After reading a recent book featuring the Suzy Lamplugh case, it got me thinking is this a case that may never be solved. Especially due to the time that has passed since she went missing.
I thought that the man strongly suspected of killing Suzy Lamplugh was in prison for murdering another woman and her child. Or am I getting confused with some other case ?
edit - yes I am thinking of Robert Napper / Rachel Nickell / Samantha Bissett & daughter
The prime suspect in the Suzy Lamplugh case is John Cannan and has been named as such by the police. He's currently serving a life sentence for the murder of another woman, Shirley Banks. There is not enough evidence to charge him according to the CPS.
I wouldn't say that's unsolved as there is someone awaiting trial. It may be that she's never found although I have a feeling there may be a confession if there is a conviction.
i suppose its not well known south of the highlands.its very well known up here and has been in and out of the news every so often for the last 36 years.can anybody not from the highland region say if its famous at all in other areas?
I know about the Renee MacRae case because of a series called 'Unsolved Murders' which comprises Alex Norton from Taggart dealing with unsolved Scottish murder cases and this one was featured. I'd never heard of it before.
The Alistair Wilson case intrigues me - another featured on the Unsolved Murders programme and Crimewatch a couple of times IIRC. I went through a period of being a bit obsessed with it especially about the envelope, the contents of which have never been revealed to my knowledge. That really bugged me. I might go off and do a bit of looking into now to see if anything new has happened on that one.
You can't say a case will never ever be solved. Bodies do turn up years later, criminals confess, people come forward with information they have been sitting on and forensic DNA analysis is improving all the time.
Absolutely. Look at the Milly Dowler case as just one recent example. And this case:
You don't always have to have a body either - there are a few cases I can think of recently where the evidence has been based on text messages, phone records, car milage and murder convicitions have been secured.
And yes, as others have said, Robert Black strongly suspected in the disappearances of Genette Tate and April Fabb. He was convicted last year of the murder of Jennifer Cardy in Northern Ireland in 1981 on not much more than a petrol receipt so there is still hope.
The Renee MacRae case really bothered me when I saw it covered on that programme. Something about the suspect seen pushing the pushchair along the side of the road. One of those annoying ones where they know who did it but didn't have enough evidence to charge and convict.
The Alistair Wilson one is such a strange one. There seem to be people that think it may well have been mistaken identity. I vaguely remember that an unusual gun was used, East German or something.
There was another case on that Scottish series that involved a factory worker who was being targeted by his work mates + turned up dead in a field that intrigued me. Sandy Drummond was his name (I think).
As much as I love a mystery I hope they're solved one day, especially the Wilson case.
The Renee MacRae case really bothered me when I saw it covered on that programme. Something about the suspect seen pushing the pushchair along the side of the road. One of those annoying ones where they know who did it but didn't have enough evidence to charge and convict.
The Alistair Wilson one is such a strange one. There seem to be people that think it may well have been mistaken identity. I vaguely remember that an unusual gun was used, East German or something.
There was another case on that Scottish series that involved a factory worker who was being targeted by his work mates + turned up dead in a field that intrigued me. Sandy Drummond was his name (I think).
As much as I love a mystery I hope they're solved one day, especially the Wilson case.
Funny, I was thinking about the Sandy Drummond case today and Robert Higgins, the chicken factory worker - both real mysteries. That was a really good series. I checked the episode list the first time I watched it and there is one I haven't seen shown - I assume because it's now solved - and that's the case of the waiter shot in Orkney.
Interesting article in the Alistair Wilson case that I found last night:
Funny, I was thinking about the Sandy Drummond case today and Robert Higgins, the chicken factory worker - both real mysteries. That was a really good series. I checked the episode list the first time I watched it and there is one I haven't seen shown - I assume because it's now solved - and that's the case of the waiter shot in Orkney.
Interesting article in the Alistair Wilson case that I found last night:
There was a story last year about a Dutch charity worker saying he'd met someone who told him they knew who'd killed Alistair Wilson. I'm assuming it was a dead end.
They charged someone in the Higgins case but they were cleared.
There was a story last year about a Dutch charity worker saying he'd met someone who told him they knew who'd killed Alistair Wilson. I'm assuming it was a dead end.
They charged someone in the Higgins case but they were cleared.
That was a great series.
Yes, I read last night it was investigated and eliminated as a line of enquiry.
I remember it said that at the end of the Robert Higgins programme.
The poor parents of those missing children, all the decades of not knowing what has happen to them. All 3 children had vanished without a trace and have never been seen since. My heart goes out to the parents (If they are alive) and the children would be in their 50's now. Just so sad.
I still wonder what became of that millionaire lady who bought a sailing boat and decided on the same day she'd have a go at sailing it home despite the bad weather. She also left it until dark to set off, as you would;)
There is a case of unsolved linked murders in Yamagata Prefecture between mid-1960s and early 1980s. I still can't remember what the case is called. It may be 'Snow Maidens', 'Ice Maidens' or 'Frozen Maidens'. Those 11 victims, all female and in their late 20s, were found naked, strangled and abandoned on snowed-over rice fields near isolated train stations or stops. Victims' clothes and personal possessions were nowhere near their bodies. The police believes that the killer took their stuff back home with him.
None of them were locals in the areas they were found. Always happened during the snow season. Here are photos of three places on a typical snowy day: a landscape in Sakegawa, Mogami District, Yamagata Prefecture; a train departing Yonezawa (city), Yamagata Prefecture, and a typical hotel in Sakegawa as well. The victims were never reported missing, and the police in each area still couldn't identify them.
The earliest a body was found was within three days, and the longest was almost four weeks. The areas were that isolated. Here's a photo of the area where the 3rd victim was allegedly found. A train stop was roughly a mile away on the right. I was told that her body was found further left of a field corner in this photo. The road was just a dirt road at the time, during early 1970s, and all fields were snowed over. Apparently, six people who passed through this spot during the nine-day period didn't notice her body because she was partly snowed over, which made her look as if she was part of the snow.
Asa Nonami, a popular mystery novelist, has this theory that the killer was a kekkon sagishi (marriage swindler), who targeted women with no families. After succeeding in swindling his victim or when she became suspicious, he took his victim from a city to the countryside on train where they stepped off an isolated train stop. They took a romantic walk around the countryside until he strangled and abandoned his victim on a field. He stripped them their clothes and possessions, and travelled back home on train. (I think her theory was adapted into a TV drama?)
But most agree the case will never be resolved as the last murder took place more than twenty years ago now. Shame, really.
Comments
I wonder if it Richie Edwards disappearance will ever be solved for definite?
Rebecca Coriam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Rebecca_Coriam
Very weird.
The prime suspect in the Suzy Lamplugh case is John Cannan and has been named as such by the police. He's currently serving a life sentence for the murder of another woman, Shirley Banks. There is not enough evidence to charge him according to the CPS.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-146314/Lamplugh-murder-suspect-protests-innocence.html
I wouldn't say that's unsolved as there is someone awaiting trial. It may be that she's never found although I have a feeling there may be a confession if there is a conviction.
There is a prime suspect for this one - Brian Field.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-84546/Did-man-kill-children.html
I know about the Renee MacRae case because of a series called 'Unsolved Murders' which comprises Alex Norton from Taggart dealing with unsolved Scottish murder cases and this one was featured. I'd never heard of it before.
The Alistair Wilson case intrigues me - another featured on the Unsolved Murders programme and Crimewatch a couple of times IIRC. I went through a period of being a bit obsessed with it especially about the envelope, the contents of which have never been revealed to my knowledge. That really bugged me. I might go off and do a bit of looking into now to see if anything new has happened on that one.
Absolutely. Look at the Milly Dowler case as just one recent example. And this case:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-20322534nd
You don't always have to have a body either - there are a few cases I can think of recently where the evidence has been based on text messages, phone records, car milage and murder convicitions have been secured.
And yes, as others have said, Robert Black strongly suspected in the disappearances of Genette Tate and April Fabb. He was convicted last year of the murder of Jennifer Cardy in Northern Ireland in 1981 on not much more than a petrol receipt so there is still hope.
The Alistair Wilson one is such a strange one. There seem to be people that think it may well have been mistaken identity. I vaguely remember that an unusual gun was used, East German or something.
There was another case on that Scottish series that involved a factory worker who was being targeted by his work mates + turned up dead in a field that intrigued me. Sandy Drummond was his name (I think).
As much as I love a mystery I hope they're solved one day, especially the Wilson case.
Funny, I was thinking about the Sandy Drummond case today and Robert Higgins, the chicken factory worker - both real mysteries. That was a really good series. I checked the episode list the first time I watched it and there is one I haven't seen shown - I assume because it's now solved - and that's the case of the waiter shot in Orkney.
Interesting article in the Alistair Wilson case that I found last night:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/one-year-on-who-killed-alistair-wilson-517368.html
There was a story last year about a Dutch charity worker saying he'd met someone who told him they knew who'd killed Alistair Wilson. I'm assuming it was a dead end.
They charged someone in the Higgins case but they were cleared.
That was a great series.
Yes, I read last night it was investigated and eliminated as a line of enquiry.
I remember it said that at the end of the Robert Higgins programme.
Sad that none of these have been solved.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21365961
Another less well know unsolved Scottish case from the 1950s.
Claudia Lawrence
The poor parents of those missing children, all the decades of not knowing what has happen to them. All 3 children had vanished without a trace and have never been seen since. My heart goes out to the parents (If they are alive) and the children would be in their 50's now. Just so sad.
None of them were locals in the areas they were found. Always happened during the snow season. Here are photos of three places on a typical snowy day: a landscape in Sakegawa, Mogami District, Yamagata Prefecture; a train departing Yonezawa (city), Yamagata Prefecture, and a typical hotel in Sakegawa as well. The victims were never reported missing, and the police in each area still couldn't identify them.
The earliest a body was found was within three days, and the longest was almost four weeks. The areas were that isolated. Here's a photo of the area where the 3rd victim was allegedly found. A train stop was roughly a mile away on the right. I was told that her body was found further left of a field corner in this photo. The road was just a dirt road at the time, during early 1970s, and all fields were snowed over. Apparently, six people who passed through this spot during the nine-day period didn't notice her body because she was partly snowed over, which made her look as if she was part of the snow.
Asa Nonami, a popular mystery novelist, has this theory that the killer was a kekkon sagishi (marriage swindler), who targeted women with no families. After succeeding in swindling his victim or when she became suspicious, he took his victim from a city to the countryside on train where they stepped off an isolated train stop. They took a romantic walk around the countryside until he strangled and abandoned his victim on a field. He stripped them their clothes and possessions, and travelled back home on train. (I think her theory was adapted into a TV drama?)
But most agree the case will never be resolved as the last murder took place more than twenty years ago now. Shame, really.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-21100019