John Cannan, Suspect in Suzy Lamplugh Disappearance and Convicted Killer, Dies in Custody

A man convicted of killing one woman and suspected in the murder of missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh has died while incarcerated. John Cannan, 70, originally from Birmingham, was imprisoned in 1989 for the abduction and murder of newlywed Shirley Banks from Bristol. He was subsequently linked to the murder of Ms Lamplugh, then 25, from London, who vanished in 1986. Her body has never been recovered. Mrs. Banks’ family issued a statement, saying: “Not a day goes by where we don’t remember her or imagine what her life could have been like.” The Prison Service confirmed Cannan’s death at HMP Full Sutton and stated: “As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.” Ms Lamplugh disappeared on 28 July 1986, after going to meet a client in Fulham. This individual was known only as “Mr Kipper” and was never traced. According to reports, Cannan was given the nickname Kipper during a previous prison sentence. He also bore a resemblance to an e-fit of a man with whom Ms Lamplugh was seen speaking on the day she went missing – believed to be the mysterious Mr Kipper. In 2018, a search was conducted in the back garden of a house in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, which was once owned by the mother of prime suspect Cannan. The current owner, Phillip Carey, purchased the home in Shipton Road from Cannan’s mother. Two locations in Worcestershire – a former Army barracks and a field outside the village of Drakes Broughton – along with a woodland in the Quantock Hills, Somerset, have also been searched as part of the effort to find Ms Lamplugh’s body. In 1989, Cannan was sentenced to life imprisonment for the abduction and murder of Shirley Banks, a factory manager from Clifton, and for two additional rapes. He was arrested 11 days later in Birmingham, where some of Mrs. Banks’ possessions were found. Her body was later discovered in a stream on the Quantock Hills in Somerset. However, Cannan consistently denied murdering Ms Lamplugh. A statement from Mrs. Banks’ family read: “Shirley was a beautiful person. She was kind, friendly, thoughtful, intelligent and funny. “There were so many wonderful qualities of Shirley that we have missed so much over the last 37 years. She had many friends and many people who loved her. “Not a day goes by where we don’t remember her or imagine what her life could have been like.” In October 2023, the parole board determined that Cannan was too dangerous to be released. The panel was informed that Cannan continued to insist on his innocence and had not participated in any accredited programs aimed at addressing the risk of reoffending while in jail. At the time of his crimes, Cannan believed he was entitled to sex whenever he desired it, preferred it to involve violence, and sought power and control over women, the panel heard. He was classified as a Category A prisoner, a designation for individuals who pose the highest risk to the public.