The mystery of a missing woman and a phantom 'Mr Kipper'
In short: When Suzy Lamplugh vanished from a West London street in 1986, she left behind a trail of contradictory sightings, a mysterious 'Mr Kipper,' and a car abandoned in haste. Decades later, the investigation remains a haunting study in forensic limitations and the chilling profile of a predator.
On July 28, 1986, 25-year-old estate agent Suzy Lamplugh disappeared after an appointment at 37 Shorrolds Road to meet a man calling himself 'Mr Kipper.' Witnesses reported seeing her with a smartly dressed man—described as a 'public schoolboy type' in a charcoal suit—leaving the property with a bottle of champagne. Shortly after, she was seen driving erratically in a white Ford Fiesta before the vehicle was found abandoned a mile away. The car was parked in haste, the driver's door unlocked, the handbrake off, and the keys missing. Crucially, the driver's seat was pushed back to a position that Lamplugh could not have reached, suggesting someone else had taken the wheel.
The investigation was hampered by early procedural hurdles. Police initially looked for a woman with brown hair, failing to realize Lamplugh had dyed it blond just days before. Furthermore, because she was classified as a missing person rather than a victim of a known crime, the police did not initially screen for known local criminals. It took years to identify John Cannan as the prime suspect. Cannan, a convicted murderer and sex offender, had been released from prison just three days before Lamplugh vanished. He was known to frequent the same wine bars as Lamplugh and had even told associates he was interested in buying property in the area—a tactic he used to lure victims.
While forensic evidence linked Lamplugh to a car owned by Cannan, the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence for a conviction. However, the police took the rare step of publicly stating their belief that Cannan was the killer. The connection deepened in 1987 when Cannan murdered Shirley Banks; a false number plate on Cannan's car, 'SLP 386S,' was later interpreted by detectives as a reference to Lamplugh's initials and the year she vanished. Cannan claimed the plate referred to a 'Bristol businessman' responsible for both murders, a claim he eventually recanted during police questioning.
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