UK UK - Claudia Lawrence, 35, York University, 18 March 2009 - Chef - #1

[Wallace]

I witnessed the drinking culture myself when travelling through York, the train was boarded by a large number of drunk and very rowdy people returning to Teesiide, and it is pretty well known that there is a bar for every day of the year in York http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destination/uk/england/88196/York-nightlife.html

Well known is the wrong term, well believed is probably more accurate. It's now a myth. The real figure is lower than 200.

If you went back over 30 or 40 years it may have been true, pubs were a lot smaller and more densely packed. The small town where I live used to had over 70 pubs in the surrounding area. It's now nearer 30.

York is a lively city, especially on the weekends, but it is also a pretty safe place to drink thanks to a well organised and highly visible Police presence.

 

[suzyjackson]

There was 30 seconds on BBC news last night from an alleyway behind her house. No idea why it's taken this long to come out
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-31944008

I saw this on the news this morning and wondered exactly the same, why would they have kept this information secret for 6 years?

Although it doesn't say it in the article I think they also said on the news that there is forensic evidence of suspects in the house but the people involved are denying having been there. I can't find a link so I'll say JMO

 

[skibaboo]

I witnessed the drinking culture myself when travelling through York, the train was boarded by a large number of drunk and very rowdy people returning to Teesiide, and it is pretty well known that there is a bar for every day of the year in York http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destination/uk/england/88196/York-nightlife.html

To be perfectly honest It sounds like you passed through on a race day. York was recently voted the safest city in the world in a survey by a travel company

York beats Bath and Edinburgh to be named safest city in the world

I'm not sure what this has got to do with Claudia?

 

[skibaboo]

Police show CCTV footage to local residents six years after Claudia Lawrence disappeared

DETECTIVES say they had a good response to yesterday's Claudia Lawrence appeals, and they have thanked the members of the public who supported it.

Local residents yesterday gathered to watch CCTV footage on a big outdoor screen today as police stepped up the six-year investigation into the disappearance and suspected murder of Claudia Lawrence

[video=youtube;uTVFTUGpBrw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTVFTUGpBrw[/video]

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Why on earth has the CCTV footage of that man never been shown before??!

 

[Wallace]

Why on earth has the CCTV footage of that man never been shown before??!

Probably because the original investigation team were working on the premise that she disappeared the next day (on her way to work). Also the timing of the video is prior to her last contact with her parents.

His behaviour has now been painted as suspicious, yet it could have easily been written off as entirely innocent.

For those reasons and I am sure many others it has not been shown before.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

It's probably nothing, but you never know. Could have been useful 6 years ago when people could remember where they'd been - that man could likely have recognised himself back then.

I take it this new slant on everything is because of the new police team who've taken on the case. I so hope they uncover something soon, her dad's heartbreak just gets to me every time...

 

[luckyseven]

Claudia Lawrence Mystery Has Dark Undercurrents

Claudia, 35 and apparently single, is assumed to have been murdered after failing to turn up to work in March 2009, leaving no obvious clues about what had happened to her...

... And why are there so many undercurrents to the mystery, with some people still unwilling to talk to journalists, and others issuing warnings or threats? ...

To find the answers you have to look at the history of the investigation and at the police team trying to move it forward.

 

[dotr]

Claudia Lawrence Mystery Has Dark Undercurrents

Very strange indeed, organized crime?

"Meanwhile, journalists were finding the story hard to tell. For a privately-educated daughter of a country solicitor Claudia had some unusual acquaintances and this remains the only missing person case where I've been warned off or threatened - not once, but twice."

 

[shadowdancer]

That article is very interesting indeed. I have always believed that Claudia was murdered due to the fact that I couldn't see why she would choose to disappear. Now I can see that she absolutely could have had a reason to disappear, if she was mixed up with some dangerous people and had got out of her depth.

She wouldn't be able to contact her poor family, because she would feel that she was protecting them by not having them know where she was or even that she was alive.

I still think she was most likely murdered, but I'm not 100% anymore.

 

[sar2them1984]

It's certainly a new spin on things. The video footage is quite compelling. The black figure certainly looks like it pauses when the whiter figure appears

 

[suzyjackson]

Claudia Lawrence Mystery Has Dark Undercurrents

Thanks for posting that article, I've followed this case fairly closely I thought but wasn't aware of some of those details

 

[Cherwell]

Claudia Lawrence Mystery Has Dark Undercurrents

Well, I don't know.

"some people still unwilling to talk to journalists"

Lots of people are unwilling to talk to journalists, especially tabloid and Sky journalists. We know how they twist and distort things. I'd be shutting the door on them too.

"For a privately-educated daughter of a country solicitor Claudia had some unusual acquaintances and this remains the only missing person case where I've been warned off or threatened - not once, but twice."

Unusual in what way? He doesn't say. But come on, if there were extra-marital affairs involved, it's really not difficult to see why people would not own up. There would be the fear of losing home and family if the affair came to light, and that shouldn't be underestimated. And obviously people would be very wary that they might be suspected of harming Claudia. I can see why a nosy reporter might be warned off or threatened, without any really sinister "undercurrents".

 

[Quietey]

I watched the footage and initially thought that the person who stops looked really suspicious, but after watching a few times I wondered if he (the figure appears to be male) was just stopping to check he had his car keys. It would be useful to know if there was a shop in the direction that he first walked in, that might explain why he came back with a bag.

On a separate note, I really don't think she will be found alive, sadly, but I hope there is some justice for her and some reasons for her family and friends.

 

[Wallace]

I watched the footage and initially thought that the person who stops looked really suspicious, but after watching a few times I wondered if he (the figure appears to be male) was just stopping to check he had his car keys. It would be useful to know if there was a shop in the direction that he first walked in, that might explain why he came back with a bag.

On a separate note, I really don't think she will be found alive, sadly, but I hope there is some justice for her and some reasons for her family and friends.

It leads to a short residential street with 10 or so small houses (mainly terraced). It appears to have signs indicating residents only parking in some parts of the street.

 

[Cherwell]

I watched the footage and initially thought that the person who stops looked really suspicious, but after watching a few times I wondered if he (the figure appears to be male) was just stopping to check he had his car keys.

You know, that's exactly what I thought, because it's the kind of thing I do.
I would also pause to let someone else get ahead of me at night, if I didn't know who they were. I'd rather they were in front of me than behind me.

 

[Wallace]

You know, that's exactly what I thought, because it's the kind of thing I do.
I would also pause to let someone else get ahead of me at night, if I didn't know who they were. I'd rather they were in front of me than behind me.

I'm sure there are plenty of innocent explanations. Stopping to check he had his phone/keys/wallet or as you suggest give some space between another person.

It looks to me like someone calling around at a friend/colleagues house to pick up a bag that had been left in their house or car.

 

[dotr]

"Published on Mar 18, 2015

Detectives investigating the disappearance and suspected murder of Claudia Lawrence screened this previously unreleased CCTV footage on 18 March 2015 to help identify two people seen near her home at a potentially significant time. Find out more at http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/1."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTVFTUGpBrw

 

[HydraMan]

Probably because the original investigation team were working on the premise that she disappeared the next day (on her way to work).

I agree this is probably because of the new focus on what happened the previous evening .

What really caught my attention is how similar the man captured in this clip (here) is to the one in the clip release in 2009 (here) showing a man walking the same route the following morning. Although the quality is fairly poor you can see he is similar in height, build and in the way he walks – even the clothes he is wearing look similar.

The man in the original clip was identified ‘almost certainly’ as one Richard Cartwright who owned two properties in Heworth Place which he was renovating so he could let them out. His presence was later explained by him checking on the security of the properties. Cartwright died suddenly just three weeks later (reportedly of a heart attack). When his name came into the investigation his main residence (round the corner in East Parade) was searched and some samples from the PM were sent for toxicology tests. However it appeared the police lost interest in him fairly quickly and it seems he was effectively eliminated from the enquiry (although they never said why).

Because of this and other coincidences I have always seen him as a ‘person of interest’ in the case, especially since the new concentration on the alleyway that ran to the back of his properties.

Having said that it would not be surprising he would be seen collecting something from one of his properties the evening before. The only odd thing is the way the man stops dead when he sees the other man passing – maybe he was in the habit of keeping his distance from other pedestrians.

 

[Wallace]

I agree this is probably because of the new focus on what happened the previous evening .

What really caught my attention is how similar the man captured in this clip (here) is to the one in the clip release in 2009 (here) showing a man walking the same route the following morning. Although the quality is fairly poor you can see he is similar in height, build and in the way he walks – even the clothes he is wearing look similar.

The man in the original clip was identified ‘almost certainly’ as one Richard Cartwright who owned two properties in Heworth Place which he was renovating so he could let them out. His presence was later explained by him checking on the security of the properties. Cartwright died suddenly just three weeks later (reportedly of a heart attack). When his name came into the investigation his main residence (round the corner in East Parade) was searched and some samples from the PM were sent for toxicology tests. However it appeared the police lost interest in him fairly quickly and it seems he was effectively eliminated from the enquiry (although they never said why).

Because of this and other coincidences I have always seen him as a ‘person of interest’ in the case, especially since the new concentration on the alleyway that ran to the back of his properties.

Having said that it would not be surprising he would be seen collecting something from one of his properties the evening before. The only odd thing is the way the man stops dead when he sees the other man passing – maybe he was in the habit of keeping his distance from other pedestrians.

Very interesting.

Well if it is him (probability seems quite high), then he's not exactly going to be phoning up the Crime Stoppers helpline unless Derek Ancorah is going to get involved.

If he is local to the area he could easily have recognised the person in white jacket and wanted to avoid them for a plethora of reasons. That or the stop to check theory (keys, phone, wallet).