We want to bury our sister where we choose...
THE brother of murdered estate agent Suzy Lamplugh says he is determined to bury his sister “where we want to” and not where the killer chose.
The 25-year old disappeared from Fulham in west London in 1986. Although no body has been found, the prime suspect is convicted killer John Cannan.
Cannan, now 66, was seen throwing a suitcase into a canal following her disappearance, and a new TV show focuses on the hunt for her remains.
Suzy’s brother Richard said: “We would desperately like to bury her where we want to, not where he buried her.”
More evidence on the canal theory is revealed in Channel 4’s new In The Footsteps of Killers, to be screened next Wednesday.
It is presented by noted criminologist Professor David Wilson and Silent Witness star Emilia Fox.
The show uses “geoprofiling”, which analyses a criminal’s modus operandi to see where a body might have been disposed.
Wilson and Fox also hear about a witness who saw a man dump a suitcase into the Grand Union Canal soon after the disappearance of the estate agent.
Police have named John Cannan as prime suspect but the rapist and murderer, still in prison for the murder of Shirley Banks, has refused to confess to Lamplugh’s killing.
There is still great interest in the cold case, said Richard: “At the start of the first lockdown we were approached by several TV companies about doing documentaries on
Suze. My sister’s name seems to invoke a lot of speculation and thought about it.
“The police who initially investigated the case have been very supportive of the shows, too. We’ve had so many dead ends as a family in this case. I don’t get over-excited about it but this is a very interesting development.the evidence seems very plausible. “It would be nice to see if she was in there [in the canal]. It would be nice to find her. “We’ve gone 35 years with this and we’d love to bury her where we want to bury her.
“If her body is found the **** will hit the fan.
“Everything will suddenly get so big.”
Suzy’s late mum Diana once said the police investigation “fell well short”. And Richard said: “The thing I’m upset about is, if Cannan did do Suze, he was still out there to kill Shirley Banks.”
Shirley was murdered a year after Suzy vanished.
Richard revealed another purpose behind the shows: “A lot of [these shows] aim to keep Mr Cannan in prison because we obviously don’t want him to come out on parole in two years’ time.”
In the documentary, Professor Wilson describes Cannan as a “game player”.
Richard continued: “I think it does help his notoriety, keeping his name up there, but then hopefully the parole board will go, ‘maybe there is something in this and maybe
we will keep him in for a lot longer.’ I want to be in the forefront of keeping him inside.”
On his life with Suzy, he said: “She was a really lovely sister to me and I want to do everything to protect her name.
“Time goes on. You miss her but you can’t think about her all the time. That’s just what happens after 35 years. You always wonder, ‘what if..?’ but what can you do? You do get on with your life and she would have wanted us to do that as well.”
The Grand Union Canal near Brentford has still yet to be dredged.
“We were stopped by Covid,” explained Professor Wilson. “We were all prepared, but we couldn’t get any insurance to do it.”
● In The Footsteps of Killers: Suzy Lamplugh, Channel 4, June 16, 10pm