UK UK - Suzy Lamplugh, 25, Fulham, 28 July 1986

New Posts

Status
Not open for further replies.
March 2021
The woman who disappeared: why is Britain still obsessed with Suzy Lamplugh?
''It was Britain’s biggest ever missing person’s inquiry. And now, 35 years on, a Sky documentary is re-examining the tragic mystery of the estate agent who went out for lunch and never came back

1592.jpg

‘Something might jog someone’s memory’ … a picture of Suzy skiing, released by the family. Photograph: Shearwater Media

''In the summer of 1986, London was on the cusp of a boom, with house prices having risen by almost 20% in a year. When Suzy Lamplugh applied for a job as an estate agent, she noted with delight in her diary: “I’m hired on the spot.” In a distressingly prescient later entry, she revealed: “The company puts me in the window desk, as the most attractive female. That’s how it is, the most attractive female on display for any man to see.”

At lunchtime on 28 July, the 25-year-old left her window desk for a 12.45 appointment with a Mr Kipper and was never seen again. The disappearance sparked Britain’s biggest-ever missing person’s inquiry, but detectives were never able to trace her body and failed to gather enough evidence to charge their prime suspect. The Mystery of Suzy Lamplugh, a Sky documentary, unpicks why the murder remains unsolved but it doesn’t fully answer the other mystery: why does Britain remain so obsessed by her disappearance 35 years on?''

 
We lost a lot over the weekend, to try and put something back, here’s my take on the case.

The case is still in the public eye because it’s never been solved and despite best efforts no one (except the kidnapper has any idea what happened).

In my opinion the case has been made complex by the police involving the media so early on. They don’t appear to have looked at the circumstances of Suzy Lamplugh’s disappearance objectively.

If you look at what happened from the Friday through to the Monday and look at each day, plus what happened on Monday morning you will get some idea of what Suzy’s priorities were.

The most important event (according to popular believe) on Friday was the loss of Suzy’s cheque book, diary & postcard. Again according to popular believe this loss occurred Friday evening while having a drink in the “Prince of Wales” pub in Putney.

Keep in mind that this pub is just one road away from where Suzy lived, and it’s fair to assume that she would have been known in this pub. After all she was a very attractive women and one that could not fail to get attention.

So if we accept that she lost her belongings on Friday we must ask ourselves the following questions:
  • Why did she not mention this to anyone on Saturday, it appears she didn’t?
  • Then, the same question on Sunday, it doesn’t appear to be a priority?
She had a great and truly active weekend and then returned to work on Monday. Suddenly the lost belongings are her main focus and she seems preoccupied with getting them back.

According to the Stephen book the landlord of the Prince of Wales found them on the front steps as he locked up. He called her bank on Monday and they informed Suzy that he had them and would keep them save.

In her work diary she had entered an appointment for a viewing at 37 Shorrolds Road at 12.45pm with Mr Kipper. It’s this appointment and the subsequent media attention it attracted that have diverted the focus away from the important events of Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

In my view the Mr Kipper appointment was a rouse in order to leave a busy office in order to run a personal errand. Now this personal errand could have been any number of things, however, look at what Suzy was preoccupied with on the Monday morning. The fact that the Mr Kipper appointment was entered in the diary on Saturday and that Sturgis card index for Mr Kipper was not completed.

All this points to Mr Kipper being a fictitious entry in order to be away from the office. One explanation is that Suzy was meeting friends on Monday at 1.00pm and wanted to keep this appointment, she then added an extra 15 minutes, leaving at approximately 12.40pm so she could run her errand and still keep her 1.00pm appointment with her friends. It’s very possible that these friends were the people seen by witnesses outside 37 Shorrolds Road and that Suzy never made it to this appointment.
So if this is the case, why have they never come forward?

Okay, Suzy left the Sturgis office at approximately 12.40pm and went to collect her car from Whittingstall Road. If she was going to Shorrolds Road she would have gone left, if running a errand, she might have gone right.

Suzy definitely got to her car, the question is what happened then. Well if her friends were outside 37 Shorrolds Road and they were the people the witnesses saw, Suzy never made it to meet them. What could have happened, in this scenario I feel one of two things:
  1. She was abducted in Whittingstall Road as she got to her car.
  2. Suzy got to her car and drove off to carry out her errand.
For me this scenario makes a lot of sense and accounts for the sightings outside Shorrolds Road and what possible happened to Suzy.

In the Stephen book the police theory is Suzy was forced into another car in Stevenage Road, this does not make any sence when you look at the timings related to the witness WJ. Plus it’s a busy road and where her car was found was only metres away from workman completing road work. The abduction would have been seen.

The alternative to the police theory is from DV, in the Case File podcast he outlines that Suzy went right when she left the office, if she did this would have been towards Putney. If you look at what she was preoccupied with on the Monday morning and then look at the direction DV says she went, you can easily guess where she was going.

As far as I know this latter scenario has never been fully explored, the reason being that police appear to be fixated on JC being the one and only possible suspect. The point is, if you don’t open your mind to alternatives, you’ll never have any other suspects.

I’ve done my best to simplify this, there’s a lot more detail to this, so if anyone is interested please fill in the gaps.
 
Over the 35 years, there has been a huge amount of media coverage / interest in this mystery.

Yet the theft of SL's belongings / the telephone calls on the morning of her disappearance / mysterious phone calls to pub on the afternoon etc have hardly featured in the many tv docs etc.

With the focus being almost exclusively on Kipper / Shorrolds Rd, is this the main reason as to why the case hasn't progressed much since 1986?
 
Crusader21 said:
Over the 35 years, there has been a huge amount of media coverage / interest in this mystery.

Yet the theft of SL's belongings / the telephone calls on the morning of her disappearance / mysterious phone calls to pub on the afternoon etc have hardly featured in the many tv docs etc.

With the focus being almost exclusively on Kipper / Shorrolds Rd, is this the main reason as to why the case hasn't progressed much since 1986?
Click to expand...
Totally unbelievable that this could of got over looked back then ,Shocking really !
 
Crusader21 said:
Over the 35 years, there has been a huge amount of media coverage / interest in this mystery.

Yet the theft of SL's belongings / the telephone calls on the morning of her disappearance / mysterious phone calls to pub on the afternoon etc have hardly featured in the many tv docs etc.

With the focus being almost exclusively on Kipper / Shorrolds Rd, is this the main reason as to why the case hasn't progressed much since 1986?
Click to expand...
The investigation was overwhelmed by a flood of information from the public appeal. And the sightings were noted on cards in a filing system, which was very time consuming when the information was retrieved or cross referenced. Things improved when Jim Dickie was the SIO and everything was transferred to the HOLMES database.

JC had a part time job in Acton while he was in the prison hostel, I wonder whether he had access to a lockup over there and how far is Acton from the canal.
 
Pinkizzy said:
The investigation was overwhelmed by a flood of information from the public appeal. And the sightings were noted on cards in a filing system, which was very time consuming when the information was retrieved or cross referenced. Things improved when Jim Dickie was the SIO and everything was transferred to the HOLMES database.

JC had a part time job in Acton while he was in the prison hostel, I wonder whether he had access to a lockup over there and how far is Acton from the canal.
Click to expand...

that would not be much more than a 10 minute drive...
 

Attachments

  • D5DCA18A-DCF3-4450-8763-ADA46F56C1E2.jpeg
    D5DCA18A-DCF3-4450-8763-ADA46F56C1E2.jpeg
    109.9 KB · Views: 14
Crusader21 said:
Wonder where he thinks this area is and just how close it is to Stevenage Road?

The London Wetlands, Richmond Park, Putney Heath or Wimbledon Common?
Click to expand...
The London wetlands at the time was a set of 4 balancing lakes, I don’t know what it was actually like. But it is on the doorstep and likely to be quiet (my assumption), the area was converted into the wetland centre (I think) 6 years after Suzy disappeared.
If this is a location then after all the conversation work JC will be pretty convinced they won’t find Suzy now.
It would be interesting to know what this area looked like back in 1986, any photos would be good.
 
I found this image of barn elms reservoirs - what is now the wetlands centre - from 1972. obviously a good 14 years too early but I would think that in 86 it was still much more like this than the nature-reclaimed wetlands of today Barn Elms reservoirs, SW London 1972

This bbc article offers another angle, though the image is not dated BBC - London Wetland Centre celebrates 10 years

Other areas of interest could be Gutteridge Woods, about 12 miles from Stevenage Road, and Gunnersbury triangle which is just 4 miles from Stevenage road, a stones throw from Acton and equidistant between Fulham and the canal at Brentford.

Then there is farm bog on Wimbledon common, described here in the Times as ‘one of the most lonely and desolate spots in London’ A piece of ground that refused to let me leave | The Times (subscription required for that unfortunately)
 
Crusader21 said:
Wonder where he thinks this area is and just how close it is to Stevenage Road?

The London Wetlands, Richmond Park, Putney Heath or Wimbledon Common?
Click to expand...
The police searched extensively in the immediate area where Suzy’s car was found.

From the Berry-Dee comment I’ve taken it that she would have been murdered on the Monday in the location he’s referring to.

Going back to 1986 there can’t be that many locations that fit his description.

Is his claim another one of JC’s wild goose chase’s?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 217 more.
Total: 4,385 (members: 218, guests: 4,167)

Online statistics

Members online
218
Guests online
4,167
Total visitors
4,385
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,816
Messages
17,959,472
Members
228,615
Latest member
JR Rainwater
Back
Top