The heartbroken father of an estate agent who vanished 32 years ago in one of Britain’s most high-profile murder mysteries has died never knowing who killed her, it was revealed today,
Suzy Lamplugh, 25, disappeared after leaving her office to show a man known only as ‘Mr Kipper’ around a house in Fulham, west London in 1986.
Paul Lamplugh, who had Parkinson’s disease, died with his three surviving children by his side, having spent the rest of his life searching for his daughter’s body.
The 87-year-old was handed an OBE along with his wife Diana, who died in 2012, after the couple set up the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in memory of their beloved child.
Suzy Lamplugh, 25, disappeared after leaving her office to show a man known only as ‘Mr Kipper’ around a house in Fulham, west London in 1986 and was never seen again
Paul Lamplugh, who had Parkinson’s disease, died with his three surviving children by his side, having spent the rest of his life searching for his daughter’s body with wife Diana (pictured together)
The personal safety charity helps thousands of people in Britain every year and was set up because Mr and Mrs Lamplugh were desperate for others to ‘stay safe’ after Suzy vanished.
A family spokesman said today: ‘Dad celebrated a wonderful 87th birthday party, surrounded by friends and family, just two weeks ago, which he thoroughly enjoyed. It was typical of Dad to want to throw a party to entertain everyone.
‘In end he went very peacefully and will be greatly missed not just by our family, but by his many friends’.
Paul will be sorely missed by his children Richard, Tamsin and Lizzie, his seven grandchildren, as well as the rest of his family and friends, they said.
His wife Diana Lamplugh passed away in her sleep in 2011 after suffering a massive stroke. She was 75.
The 1986 Suzy Lamplugh case is considered one of the great mysteries of recent times
Mr Lamplugh, from East Sheen, last spoke out about his daughter’s apparent murder in 2016.
He said: ‘The older I get the more I miss her’ – but also admitted he ‘had to accept’ the ‘awful’ realisation she was killed deliberately and he would probably never know who did it.
Out of the tragedy Suzy’s family fought to protect other women from violence through the foundation in her name.
Generations of freshers at universities were handed free rape alarms – known as ‘Suzy Lamplugh Alarms – and they fought for more street lights on the streets of Britain to protect women.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust would also launch Stalking Awareness Week in Britain.
The body of Miss Lamplugh has never been found but she was officially declared dead in 1994.
Her father admitted that without it was unlikely anyone would be arrested.
John Cannan was the man police named as their chief suspect.
Witnesses had seen a woman struggling with a man next to a BMW, which Cannan was believed to have had access to.
In a rare move in 2002, Scotland Yard named Cannan as the man they believed murdered Miss Lamplugh.
He was released from a hostel only days before she went missing.
Cannan, 64, serving three life sentences for murder and a series of sex attacks, has denied any involvement.
Serial killers John Cannan (left) and Steve Wright (right) were linked to the murder but nobody has ever been charged
Paul and Diana Lamplugh’s tireless campaigning has helped keep thousands of people safe
In 2008 it emerged that the wife of Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright said he could have claimed missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh as his first victim.
The Ipswich based truck driver murdered five prostitutes in a six-week frenzy in 2007.
Scotland Yard detectives told Miss Lamplugh’s parents that they plan to review the case which has remained unsolved for 22 years.
The 1986 Lamplugh case, one of the great mysteries of recent times, came as his ex-wife Diane Cole revealed the extraordinary links between the former QE2 steward and Miss Lamplugh , who worked on the luxury liner as a beautician.
Mrs Cole checked her diaries to discover that her former husband, who was violent towards her, had shore leave around the time of 25-year-old Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance on July 28, 1986. She has given full details to police.
Mrs Cole, who also worked on the QE2, said: ‘I knew Suzy Lamplugh by sight. I saw him talking with her in the corridor. I was too downtrodden to challenge him about it then because he was such a Jekyll-and-Hyde character and you never knew when he would flip.
‘But when I look back I can see how he was probably flirting with her.’ She added: ‘I really want him to tell us if he killed her for my peace of mind – for her family’s sake.’
The couple set up the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in memory of their beloved child and it keeps thousands of people, especially women, safe every year
Mrs Cole added: ‘I’m sure Steve used the word “kipper” as slang for face. He used to say, “What’s up with your kipper?”‘
Fellow QE2 shipmate Paul Tennant, a former waiter, said Wright ‘tried to become a friend of Suzy’s all the time’, while another former crew member, Steve Adler said: ‘Steve would sniff around all the girls and particularly the beauticians such as Suzy.’
Miss Lamplugh’s father Paul said at the time Yard detectives had kept him in touch with developments but it went no further.