Prime Suspect in Suzy Lamplugh Murder Case Dies in Prison at 70
John Cannan, the prime suspect in the 1986 disappearance and presumed murder of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, has died in prison at the age of 70, the Prison Service has confirmed.
Cannan was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 35 years for the 1987 rape and murder of Shirley Banks, a newlywed from Bristol, as well as for a series of other violent crimes. His offences included attempted kidnapping, sexual assault, and abduction with intent to commit unlawful sexual acts. He was convicted in 1989.
In 2002, police officially named Cannan as the primary suspect in the unsolved Lamplugh case, although he denied involvement. Lamplugh, then 25, disappeared after leaving her west London office to meet a mysterious client known only as "Mr. Kipper." She was declared dead, presumed murdered, after extensive investigations failed to locate her. In 2018, police excavated Cannan’s mother’s former home in Sutton Coldfield, but the search yielded no new evidence.
A spokesperson for the Prison Service said: “HMP Full Sutton prisoner John Cannan died on 6 November. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”
Last October, a parole board review determined that Cannan, a Category A prisoner deemed to pose the highest risk to the public, was still too dangerous for release. The panel found that Cannan continued to insist on his innocence and had not participated in any accredited prison programmes to address his risk of reoffending.
The parole panel noted that, at the time of his crimes, Cannan reportedly held dangerous views, believing he was entitled to sex whenever he desired and preferred it to involve violence. His attitude toward women reflected a need for power and control.
The board's decision emphasized the risks Cannan would pose if released, stating, “After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public. Nor did the panel recommend to the Secretary of State that Mr Cannan should be transferred to an open prison.”
Cannan's death closes a chapter on one of the UK’s most notorious criminal cases, though the mystery of Suzy Lamplugh's disappearance remains unsolved.