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SUZY: THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY
THE PRIME HOW COMPELLING EVIDENCE AGAINST LAMPLUGH’S SUSPECT IN ESTATE AGENT SUZY DISAPPEARANCE HAS BEEN IGNORED...
paper-based, so quite a lot of stuff was missed or not actioned – they were inundated with information and had no way of managing it properly. Later I had everything transferred to the HOLMES system [technology used for police investigations].’
The documentary does a sterling job of revisiting that early investigation. There are also very up-to-date strands, and an intriguing contribution by a new potential witness, identified only as ‘Ann’ whose face isn’t shown.
In the series, Jim shares his account of how, less than two years ago, Ann approached him after hearing him talk about Suzy in the media. She claimed that a friend, who had since died, had repeatedly approached police to tell them he’d seen a man struggling with a large piece of luggage along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal a few days after Suzy disappeared. It was 5am and struck him as most odd. Later, when serial sex offender John Cannan was charged with another murder – and publicly linked to Suzy’s case – this man identified him as Cannan.
‘He went to Brentford police station three times, but for whatever reason his information was not passed on. But his account is very detailed and credible. He not only told his wife and two friends when Cannan was on trial, he went to the court to make sure Cannan was the man he’d seen.’
Jim immediately passed this information onto the relevant authorities, but he’s dismayed that still no search of that section of canal has been done. ‘I don’t think it’s been sufficiently developed and I think there is an opportunity there. The police say the canal is dredged regularly. Well, I’ve made my own enquiries. The people who maintain it don’t dredge the whole canal. They only do what they call spot dredging, certain bits. And it’s generally around the locks, not the section of interest.’
In 2014 the canal was searched for murdered teenager Alice Gross, and this has also been mooted as a reason. ‘But again this is further up,’ says Jim. If he were heading the investigation now, would he order a search? ‘I would move heaven and earth to see if there is a body in luggage there.’
The importance of a body in any murder investigation cannot be overemphasised. Convictions are possible without one, but they’re much more difficult. Laying a body to rest is also vital, Jim points out. ‘As a homicide investigator, you seek to bring a case to a successful conclusion, and mostly I’ve been able to do that. I’ve been able to tell families what happened to their loved one, and they’ve seen justice. The Lamplugh family deserve closure. As Richard Lamplugh says very eloquently, they want to bury Suzy at a time and place of their choosing. That’s very important.’
Then there is the justice. Focus in the latter part of the documentary is on Cannan, who is still the prime suspect. The police have long believed Cannan – released from prison just days before Suzy went missing after an eight-year sentence for rape – should have been implicated earlier.
His name was on one of those pieces of paper in the early investigation, but it was only when he was arrested for another murder that links to Suzy were made.
The evidence against him was, police thought, convincing. As Jim recalls, ‘I remember Bill Griffiths [Deputy Assistant Commissioner at the time] at a news conference actually said John Cannan is the only strong suspect. That’s unprecedented. I don’t know of any other case without a prosecution and conviction where a very senior police officer has said that in a press conference.’
But the CPS decided not to prosecute, based on insufficient evidence. Cannan has repeatedly denied involvement, but his eligibility to apply for parole next year should sound alarm bells, insists Jim. ‘He should never be released. I think he will remain a danger to females to the day he dies. There’s a pattern of repeat offending. How many more chances do you want to give him?’
There are other interesting nuggets in the series. Questions are asked about whether the social attitudes at the time – sexist attitudes, pretty much – got in the way. There was emphasis in the media, says Jim, on Suzy’s personal life. It’s widely accepted that Mr Kipper did not exist, but various theories emerged about whether Suzy was involved with a lover. ‘She was an attractive, vivacious, professional young
‘I would move heaven andearthto findabody’ EX-DET SUPT JIM DICKIE
woman. And, yes, she had boyfriends, but what’s so wrong with that?’
Professor Jane Monckton Smith has an interesting take. Now a criminologist, she was a police officer at the time and recalls that era. ‘In 1986 the police was absolutely dominated by men and you can’t tell me that a middle-aged macho investigator knows much about what goes on in the heads of young women. That’s important. The victimology is important. Why did she get into a car with someone, which is probably what she did? Why did she leave her car where it was, with her purse inside?’ Ultimately, she says, ‘the system failed’.
Is it too late for closure for the Lamplughs? Richard says the entire family is haunted by ‘what ifs’. ‘What if Suze was still alive? Would she have kids? Who would she be?’
The Mystery Of Suzy Lamplugh, Sunday 14 March, 9pm and 10pm, Sky Crime and NOW TV.