abducted and killed Suzy without leaving any trace. He just doesn't come across as smart enough.
In short, he's too stupid to have killed Suzy and gotten away with it without leaving a trace.
I pray that I'm wrong because if he didn't kill Suzy that means someone else did and unlike Cannan they're still out there. Have they killed again? Once killer's escalate they don't tend to de-escalate to lesser crimes.
Hopefully, one day Suzy's body will be found, and she can finally be laid to rest.
Attributions
- Lamplugh with her hair tinted blonde, as it was on the day she disappeared
Original publication: Distributed nationwide in the media, July 1986 onwardsImmediate source: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/suzy-lamplugh-suspect-john-cannan-7178859, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71314872
