Suzy Lamplugh murder suspect ‘on deathbed’ and urged to tell family ‘what happened’

Estate agent went missing from west London in 1986 and has never been found

Suzy Lamplugh vanished into thin air (Shutterstock)

The family of murdered estate agent Suzy Lamplugh has called on the main suspect in her killing to "tell us what happened" after it emerged he is close to death.

Ms Lamplugh disappeared in Fulham, west London, in July 1986, aged 25. Her body has never been recovered.

John Cannan, 68, was named in 2002 as the chief suspect in Ms Lamplugh's disappearance and murder. Cannan, already serving a life sentence for a separate murder and rape, denies killing her.

The Crown Prosecution Service said there was not enough evidence to charge him.

Cannan, of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, has been suffering ill health for years and receiving end of life palliative care in Full Sutton jail, east Yorkshire.

Upon learning that Cannan could have just days or weeks to live, Ms Lamplugh's brother Richard told the Mirror it would "mean a lot to the family" if "he does know, to tell us what happened to Suze."

"After all these years, I would like him to finally let us know what happened," he added.

The murder of Ms Lamplugh has been one of the country’s most well-known cold cases since she was declared dead, presumed murdered in 1994.

The estate agent went missing after leaving her office in west London to meet a client known as Mr Kipper – a nickname that was given to Cannan while he was serving an earlier sentence.

John Cannan was jailed for life in 1989 for the rape and murder of Shirley Banks (PA/Avon and Somerset Police)

Cannan was released from jail days before Lamplugh’s disappearance after serving a six-year sentence for rape.

He was initially connected to the case due to his strong resemblance to an e-fit of Ms Lamplugh’s abductor but has always denied any involvement with her murder.

Investigators have carried out a number of digs in recent years looking for Ms Lamplugh's remains, including at the former home of his mother, in Sutton Coldfield.

Cannan, a former car salesman, was given three life sentences for abducting and murdering 29-year-old Ms Banks in 1987.