# 2 Hours of UK True Crime Cases | True Crime Bonus Compilation

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 19 Sep 2025, 1 h 53 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO4564175533.mp3

Join me as we discuss numerous true crime cases from the United Kingdom. 👇 Youtube links: Lazy Chill True Crime Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8dVJtzeHcJgd_Z0bHrJTHQ Lazy Chill History Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillHistory Lazy Chill Zone Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillZone 👇 Support My Work: 🛍️ Merch: https://lazy-chill-zone-shop.fourthwall.com ❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lazychillzone 👇Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/lazychillzone/ 👇 Podcast links: ⚡History Video Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/7km5pLWpYWEj1mrPpEfRUr?si=0FHYnZf-Qs2FY1GyLevfig ⚡True Crime Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/0klIz08pAr7wR4we0Ia4sk?si=68qZxCeAQkysXzMZrHE0Iw 🍏 True Crime Podcast on Apple 🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lazy-chill-true-crime/id1815534472 UK true crime, UK true crime podcast, UK crime stories, UK true crime compilation, UK crime cases, British true crime, British crime podcast, British crime cases, True crime UK, True crime compilation, True crime marathon, 2 hours true crime, Long true crime podcast, True crime binge listen, UK unsolved murders, UK unsolved mysteries, UK cold cases, UK missing persons, UK murder cases, UK criminal cases, UK serial killers, UK crime history, True crime bonus episode, True crime bonus compilation, UK crime documentary style, UK true crime binge, True crime stories UK, British unsolved cases, UK justice system crimes, UK crime podcast Spotify, UK true crime podcast Spotify, True crime compilation podcast, British murders podcast, UK true crime cases binge, True crime collection UK, True crime bonus stories, UK killers podcast, British killers true crime, UK crime investigation podcast, UK crime history podcast, Long play true crime podcast, Extended true crime episode, UK murder mystery podcast, UK true crime compilation bonus, UK criminal mysteries podcast, True crime playlist UK, British true crime playlist, UK mystery crimes podcast, UK unsolved podcast, True crime extra long episode, True crime binge session, UK podcast crime stories, UK dark history podcast, UK crime marathon episode, UK bonus crime stories, sleep compilation, true crime for sleep, sleep stories

## Transcript

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[1:27] On December 1st, 2017, police in rural Hampshire, England, made a
[1:32] grim discovery in a barn near the village of Michael Deaver.
[1:36] While searching the property in connection with a burglary,
[1:40] officers stumbled upon human remains, completely
[1:43] skeletonized, lying in the dirt near an old farm building.
[1:48] The deceased had apparently been camping there.
[1:51] Alongside the bones were a weathered sleeping bag, a
[1:54] backpack, and a road map. No wallet, ID, or phone was
[1:58] found with the body. At first glance, it seemed the
[2:02] unknown man had simply lain down to sleep and never awakened,
[2:06] remaining undiscovered for years In that lonely spot, detectives
[2:13] immediately faced 2 questions. Who was this man and how did he
[2:17] die? A post mortem exam couldn't
[2:20] determine an exact cause of death, but it found no signs of
[2:24] violence or injury. With no evidence of foul play
[2:28] found on the skeleton, investigators believed he
[2:31] likely, though not certainly, died of natural causes around
[2:36] 2012. This meant his body lay
[2:39] unnoticed for about 5 years. The remains indicated the man
[2:43] was white, of medium height with short brown hair and likely
[2:48] middle-aged. Police collected DNA from his
[2:51] remains and checked fingerprints, hoping for a match
[2:54] in missing persons databases, but those efforts came up empty.
[2:59] He was not listed as a missing person in the UK, nor did his
[3:03] DNA match any known profile. In 2019, Hampshire police
[3:11] released a facial reconstruction of the man to the media.
[3:15] The lifelike image jogged someone's memory.
[3:18] A local couple recognized it and contacted police with a
[3:21] remarkable story. Back in August 2012, they had
[3:27] met a travelling stranger who matched the barn man's
[3:29] description. He had appeared on foot in their
[3:32] hamlet of Itchen Stoke, a few miles from the barn, and asked
[3:36] to camp overnight in their garden, saying he was lost.
[3:41] The couple welcomed him and shared an evening meal.
[3:44] The visitor spoke fluent English but with a strong French accent,
[3:48] and he described himself as a Frenchman touring England on
[3:51] foot. He mentioned he had served in
[3:53] the French military and had partially lost hearing in one
[3:57] ear from an explosion during that time.
[4:00] He said he was headed toward Ireland next to meet his
[4:02] girlfriend, and then eventually they were planning to travel to
[4:05] Canada. He carried only basic camping
[4:09] gear and seemed accustomed to living outdoors.
[4:12] After a polite and grateful stay, he departed on foot the
[4:16] next morning, never to be seen again.
[4:19] This witness testimony strongly suggests the Barn man was that
[4:23] same French traveller, likely perishing not long after their
[4:27] 2012 encounter. Hoping to pinpoint the man's
[4:33] origins, detectives turn to forensic science.
[4:37] In 2023, experts at the University of Reading performed
[4:42] isotope analysis on his teeth and bones, examining chemical
[4:46] traces that reflect where a person lived in childhood.
[4:50] The results pointed to a childhood in southern or
[4:53] southeastern France, verifying that the story of the stranger
[4:57] from 2012 was likely correct. His bone chemistry also
[5:02] suggested he ate a diet rich in seafood.
[5:05] Armed with this evidence, New Hampshire authorities launched
[5:08] an international appeal in late 2023, working with the charity
[5:13] Locate International to publicize the case abroad.
[5:18] They spread the man's reconstructed image and story
[5:21] through media in France and neighboring regions.
[5:25] Police emphasized the key details a French ex military man
[5:29] in middle age who disappeared after 2012, and urged anyone who
[5:34] recognized this description to come forward.
[5:40] Over the years, various theories have swirled around the
[5:43] Hampshire Barn Man case. One straightforward idea is that
[5:47] he was a lone drifter, a man disillusioned or untethered in
[5:51] life who chose to roam and live off the grid, dying of natural
[5:56] causes while camping. Another possibility is that he
[6:00] was running from something. Perhaps he left France to escape
[6:04] personal troubles or even a criminal.
[6:06] Past investigators acknowledged this.
[6:11] He could have been on the run, though no evidence of any crime
[6:14] is turned up. If he were wanted, his DNA or
[6:18] fingerprints may have matched the database, which they didn't.
[6:22] More outlandish speculation has even linked the barn man to one
[6:26] very infamous missing person, Xavier DuPont de Ligoness.
[6:31] While his age and potential appearance lined up, police
[6:35] found no evidence for such a connection and have ruled that
[6:38] out. Others wondered if the man
[6:41] suffered from untreated mental illness that led him to wander.
[6:46] The couple recalled he made some odd claims about his military
[6:49] service, and this behavior might hint he was troubled or not
[6:53] fully grounded in reality. In truth, all these theories
[6:57] remain speculative and without a confirmed identity.
[7:01] The man's real story, his name, and what brought him to that
[7:05] barn remains a mystery. On the night of July 2nd, 1994,
[7:14] Sharon Harper, a 21 year old mother and bartender, failed to
[7:18] return home after a late shift. She left the Market Cross pub in
[7:22] Grantham in England around midnight after finishing her
[7:25] shift, intending to walk to her babysitter's home to pick up her
[7:29] five month old daughter, Sarah. The following day, Sharon's
[7:34] body, partially concealed in shrubs, was found at a parking
[7:38] lot on Earls Field Lane in Grantham.
[7:41] She had been bludgeoned and strangled and left in the
[7:43] overgrowth as though someone had tried to hide her.
[7:48] The Bedfordshire Lincolnshire Police launched an intensive
[7:51] investigation into Sharon Harper's slaying.
[7:54] Early on, they pieced together a timeline of Sharon's final
[7:57] hours. Witnesses came forward to report
[8:01] seeing a woman matching Sharon's description on the night she
[8:04] vanished, accompanied by an unidentified man.
[8:08] In fact, 2 separate sightings were logged by witnesses.
[8:13] A man and Sharon were seen arguing near the Archways gas
[8:16] station on Harlaxton Road. A similar looking pair was
[8:19] spotted by a telephone booth along the same Rd. around the
[8:23] time she would have been walking home.
[8:27] The man in both instances was described as being in his mid
[8:31] 30s with long dark hair. It was late at night and
[8:35] visibility was poor, but these sightings gave police their
[8:39] first and strongest person of interest.
[8:42] This unknown individual, seen in a heated conversation with the
[8:45] victim not long before her death, became the prime suspect
[8:49] in the case. Curiously, despite public
[8:53] appeals, he never came forward to identify himself.
[8:57] Investigators were left to wonder, was he the perp or
[9:01] simply a passerby who argued with her and then parted ways?
[9:06] The fact that he was reportedly on foot raised doubts for some
[9:10] officers who suspected the real perp must have used a car to
[9:14] abduct and dispose of Sharon. That hunch came from another key
[9:19] clue. A mystery vehicle was sighted in
[9:21] the area at approximately 3:30 AM on July 3rd, not long after
[9:27] the presumed time of the slaying.
[9:29] A dark car was seen parked at the very construction site where
[9:33] Sharon's body would later be found.
[9:35] By the time this clue surfaced, the vehicle, described by some
[9:40] as possibly a dark BMW, had vanished.
[9:44] Police never definitively linked the unknown car to the crime,
[9:48] but it fuelled the theory that Sharon might have been driven to
[9:51] the dump site instead of being accosted by someone on foot.
[9:58] The investigation had to consider every possibility, from
[10:01] a random predator roaming the streets to someone in Sharon's
[10:05] circle who harbored a dark secret.
[10:07] Her fiance, who had been waiting for her that night and expected
[10:11] to start a life with her, was naturally questioned.
[10:15] It was even explored whether Sharon might have led a double
[10:18] life that put her in danger. Rumors arose that she could have
[10:23] been involved in escort work to earn extra money, given that she
[10:27] only worked part time and was struggling to support a baby.
[10:33] This was fully investigated by the authorities and the idea was
[10:37] dismissed for lack of evidence. Over the months and years that
[10:43] followed, authorities interviewed potential suspects
[10:46] and even made five arrests in their pursuit of the
[10:48] perpetrator, but no charges were laid.
[10:52] Among those detained was a couple who were taken into
[10:55] custody in 1999, five years after the slaying, on suspicion
[11:01] of involvement. This startling development
[11:04] suggested police had received a significant tip or new evidence
[11:08] linking the pair to Sharon's death.
[11:11] However, whatever information led to their arrest ultimately
[11:16] fell short and they were released without any charges.
[11:22] With the case growing cold, law enforcement and crime analysts
[11:26] began looking at broader patterns.
[11:29] Sharon Harper's slaying didn't happen in isolation.
[11:32] Less than three months later, another woman in Grantham, 38
[11:37] year old Julie Pacey, was brutally slain in her own home
[11:42] on September 26th, 1994. The eerie proximity of two
[11:48] strangulation attacks targeting women in the same town within a
[11:52] few months set residents on edge.
[11:56] The idea was fully investigated but ultimately dismissed by
[11:59] investigators. Sharon was attacked outdoors
[12:02] while walking late at night, whereas Julie was slain inside
[12:06] her home in broad daylight. Further, Julie appears to have
[12:11] been stalked for a period of time before she was slain.
[12:14] While Sharon's attack may have been a crime of opportunity,
[12:20] more than 30 years have passed since Sharon Harper set out on
[12:24] that walk home and never returned.
[12:27] Sharon's daughter Sarah grew up raised by her grandparents,
[12:31] coming of age with only photographs and stories to know
[12:34] her mother by. Sarah is now an adult, roughly
[12:38] the same age her mother was in 1994, and she's become a vocal
[12:43] advocate for keeping the case in the public eye.
[12:48] On May 19th, 1996, beneath the span of the Clifton Suspension
[12:53] Bridge in Bristol, England, police discovered a young man's
[12:56] lifeless body on the rocky banks of the river below.
[13:01] His death, tragic and obscure, marked the beginning of an
[13:05] enduring mystery which is now gone on for almost 30 years.
[13:10] Despite the authorities believing this would be easy to
[13:13] solve, this case comes with A twist.
[13:17] The Bristol John Doe was found carrying a photograph of
[13:20] himself. Early morning joggers stumbled
[13:25] across the grim scene, alerting police immediately.
[13:29] Officers quickly deduced the man likely fell from the bridge,
[13:33] either intentionally or by accident.
[13:37] Physically, the John Doe was described as Caucasian, aged
[13:41] somewhere between 25 and 35, standing around 6 feet tall with
[13:47] blue eyes and short light brown hair.
[13:50] He wore simple clothing, a black leather jacket, dark sweatshirt,
[13:55] blue Lee Riders jeans, and brown boots, all of which was typical
[14:00] attire for a young adult in 1996.
[14:04] However, the belongings he carried painted a far more
[14:07] complex portrait of who he might have been.
[14:12] With him was a handwritten cardboard sign that read quote
[14:17] Sleeping rough, thank you. Beside his body lay a black
[14:22] sleeping bag which, together with the sign, was a good
[14:25] indication he was homeless. The additional items he carried
[14:29] appeared to confirm that this was the case.
[14:32] He carried personal grooming items, including disposable
[14:35] razors, deodorant and a toothbrush, suggesting he took
[14:39] pride in his appearance despite challenging circumstances.
[14:45] More intriguing were several other items that spoke volumes
[14:48] about his personality and possible interests.
[14:51] The John Doe possessed multiple maps, including a guide labeled
[14:56] Euro Hike Adventure, indicating possible extensive travels or an
[15:01] active interest in exploring. There was also a pack of Silk
[15:05] Cut cigarettes and a tin whistle, raising the theory he
[15:09] might have bussed to survive entertaining passersby for spare
[15:13] change. It wasn't difficult to
[15:17] investigators to imagine that he placed the sign out to solicit
[15:20] donations while playing music. He also carried an interesting
[15:26] array of books which offered more insight into his life.
[15:30] Among them were a Batman comic anthology, a well used Bible and
[15:35] a copy of Thomas Moore's philosophical classic Utopia.
[15:40] The battered copy of Utopia bore a library stamp reading W
[15:44] Glamorgan County Council. This suggested he may have
[15:48] passed through, or perhaps even originated from the Swansea
[15:53] region of Wales. The blend of books spoke to a
[15:56] thoughtful, perhaps idealistic individual searching for meaning
[16:01] while also seeking escape in stories.
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[17:28] and Why or text HOPENY in. Yet investigators were most
[17:35] haunted by a passport sized photograph he kept.
[17:39] Police believed it depicted John Doe himself at a younger age.
[17:43] The image showed a youthful man, possibly late teens or early
[17:47] 20s, with slightly longer hair and a more hopeful demeanor.
[17:52] Disturbingly, the photograph was found in a student style ID
[17:57] holder. It's identifying details
[17:59] deliberately scratched off. Whoever he was, it seemed the
[18:04] John Doe had consciously sought anonymity.
[18:09] The police conducted extensive searches for his identity,
[18:12] sharing the photo and information nationally.
[18:16] They checked missing person databases across the UK and even
[18:19] Europe, considering he may have been a foreign traveller or
[18:22] tourist. However, despite all these
[18:25] efforts, no match was found. With no family or friends
[18:29] stepping forward to claim him, the trail quickly went cold.
[18:33] Within weeks, John Doe's body was buried quietly, marked by
[18:38] nothing more than a case number. As the years passed, theories
[18:44] began to emerge about his origins and fate.
[18:47] Some believed he was a homeless man whose identity faded from
[18:50] society's radar, possibly someone estranged from family or
[18:55] struggling with mental health issues.
[18:58] This theory aligns with his transient lifestyle and the
[19:01] signs of hardship he carried. Perhaps he had deliberately left
[19:05] behind a previous life, erasing connections that might have
[19:09] brought people forward after his death.
[19:14] A second theory, however, suggests he might have been a
[19:16] former student or academic who had become disillusioned or
[19:19] lost. The philosophical book Utopia in
[19:24] particular, suggests a young man wrestling with ideas of society,
[19:29] fulfillment, or happiness. The deliberate removal of his
[19:33] personal details from the student ID could hint at someone
[19:37] intentionally severing ties to his past and seeking a new
[19:40] start. Another compelling possibility
[19:45] was that John Doe originated from outside England, perhaps
[19:49] continental Europe. Investigators noted his features
[19:53] suggested possible German or Dutch heritage, and the
[19:56] traveling gear and maps he carried raised the likelihood of
[19:59] a backpacker exploring Britain. Poor cross-border communication
[20:04] in the 1990s could have meant his disappearance was reported
[20:07] in his home country, never reaching British authorities.
[20:13] Questions also remain around the exact circumstances of his
[20:16] death. Police found no evidence of
[20:19] violence or robbery. His belongings remained
[20:22] undisturbed, suggesting he did it himself or that there was an
[20:26] accident. It's been suggested he might
[20:29] have visited the site out of curiosity or contemplation, only
[20:33] to slip and fall due to wet conditions.
[20:37] Unfortunately, the true events of that night remain a complete
[20:40] mystery. Despite the lack of any
[20:44] indications of violence, the homeless are much more likely to
[20:48] encounter violence than the general population.
[20:51] It does remain a possibility that the bridge, in essence, was
[20:55] used as a cover up for a very serious crime in this case.
[20:59] Again, though, this is speculative given the lack of
[21:02] concrete evidence. Renewed attention in recent
[21:06] years, however, has brought fresh hope.
[21:10] In 2021, the nonprofit group Locate International reopened
[21:14] the case. They commissioned a modern
[21:17] forensic artist to create an updated facial reconstruction,
[21:21] digitally aging the younger photograph to reflect his
[21:24] appearance in 1996. This reconstruction was shared
[21:29] widely in the media, bringing renewed public interest to the
[21:32] long forgotten case. Investigators reached out
[21:36] specifically to communities who frequented Bristol streets in
[21:40] the mid 90s, uncovering vague memories but no concrete
[21:44] identification. Yet despite decades passing, the
[21:49] key to solving the Bristol John Doe case isn't advanced
[21:53] forensics, it's awareness. Unlike most unidentified cases
[21:58] where only partial information is available, here we have
[22:01] something incredibly rare. A photograph of what he actually
[22:05] looked like in life, taken when he was likely still fully
[22:08] connected to society. The photograph we have of him
[22:12] from the early 90s shows someone who was clean cut and well
[22:16] groomed and putting his best foot forward into the world.
[22:20] They're likely hundreds of people out there who would know
[22:23] who this John Doe is from this picture alone.
[22:26] They just haven't had the opportunity to see the photo.
[22:32] We also know what he looked like at the time of death, have
[22:35] detailed descriptions of his clothing, his belongings, and
[22:39] even his possible geographic history.
[22:42] This isn't a case lacking clues, it's one waiting for the right
[22:46] person to see his face and recognize him.
[22:50] His identity almost certainly lives in someone's memory, a
[22:53] former classmate, a friend from a shelter, or even a family
[22:58] member who lost touch. But without widespread exposure,
[23:02] that connection may never be made.
[23:08] On a summer afternoon in 198625, year old Susie Lampla left her W
[23:13] London real estate office for what should have been a routine
[23:15] house viewing. The young agent had an
[23:18] appointment in Fulham with a client known only as Mr. Kipper.
[23:22] Susie noted the name in her work diary and headed out around
[23:25] 12:40 PM on July 28th, 1986, expecting to return shortly.
[23:33] But she never did. In broad daylight, in the midst
[23:37] of a professional errand, Susie Lampla vanished without a trace.
[23:42] Her disappearance would become one of Britain's most notorious
[23:45] unsolved cases, sparking A decades long investigation,
[23:50] countless theories, and a lingering heartache for her
[23:53] family. When Susie didn't come back to
[23:58] the office that afternoon, concern quickly mounted.
[24:03] By evening, her white Ford Fiesta was found abandoned on a
[24:06] quiet St. in Fulham, not far from the property She was due to
[24:10] show. The car's keys were missing, but
[24:14] puzzling clues remained. The car's doors were unlocked
[24:18] and Susie's purse lay inside. Witnesses later recalled seeing
[24:23] a woman they believed to be Susie arguing with a man outside
[24:27] the empty house She was showing. Around 1:00 PM, another witness
[24:31] reported a sighting of a man and woman resembling Susie
[24:35] struggling inside a dark BMW near that location.
[24:39] These accounts painted a frightening picture of a
[24:41] confrontation on the street. Police responding to the missing
[24:45] person report immediately feared an abduction.
[24:49] They launched a massive search effort that extended across the
[24:52] city and beyond, and in the following weeks, officers chased
[24:56] down every lead they could find. According to contemporary
[25:02] reports from that time, the investigation even stretched
[25:06] overseas, with detectives pursuing tips as far away as the
[25:09] United States. Despite this extensive effort
[25:13] spanning 2 continents, no reliable evidence or sightings
[25:17] turned up. By the fall of 1987, after more
[25:21] than a year of fruitless searching, the active police
[25:25] inquiry was significantly scaled back.
[25:28] The file remained open, but with no strong leads, the
[25:32] investigation went cold. Susie Lamplow's fate was a
[25:36] mystery and it seemed her abductor, potentially this Mr.
[25:40] Kipper, had vanished as completely as she had in the
[25:46] initial phase. Speculation about what happened
[25:49] to Susie ran rampant. Could she have arranged her own
[25:53] disappearance? Had she been targeted by someone
[25:56] she knew or fallen prey to a random attacker?
[26:00] Those who knew Susie rejected the idea that she would
[26:04] voluntarily vanish. She had a full life she was
[26:07] happy with, and she left behind her belongings and car in a way
[26:11] that suggested duress. The circumstances strongly
[26:16] indicated foul play. Investigators looked into
[26:19] Susie's personal life and contacts, but found no obvious
[26:23] suspects beyond the mysterious Mr. Kipper.
[26:28] A composite sketch of a man seen with her that day was
[26:30] circulated, showing a well dressed, dark haired man in his
[26:34] 20s or 30s, but no one came forward to identify that person
[26:39] and leads were sparse. By late 1987, the Metropolitan
[26:44] Police had to admit they were stumped.
[26:47] Susie's parents, Paul and Diana Lampla, kept her case in the
[26:50] public eye, appealing for information and even hiring
[26:54] private investigators. Yet months turned into years
[26:58] without answers. However, in 1989, a grim new
[27:03] possibility emerged that would reshape the investigation.
[27:10] That year, a 35 year old man named John Cannon was convicted
[27:15] for a string of violent crimes. These crimes included multiple
[27:19] essay offenses, multiple abductions and abduction
[27:22] attempts, as well as the slaying of a young woman named Shirley
[27:26] Banks in 1987. Cannon was a suave, well spoken
[27:32] former car salesman with a disarming personality despite
[27:36] his history of extreme violence. Crucially, it was learned that
[27:40] he had been released from prison just days before Susie vanished
[27:44] in July 1986. Even more chilling, witnesses
[27:49] thought Cannon bore a strong resemblance to the composite
[27:52] sketch of the man thought to be Mr. Kipper.
[27:55] When police interviewed Cannon's former girlfriend, she expressed
[27:59] suspicions that he might have been involved in Susie's case,
[28:03] further heightening suspicion. Contemporary investigators
[28:07] interviewed Cannon in prison at least three times starting in
[28:10] 1989, hoping he might shed light on Susie's fate.
[28:15] Despite these attempts, Cannon denied having anything to do
[28:18] with the case. At that time, detectives found
[28:21] no hard evidence linking him to Susie's disappearance, and he
[28:25] wasn't charged. Still, the parallels were hard
[28:29] to ignore, and they were about to get weirder.
[28:33] His nickname in prison, it turned out, was Kipper.
[28:36] A bizarre coincidence if indeed it was one.
[28:41] But that's not where it stops. When Cannon was arrested for the
[28:45] slaying of Shirley Banks, the authorities discovered he owned
[28:49] a vehicle with false plates. The false plates read SLP386S,
[28:56] with some believing that SLP stood for Susie's name, while 86
[29:00] stood for the year she disappeared.
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[30:33] The media began loudly speculating that Canon could
[30:35] very well be the mystery client who lured Susie to her doom.
[30:40] In 1993, seven years after she went missing, authorities
[30:44] officially declared Susie Lampla dead in absentia, acknowledging
[30:48] what everyone feared. For her family, this legal
[30:52] declaration was another painful milestone coming with no comfort
[30:57] of knowing what truly happened. Hopes were raised briefly in
[31:01] 1994 when a different convicted perpetrator, Michael Sam's,
[31:06] claimed from prison that he was responsible.
[31:09] Sam's was serving life for the slaying of a woman and the
[31:12] kidnapping of a real estate agent in a separate case, and he
[31:16] reached out claiming responsibility for Susie's
[31:18] disappearance. However, police quickly
[31:21] dismissed his story as implausible, and Susie's
[31:25] relatives condemned it as a cruel hoax.
[31:28] The authorities came to the conclusion that Sam's appeared
[31:31] to have fabricated the confession for attention and
[31:34] that there was no evidence he was involved.
[31:37] He simply realized that the case fit his modus operandi and was
[31:41] able to gain the spotlight in that way.
[31:46] In 1999, after years of inactivity on the case, Susie's
[31:50] mother, Diana Lampla, received an unexpected tip.
[31:54] An anonymous informant told her that Susie's remains might be
[31:57] buried at an old army barracks at Norton in Worcestershire.
[32:01] This lead was startling. It was far from London and it's
[32:06] unclear how credible it was, but Diana passed it to the police.
[32:11] In the year 2000, with some new information at hand, the
[32:15] Metropolitan Police decided to formally reopen the
[32:18] investigation. Officers conducted digs and
[32:22] searches at the old barrack site and other locations suggested
[32:25] over the years. These searches sadly yielded
[32:29] nothing of significance and it remains unclear if the report
[32:32] was a hoax or not. Nonetheless, the renewed
[32:36] investigation began to re examine all the evidence and
[32:40] witness statements with fresh eyes, utilizing advances in
[32:43] forensic science and criminal profiling.
[32:49] The cold case team's work LED them back to the suspect who had
[32:52] long lingered in the background, and the spotlight would now once
[32:56] again shine on John Cannon. By 2002, the accumulated
[33:01] evidence, though circumstantial, was compelling enough that the
[33:05] Metropolitan Police took an extraordinary step.
[33:09] They publicly named John Cannon as the prime, and indeed only
[33:13] suspect in Susie Lampla's abduction and presumed slaying.
[33:19] This announcement was highly unusual as suspects in the UK
[33:23] are seldom named without charges.
[33:26] The Crown Prosecution Service, essentially the British
[33:29] equivalent of the District Attorney, announced there was
[33:33] still insufficient evidence to actually charge Cannon and bring
[33:37] him to trial. No body had been found and the
[33:41] case remained built on inference and testimony rather than direct
[33:44] proof. John Cannon, for his part,
[33:48] consistently denied involvement. He was already serving a life
[33:52] sentence in prison for his other crimes, yet he emphatically told
[33:56] police and the media that he had nothing to do with Susie's case.
[34:01] Cannon even expressed through his lawyer that he encouraged
[34:03] any new searches, claiming he hoped A thorough investigation
[34:07] would clear his name once and for all.
[34:10] Despite his claims of innocence, few investigating officers or
[34:14] people in the public ever believed him.
[34:17] Instead, viewing this as a way to drag out the cruelty
[34:20] inflicted, the officers viewed Cannon as a manipulative and
[34:24] dangerous man who simply wouldn't confess.
[34:29] That said, even these detectives had to admit that it was
[34:33] possible that John Cannon didn't actually do it.
[34:36] Rather, he may have used his manipulative nature to draw
[34:39] attention in the opposite way that Michael Sam's did.
[34:44] While Sam's was able to capture brief attention through telling
[34:47] a bold lie that could be easily disproven, Canon may have been
[34:51] much more cunning. By keeping the air of mystery
[34:55] surrounding himself, he invited substantially more attention
[34:59] from the media, whether he committed the crime or not.
[35:03] Further, if he didn't do it, he may have derived some sick
[35:08] satisfaction from knowing he had essentially claimed another
[35:11] victim to his name without lifting a finger.
[35:14] And as you'll see, the investigation didn't stop with
[35:17] Cannon. Even after naming Cannon as
[35:22] their chief suspect in 2002, the Metropolitan Police didn't close
[35:27] the case. In 2008, there was a brief
[35:30] exploration of another theory. Steve Wright, a serial
[35:34] perpetrator convicted that year of slaying 5 women in Suffolk,
[35:39] was scrutinized to see if he might have any connection to
[35:41] Susie's disappearance. Wright had lived in London in
[35:45] the 1980s, and the timing prompted speculation.
[35:50] However, after reviewing Wright's history, detectives
[35:53] found that there was no likely connection, despite the fact he
[35:57] couldn't be fully ruled out. Fresh information has been rare,
[36:02] but not entirely absent. In 2010, a witness came forward
[36:07] with a recollection that back in 1986 he had noticed a disturbed
[36:12] patch of earth on a small piece of scrubland in West London.
[36:16] He feared it could have been a hastily dug grave, but for
[36:20] reasons unknown, he waited almost 25 years to report it.
[36:25] Acting on this tip, police conducted a new search of the
[36:28] area. Decades later, officers combed
[36:32] the site with forensic teams, but if something had once been
[36:35] buried there, it was long gone or unrelated.
[36:40] Some have naturally questioned whether this witness was part of
[36:43] yet another cruel hoax. The most dramatic efforts to
[36:49] find Susie in recent years have focused again on that prime
[36:53] suspect. In October 2018 / 32 years after
[36:58] Susie vanished, police descended on a suburban house near
[37:02] Birmingham. It was the former home of John
[37:05] Cannon's mother. Acting on what Scotland Yard
[37:09] called new information, investigators tore up the garden
[37:13] and even dismantled a garage on the property looking for Susie's
[37:17] remains. For two weeks, specialized
[37:20] teams, including forensic archaeologists and ground
[37:24] penetrating radar units meticulously excavated the site.
[37:30] But when the dig concluded, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson
[37:33] announced that no evidence was recovered.
[37:36] Unsurprisingly, Cannon's lawyer at the time reiterated that his
[37:40] client maintained his innocence, saying Cannon hoped the failed
[37:44] search would put to rest the suspicions hanging over him.
[37:48] In July 2019, investigators tried once more, this time
[37:54] targeting a different location, attractive land in Pershore,
[37:59] Worcestershire. This area wasn't chosen at
[38:02] random. Pershore isn't far from Norton
[38:05] Barracks, the site the family was tipped off 2 years before.
[38:09] With the help of archaeologists, the authorities combed through
[38:13] earth and rubble in search of any trace of Susie, but again
[38:17] nothing was found. And that same summer, another
[38:21] intriguing piece of information surfaced.
[38:27] A witness reported seeing a man dumping a heavy suitcase into
[38:30] London's Grand Union Canal on the very day Susie disappeared
[38:34] in 1986. Again, it's unclear why this
[38:38] witness waited over 3 decades to come forward with this
[38:41] information. The canal in question had been
[38:45] dredged and searched years earlier in several unrelated
[38:48] cases, and it seemed unlikely something would be recovered so
[38:52] long after John Cannon remained the prime suspect until the end
[38:58] of his life. In 2023, after serving 35 years
[39:03] behind bars, he came up for a parole review.
[39:08] The parole board hearing of his continued insistence on
[39:11] innocence and lack of remorse for even his confirmed crimes,
[39:14] refused to release him. Then, in November 2024, Cannon
[39:20] died of natural causes in prison at the age of 70.
[39:24] If indeed Canon was responsible, he carried the secret of Susie's
[39:29] final resting place to his grave.
[39:31] Despite years of pressure, he never gave any indication of
[39:35] where Susie's body might be and always maintained his innocence
[39:39] in relation to her case. On the morning of September
[39:45] 14th, 2007, 14 year old Andrew Gosden left his family home in
[39:50] Doncaster in South Yorkshire and seemingly vanished without a
[39:54] trace. That day began like any other
[39:58] Friday for the Gosden family. Andrew's parents, Kevin and
[40:01] Glennis, recall him sleeping in a bit later than usual and being
[40:05] slightly grumpy when awakened, but nothing was obviously a
[40:09] miss. He dressed in his Macaulay
[40:11] Catholic High School uniform and said goodbye as if heading to
[40:15] school. However, Andrew didn't catch his
[40:18] school bus. Instead, after his parents and
[40:22] older sister Charlotte left the house, he returned home.
[40:26] He then changed out of his uniform into casual clothes,
[40:29] jeans and a Slipknot T-shirt and walked out again, this time
[40:34] toward Doncaster Railway Station.
[40:37] Surveillance footage from a neighbor's house later confirmed
[40:40] that Andrew headed in the direction of the station that
[40:43] morning. At 9:35, he purchased a one way
[40:47] train ticket from Doncaster to London's King's Cross station.
[40:52] The ticket seller remembered Andrew because he appeared very
[40:55] young to be traveling alone and had insisted on a one way ticket
[40:59] even after being told a return would cost only slightly more.
[41:04] Andrew then boarded the train by himself and a fellow passenger
[41:07] later confirmed seeing the quiet boy sitting alone during the
[41:10] journey. He arrived at King's Cross
[41:13] station in London at 11:20 AM and cameras captured him exiting
[41:17] the station at 11:25 AM. This remains the last confirmed
[41:22] sighting of Andrew Gosdin. In the brief footage, he appears
[41:26] calm and purposeful, wearing his backpack and looking much like
[41:31] any other young visitor stepping into the city.
[41:34] Back in Doncaster, Andrew's family had no idea he had gone
[41:38] to London that evening. They initially assumed he was in
[41:43] the house, perhaps playing video games in the basement or doing
[41:47] homework in his room. It was only when they called him
[41:50] for a family dinner and he didn't respond that panic set
[41:54] in. A search of the house found that
[41:57] Andrew's school blazer and tie were neatly hung over a chair,
[42:01] and his shirt and pants were in the washing machine.
[42:05] These were signs that he had come back home.
[42:07] After they left, Kevin retraced his presumed route to school,
[42:13] while Glenn has phoned friends and neighbors to figure out if
[42:16] he was with them. By 7:00 PM, with no sign of
[42:19] Andrew, the family contacted the South Yorkshire Police.
[42:23] Police and neighbors immediately began searching the area that
[42:26] night and over the weekend, combing the entire local area.
[42:31] The initial assumption was that something might have happened to
[42:34] him on route to school in those early days.
[42:38] The police treated his case as a runaway youth situation rather
[42:42] than an abduction. Given signs that Andrew had
[42:46] planned his departure, officers focus some searches around
[42:50] Doncaster and no nearby areas where Andrew might have gone on
[42:54] his own. Kevin and Glennis were
[42:57] interviewed to rule out any family issues, and at one point
[43:01] investigators even subjected Kevin to covertly recorded
[43:04] questioning, yet found no evidence of involvement.
[43:09] All evidence indicated Andrew had left of his own accord, but
[43:13] why he did so remained a mystery.
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[44:46] A breakthrough came on the following Tuesday, September
[44:48] 18th. The ticket agent from Doncaster
[44:51] station saw media reports and informed police that she vividly
[44:55] remembered selling a one way London ticket to a boy matching
[44:58] Andrew's description. Even with this information, it
[45:03] wasn't until 27 days after the disappearance that a thorough
[45:06] review of surveillance footage finally identified Andrew
[45:10] arriving and exiting King's Cross.
[45:13] Unfortunately, by then, any CCTV footage from streets or buses
[45:18] around the station had long since been overwritten and
[45:21] opportunities to trace his steps further into London were lost.
[45:26] Upon learning Andrew had reached London, the focus of the search
[45:30] shifted there. The Gosden family, accompanied
[45:36] by police, travelled to London multiple times to distribute
[45:40] posters and talk to people in areas Andrew might have visited.
[45:44] Andrew was an intelligent kid with a keen interest in museums,
[45:48] libraries and sites like the Natural History Museum, so the
[45:53] family canvassed such locations. They also concentrated on
[45:57] neighborhoods where they had relatives, thinking Andrew might
[46:01] seek out family contacts for shelter.
[46:04] However, these efforts yielded no confirmed sightings or any
[46:07] additional clues. Over the weeks and months
[46:12] following Andrews disappearance, numerous tips trickled in.
[46:17] In total, more than 100 unconfirmed sightings from all
[46:21] over the country were reported in the first year. 1 sighting
[46:25] indicated that he had been at a Pizza Hut near King's Cross the
[46:28] same afternoon he disappeared. Though that sighting was
[46:32] unconfirmed, another person reported possibly seeing him
[46:36] about a month later around Covent Garden.
[46:40] In that instance, a woman recalled talking to a boy who
[46:44] strongly resembled Andrew. When she mentioned he looked
[46:48] like a missing boy she'd seen on TV, the boy nervously denied any
[46:52] connection to the case and rapidly walked away.
[46:56] Some have interpreted this as proof that this was Andrew,
[47:00] while others have equally plausibly suggested that he was
[47:03] someone entirely different and a bit freaked out by the stranger.
[47:08] Other possible sightings placed a boy resembling Andrew in
[47:11] various parts of London in the days after his disappearance,
[47:14] but didn't include any alleged conversations with him.
[47:21] As time went on, the investigation stretched into a
[47:24] nationwide effort, but tangible progress was painfully slow.
[47:29] In November 2008, more than a year after Andrew went missing,
[47:33] a strange incident occurred. A man walked into a police
[47:38] station after hours claiming he had information about Andrew.
[47:42] By the time someone came to take details, the man had left
[47:45] abruptly. Police issued an appeal for this
[47:48] individual to come forward again and soon after, an anonymous
[47:53] letter was sent to the BBC claiming to be the man.
[47:57] He described a possible sighting of Andrew in Shrewsbury in
[48:00] November 2008. This hint, like so many others,
[48:05] LED nowhere concrete. It was never confirmed if the
[48:09] author was indeed the same person, or if the information
[48:13] was credible. For nearly 14 years, Andrew's
[48:19] fate remained completely unknown, though the authorities
[48:22] routinely came out to plead for information about his
[48:25] whereabouts. Then, in late 2021, the
[48:28] investigation took a dramatic turn.
[48:31] On December 8th, 2021, S Yorkshire Police, working with
[48:36] the Metropolitan Police, arrested two men in London in
[48:40] connection with Andrew's disappearance.
[48:42] This stunning development, announced publicly in January
[48:46] 2022, marked the first ever arrests in the case.
[48:51] The men, ages 45 and 38, were held on suspicion of kidnapping
[48:55] and trafficking offenses. Notably, the 45 year old was
[48:59] additionally arrested on possession of illicit
[49:01] photographic materials. These serious allegations raised
[49:06] grim possibilities that Andrew may have been abducted or harmed
[49:10] by individuals involved in truly disgusting activities.
[49:14] Investigators seized numerous electronic devices from the men
[49:18] and warned that forensic analysis of those devices could
[49:22] take 6 to 12 months. Over the following year, police
[49:26] inquiries continued quietly. In early 2023, S Yorkshire
[49:31] Police stated that the two men remained under investigation and
[49:34] the electronic evidence was still being examined.
[49:38] No charges were announced during that time and the details of why
[49:42] these particular men were suspected were not released.
[49:46] The public was left wondering if perhaps someone had come forward
[49:50] after many years with information tying those men to
[49:53] Andrew. Then, in September 2023, police
[49:58] provided an update. After exhaustive investigation,
[50:04] both men were released without charge and were eliminated from
[50:07] suspicion. Detectives stated they were
[50:10] confident that the two individuals had nothing to do
[50:12] with Andrew's disappearance. In other words, whatever
[50:16] suspicions prompted the arrests didn't ultimately link these men
[50:20] to Andrew. The announcement was a relief in
[50:23] the sense that no evidence was found of Andrew being harmed by
[50:27] them. However, the mystery remained
[50:30] unsolved. In the absence of definitive
[50:35] answers, numerous theories have emerged over the years about
[50:38] what might have happened to Andrew Gosdin.
[50:41] One of the earliest and most persistent theories is that
[50:44] Andrew left home intentionally to start a new life or to escape
[50:49] pressures in his life. Andrew was exceptionally bright.
[50:53] He was a prize winning mathematics student that was
[50:57] among the top students nationally.
[50:59] Further, he was enrolled in a gifted program which he excelled
[51:03] in. Some who knew him wondered if
[51:06] the rigid path of the British academic system felt stifling to
[51:09] him. This theory is supported by the
[51:12] calm and deliberate steps Andrew took.
[51:15] He waited for the house to be empty, took cash savings, and
[51:20] travelled to London on his own. The fact that he insisted on a
[51:24] one way ticket indicates he likely didn't intend to be back
[51:27] home that same day. Perhaps London, with its
[51:31] museums, music venues and subcultures, beckoned to his
[51:35] sense of curiosity or offered an escape.
[51:39] It's possible Andrew made the trek to London to attend an
[51:42] event. Investigators learned that a
[51:44] favorite band of his, a Finnish metal band named His Infernal
[51:48] Majesty, had a rare London appearance and signing session a
[51:52] few days after his arrival. This was investigated, though it
[51:56] doesn't appear he actually attended this event, or at the
[52:00] very least, there's no evidence to suggest he did.
[52:03] All that said, this theory has become much more unlikely with
[52:07] each passing year. A related hypothesis is that
[52:13] Andrew's trip to London might have been arranged or encouraged
[52:16] by someone he met, possibly via the Internet or through another
[52:20] channel. Unknown to his parents, in 2007,
[52:24] Andrew didn't use social media and reportedly didn't have an
[52:28] e-mail address, at least according to his parents.
[52:32] Some have pointed out that Andrew had APSP gaming device.
[52:36] The PSP had Internet connectivity, and some have
[52:39] speculated that he may have used it to talk on music or video
[52:42] game forums if he used it to connect with people online.
[52:47] Those communications were never traced, and in 2017, the
[52:52] authorities mentioned they were looking into Andrew's digital
[52:54] footprint. However, it's unclear if
[52:57] anything came from this investigation as nothing has
[53:00] been publicly revealed. From early on, Andrew's parents
[53:07] feared that despite appearances of a voluntary trip, something
[53:11] sinister could have befallen him in London.
[53:14] Unfortunately, London is a place where a vulnerable 14 year old
[53:19] travelling alone could encounter individuals who wish to harm
[53:22] him. The fact that Andrew looked very
[53:25] young for his age may have made him an easy target.
[53:28] This theory gained traction over time, especially when years
[53:32] passed with no contact. If Andrew had intended to run
[53:36] away for a short while, surely he would have signalled that he
[53:39] was OK unless someone prevented him from doing so.
[53:46] Though those who knew Andrew describe him as a well adjusted
[53:49] teen, investigators had to consider if he left home due to
[53:53] a mental health crisis, despite reports that he was generally
[53:57] happy. The pressure of adolescence
[53:59] affect everyone differently. One theory considered was that
[54:03] Andrew might have wanted to escape in a way that would spare
[54:06] his family the pain of knowing what happened.
[54:09] Travelling to London, far from home and potentially concealing
[54:14] 1's identity could fit the pattern of someone intending to
[54:17] disappear permanently. No evidence has ever emerged
[54:22] that Andrew perished this way, and many feel this theory is
[54:25] inconsistent with the hopeful steps he took, like withdrawing
[54:29] money and heading to a big city. As of now, the case of Andrew
[54:34] Gosden appears to remain no closer to being solved than it
[54:37] was back in 2007. In late September 1994, the
[54:43] peaceful town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England was shaken
[54:47] by a horrifying crime perpetrated by a disturbed
[54:50] individual known as the Overalls Man.
[54:54] Julie Pacey, a 38 year old mother of two, was found slain
[54:59] in her own home on the afternoon of Monday, September 26th, 1994.
[55:06] Her 14 year old daughter Helen discovered Julie's lifeless body
[55:10] on the bathroom floor after returning home from school
[55:13] around 4:15 PM. At first, the teenager thought
[55:17] her mother had simply collapsed, but paramedics soon noticed
[55:21] telltale marks on Julie's neck. The brutality of the crime,
[55:25] committed in broad daylight in a supposedly safe residential
[55:29] neighborhood, left the community in shock and desperate for
[55:32] answers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Julie
[55:37] Pacey's death was ruled A slaying almost immediately.
[55:41] Investigators determined she had been strangled from behind with
[55:44] some kind of cord or wire, and that she was also subjected to
[55:48] SA by her attacker. Yet despite the violence of the
[55:52] act, there were virtually no signs of a struggle or forced
[55:56] entry in the house. Julie's fingernails were still
[56:00] neatly manicured and unbroken, and nothing in the bedroom or
[56:03] bathroom was disturbed. This suggested that the
[56:07] assailant may have surprised Julie so quickly that she had no
[56:10] chance to fight back. The only immediate clue that
[56:14] something was amiss in the otherwise tidy home was that one
[56:17] odd item appeared to be missing. Julie's distinctive Luke de
[56:22] Roche wristwatch, which she had recently purchased on a trip to
[56:25] France and always wore, was gone.
[56:29] Aside from that, Julie's purse, valuables, and other belongings
[56:34] were left untouched, indicating that robbery wasn't the primary
[56:38] motive. Investigators painstakingly
[56:43] reconstructed Julie's final day to understand how this heinous
[56:46] crime unfolded. Monday, September 26th, 1994 had
[56:52] begun normally for the Pacey family.
[56:55] Julie lived with her husband of 18 years, Andrew, who worked as
[56:59] a plumber. They also had two children,
[57:02] Helen and Matthew. They lived in a comfortable home
[57:05] on Longcliffe Road in Grantham. That morning, Andrew left early
[57:10] for work on a job across town and the children went off to
[57:14] school. Julie's routine on weekdays
[57:17] involved working a part time shift at a local preschool and
[57:21] often caring for a neighbor's daughter after school.
[57:24] That was, except on Mondays, the only day when the neighbor's
[57:29] child would never come over. And keep this in mind because it
[57:33] suggests that the sinister individual we are about to meet
[57:37] may have stalked his target for some time.
[57:41] Monday afternoons were one of the few times Julie would
[57:44] reliably be alone at home, a detail that in hindsight,
[57:47] appeared significant. Fanduels getting you ready for
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[59:16] HOPENY in New York. Julie left home around 10:00 AM
[59:21] to do her her usual shift helping at the nursery.
[59:24] She finished work around 2:00 PM that day and made a brief
[59:28] impromptu visit to her parents, who lived only a couple of miles
[59:31] away. Not long after, by about 2:30
[59:35] PM, witnesses spotted Julie casually window shopping in
[59:39] Grantham's Town Center. This indicates she didn't stay
[59:43] long at her parents house before heading into town.
[59:46] Within minutes, Julie was seen back in her car, a distinctive
[59:50] maroon Audi. Neighbors noticed her parking in
[59:54] her driveway around 2:45 PM. What happened next in the short
[1:00:01] window before Julie's daughter found her is a crucial part of
[1:00:04] the timeline. Evidence inside the house showed
[1:00:08] that after getting home, Julie changed out of her work clothes
[1:00:12] and likely began a few ordinary day-to-day activities.
[1:00:17] She also had laid out some makeup items and nail Polish
[1:00:20] remover on the bed, as if she was in the middle of touching up
[1:00:23] or removing her makeup. These little details suggest
[1:00:27] Julie felt comfortable and safe at home, unaware of any looming
[1:00:31] danger in those moments. Investigators believe Julie may
[1:00:35] have left the house one more time briefly that afternoon.
[1:00:39] One witness, a friend who knew her, was adamant they saw Julie
[1:00:44] driving away from the Town Center back toward home around
[1:00:47] 3:00. It's possible Julie ran a quick
[1:00:50] errand or went on a short trip after 245 before finally
[1:00:55] returning for good. Adding to this, a neighbor saw
[1:01:00] her come back home and have a direct interaction with the key
[1:01:02] suspect in the case around 3:10. If all these accounts are true,
[1:01:07] that left a very narrow window for the perpetrator to strike.
[1:01:12] Sometime between roughly 3:15 PM and 4:15 PM, Julie Paisi was
[1:01:18] attacked and slain in her house. By the time Helen came home from
[1:01:22] school at 4:15, the crime had already occurred and the perp
[1:01:27] had departed from the scene. This implies the predator had at
[1:01:31] most an hour to enter the home and commit his heinous acts.
[1:01:35] All in daylight on a residential St.
[1:01:39] All in all, it was an incredibly risky and precisely timed
[1:01:42] attack, suggesting that this had been planned out well in
[1:01:45] advance. Almost immediately, detectives
[1:01:50] honed in on some strange occurrences reported in the
[1:01:53] neighborhood around the time of the attack.
[1:01:56] Several residents recalled seeing an unfamiliar middle-aged
[1:01:59] man in blue overalls lurking in the area before, during, and
[1:02:04] slightly after Julie's death. This individual, quickly
[1:02:08] nicknamed the Overalls Man by the police and press, would
[1:02:12] become the primary person of interest, though his identity
[1:02:16] remains unknown. One key sighting came from
[1:02:20] Julie's own household on the Friday prior to the attack,
[1:02:27] September 23rd, 1994. Julie had been at home in the
[1:02:32] afternoon, expecting the neighbor's daughter, who she
[1:02:35] usually watched after school. Around 3:30, the doorbell rang
[1:02:40] while Julie was vacuuming upstairs.
[1:02:43] Assuming it was the young girl arriving, Julie shouted for her
[1:02:47] to come in. Instead, to her surprise, a
[1:02:50] scruffy man in blue overalls was standing in her hallway.
[1:02:54] The man claimed to be lost and asked for directions to a nearby
[1:02:58] St. Julie gave him directions and
[1:03:00] the man left, coincidentally passing right by the neighbor's
[1:03:04] daughter as she was just coming up to the house.
[1:03:09] The girl later helped police sketch an artist's impression of
[1:03:12] this stranger. She described him as about 35
[1:03:15] years old, fairly chubby with a big red face, wearing blue
[1:03:20] overalls and brown work boots. Julie had also noticed his
[1:03:24] rough, calloused hands and similarly thought he was around
[1:03:28] his late 30s. This encounter was odd at the
[1:03:31] time, but in hindsight, extremely sinister.
[1:03:35] This mystery man had essentially talked his way into her home
[1:03:39] with an extremely flimsy excuse. The overalls man was spotted
[1:03:46] multiple times around the vicinity that week.
[1:03:49] Witnesses later reported seeing a similarly described Ruddy
[1:03:52] faced man in blue work overalls loitering around the
[1:03:56] neighborhood and even in Grantham Town Over several days.
[1:04:00] He had been approaching people to ask for various directions,
[1:04:04] often to places that were nowhere near each other.
[1:04:08] Notably, he never needed the directions repeated, as if the
[1:04:11] questions weren't his true motive.
[1:04:14] This pattern LED police to suspect he was scoping out the
[1:04:17] area and perhaps probing for potential targets.
[1:04:22] On the morning after the slaying, an individual believed
[1:04:24] to be the same man was actually seen in the area again.
[1:04:30] Around 9:00 AM on September 27th, a witness saw the blue
[1:04:34] overalled stranger walking nearby, appearing to search the
[1:04:38] grass as if looking for something he might have dropped.
[1:04:42] That same day, a shopkeeper in town reported an odd customer
[1:04:47] wearing blue overalls who acted suspiciously and aggressive,
[1:04:51] standing too close and behaving strangely.
[1:04:55] All these sightings suggested that the Overalls man stayed in
[1:04:58] grant them through the crime and perhaps even returned to the
[1:05:01] scene afterward. On the day of the attack itself,
[1:05:07] the Overalls man's presence was also reported.
[1:05:11] In fact, a woman named Mar Thomas later told police she
[1:05:14] witnessed a near accident on Longcliffe Road around 3:10 PM
[1:05:18] that day. Julie Pacey's car nearly hit a
[1:05:21] man in blue overalls who stepped into the street.
[1:05:24] Thomas saw Julie drive past and wave apologetically after
[1:05:28] braking to avoid him, then watch the man turn around and walk
[1:05:31] back in the direction of Julie's house.
[1:05:34] This happened just minutes before Julie likely arrived home
[1:05:38] for the final time. The implication is chilling.
[1:05:42] The overalls man may have deliberately caused a
[1:05:44] confrontation with Julie's car, perhaps to confirm she was the
[1:05:48] driver or to prompt her reaction.
[1:05:51] Then he likely immediately followed her, perhaps
[1:05:54] confronting her over the event he may have orchestrated.
[1:05:58] If he indeed then entered her home moments later, everything
[1:06:02] unfolded quickly. By the time Julie's daughter
[1:06:06] came home about an hour later, the overalls man was gone
[1:06:09] without a trace. Over the course of the early
[1:06:15] investigation, the overalls man remained the chief suspect.
[1:06:19] In fact, no other meaningful suspects would ever emerge in
[1:06:23] this case, despite extensive police resources leaving no
[1:06:27] stone unturned. Police canvassed the area
[1:06:30] extensively, knocking on doors and interviewing construction
[1:06:34] crews. Since there had been a lot of
[1:06:36] building work going on in the neighborhood at the time, the
[1:06:40] initial hope was that this mysterious figure was simply a
[1:06:43] tradesman working nearby. However, those leads went
[1:06:47] nowhere. No local workers matched his
[1:06:50] description. Investigators even considered
[1:06:53] that the blue overalls might have been a kind of disguise
[1:06:56] clothing worn to blend in with real laborers so that neighbors
[1:07:00] wouldn't find his presence unusual.
[1:07:05] With their best lead frustratingly out of reach,
[1:07:08] detectives also pursued other angles.
[1:07:11] As in any case such as this, those closest to the victim were
[1:07:15] scrutinized. Julie Pacey's husband, Andrew
[1:07:19] was questioned and quickly ruled out as a suspect.
[1:07:23] He had a rock solid alibi and by all accounts, the couple's
[1:07:26] marriage was happy. Investigators found no evidence
[1:07:30] of any secret life, affair or grudge in Julie's background
[1:07:35] that would point to an enemy or someone who wanted her harmed.
[1:07:40] Friends and family described Julie as a devoted mother and a
[1:07:44] popular, well liked member of the community.
[1:07:47] It truly appeared that the perpetrator was likely a
[1:07:49] complete stranger. The utter lack of an obvious
[1:07:53] motive puzzled the police. This realization was unsettling.
[1:07:58] It meant the crime was one of pure violence and predation, not
[1:08:02] an act incidental to some other crime.
[1:08:05] The notion of a stranger randomly choosing a suburban
[1:08:08] house in daylight to commit such a crime was almost unheard of,
[1:08:13] suggesting an exceptionally brazen offender.
[1:08:19] In July 1994, a 21 year old woman named Sharon Harper had
[1:08:24] been strangled in Grantham, her body found dumped at a
[1:08:28] construction site on the outskirts of town.
[1:08:31] The Harper slaying was also unsolved, and the coincidence of
[1:08:35] two strangulations of women in one town within a few months
[1:08:39] raised fears of a serial predator.
[1:08:42] The British media quickly jumped upon this idea and dubbed the
[1:08:45] potential perp the Grantham Strangler.
[1:08:49] While the authorities have investigated the possibility,
[1:08:52] the police publicly downplayed any connection between the two
[1:08:55] cases. By 1998, the authorities issued
[1:08:59] a statement that the two attacks were likely separate incidents
[1:09:03] conducted by two different individuals.
[1:09:07] Notably, this was intended to calm fears about a serial
[1:09:10] predator in the area, though I have my doubts that people are
[1:09:14] more comforted by two perpetrators on the loose.
[1:09:17] But hey, maybe that's just me. In 2015, more than 20 years
[1:09:25] after the events that took Julie's life too soon, a
[1:09:28] significant development gave the investigation new life.
[1:09:32] Thanks to major advancements in forensic science, Lincolnshire
[1:09:35] Police were able to retrieve a full DNA profile of the likely
[1:09:39] perp from samples preserved from the 1994 crime scene.
[1:09:45] Detectives had another powerful tool that wasn't available in
[1:09:47] the 90's the National DNA Database.
[1:09:51] They ran the profile hoping for a hit, an identification of
[1:09:56] someone who had their DNA on record, but no match was found.
[1:10:01] The DNA didn't correspond to any known offender in the database.
[1:10:06] Notably, it's unclear if forensic genetic genealogy has
[1:10:10] been applied to this case yet, and I strongly suspect that this
[1:10:14] cutting edge science may lock up the overalls man once and for
[1:10:17] all. In July 2015, a curious incident
[1:10:23] occurred, perhaps showing that no good deed goes unpunished.
[1:10:28] In an unexpected twist, many viewers who saw an old BBC
[1:10:32] reenactment of the event mistakenly identified the actor
[1:10:36] who played Overalls Man as a suspect.
[1:10:39] Several callers phoned to let them know that they knew the guy
[1:10:43] and that his name was Steve Watson.
[1:10:46] They noted that this man happened to match the
[1:10:48] description of the perp exactly and even exhibited some similar
[1:10:52] mannerisms, and that he was basically exactly 20 years
[1:10:56] older. It turns out he was the extra
[1:10:59] who had volunteered to portray the perpetrator in the 90s,
[1:11:02] since he looked a lot like the sketch.
[1:11:05] Lincolnshire Police ended up tracking him down later in 2015,
[1:11:09] questioned him and took his DNA, and he was of course, ultimately
[1:11:14] cleared of any wrongdoing. Over the years, several theories
[1:11:21] have emerged about who ended Julie Pacey and why.
[1:11:25] The most straightforward theory is that the culprit was indeed
[1:11:28] the mysterious Overalls man, an unknown predator who targeted
[1:11:33] Julie for reasons only he knew. The crime's nature, suggests a
[1:11:37] violent essay motivated perp. Nothing was stolen and the
[1:11:42] attacker risked everything for the opportunity to assault and
[1:11:45] end the life of an innocent, unsuspecting mother of two.
[1:11:50] Some profilers have pointed out that attacking someone in their
[1:11:53] home in midday is an extremely high risk crime, which indicates
[1:11:58] a level of confidence and perhaps premeditation.
[1:12:02] In Julie's case, the offender seemed to know that Monday
[1:12:06] afternoon she'd likely be alone. This has led to speculation that
[1:12:11] the Overalls man stalked Julie and studied her routine
[1:12:15] beforehand. The sightings of him lurking
[1:12:18] around, asking directions and roaming the area for days
[1:12:21] support the idea that he was conducting surveillance and
[1:12:24] planning the attack rather than acting on impulse.
[1:12:29] Why Julie was chosen is harder to answer.
[1:12:32] Some have suggested that perhaps the man had seen her around town
[1:12:36] and become fixated, then formulated his sick plan of
[1:12:40] action over time. Others have suggested that his
[1:12:44] initial entry into her house may have been a dry run for what he
[1:12:47] was planning on doing. Another theory considers that
[1:12:52] the perpetrator might have been someone who at least casually
[1:12:55] knew Julie or her family. The precision of choosing the
[1:12:59] one hour window when she was alone could imply inside
[1:13:03] knowledge of her schedule. However, the investigation found
[1:13:08] no evidence pointing to any acquaintance with a hidden
[1:13:10] grudge or obsession. All known friends, neighbors,
[1:13:14] and family were cleared or had alibis.
[1:13:17] Thus, if the Overalls man knew her, it was likely only from
[1:13:20] afar. The fact that no one recognized
[1:13:24] the composite sketch or came forward to say that sounds like
[1:13:27] so and so in a town the size of Grantham hints that the offender
[1:13:31] might have been an outsider. Notably, A lingering question is
[1:13:38] the significance of the missing watch.
[1:13:40] That unusual Luc de Roche watch brought from France was the only
[1:13:45] thing taken from the scene 1 viewpoint is that the perp took
[1:13:50] it as a trophy, a memento of his crime to relive the experience,
[1:13:55] a behavior not uncommon in serial offenders.
[1:13:58] Another possibility is that he removed it simply because it
[1:14:01] might have been touched or stained during the struggle, and
[1:14:05] he wanted to eliminate evidence linking him to the scene.
[1:14:09] If it was a trophy, it could someday be a key piece of
[1:14:12] evidence if found in someone's possession.
[1:14:18] Finally, the theory of a serial offender cannot be completely
[1:14:22] dismissed. The close timing of the Sharon
[1:14:25] Harper and Julie Pacey slayings, both taking place in one town,
[1:14:29] is an eerie coincidence. Both women were strangled within
[1:14:33] three months of each other and both cases remain unsolved.
[1:14:38] The Bible John Case refers to a series of three unsolved
[1:14:42] slayings of young women in Glasgow, Scotland, between 1968
[1:14:47] and 1969. These crimes were all
[1:14:50] potentially carried out by the same seemingly religiously
[1:14:53] obsessed man. The victims were Patricia
[1:14:57] Docker, 25, Jemima MacDonald, 32, and Helen Puddock, 29.
[1:15:04] They were all mothers who had spent evenings at Glasgow's
[1:15:07] popular Burrowland Ballroom nightclub immediately before
[1:15:11] being slain. They were found beaten and
[1:15:13] strangled, and each woman was on her period at the time of death,
[1:15:18] a grim detail that later fueled theories about the perpetrator's
[1:15:22] motive. Patricia Docker, an auxiliary
[1:15:26] nurse, was the first known victim.
[1:15:28] On February 23rd, 1968, her body was found in a Glasgow alleyway
[1:15:35] near her home in the Battlefield district.
[1:15:38] Many of her personal belongings, including her clothing, handbag
[1:15:42] and watch, were missing, suggesting the perp removed them
[1:15:46] from the scene. Initially, Docker's slaying
[1:15:50] received limited leads and police struggled due to a lack
[1:15:53] of witnesses and physical evidence.
[1:15:56] Her parents had thought she went to a different dance hall that
[1:15:59] night and it was over a week before a witness came forward to
[1:16:03] confirm seeing her at the Barrowland Ballroom.
[1:16:07] This fact led to a significant delay in the initial
[1:16:10] investigation and the case went cold.
[1:16:14] In August 1969. A second attack re energized the
[1:16:18] investigation. Jemima McDonald, a 32 year old
[1:16:22] mother of three, spent the evening of Saturday, August
[1:16:25] 16th, 1969 dancing at the Barrowland Ballroom.
[1:16:31] When she failed to return home, her sister grew concerned.
[1:16:34] Tragically, on August 18th, Jemima's body was discovered in
[1:16:39] an abandoned tenement building by her own sister after local
[1:16:44] children spoke of finding a body.
[1:16:47] Unlike Docker, she was found fully clothed, but investigators
[1:16:51] noted striking similarities between the two cases.
[1:16:55] Both women had spent their last evenings at the Barrowland.
[1:16:59] Both were strangled and were on their periods when slain.
[1:17:04] On October 31st 1969, the body of Helen Puddock was found
[1:17:09] behind her Glasgow home, marking the third and final known act of
[1:17:13] this perpetrator. Helen, 29, had also visited the
[1:17:18] Barrowland Ballroom the night before, accompanied by her
[1:17:22] sister Jean Langford. And keep Gene Langford in mind
[1:17:27] because her evidence is going to be extremely important going
[1:17:30] forward in this case. Fanduel's getting you ready for
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[1:18:18] off. They met two men at the dance
[1:18:20] hall who both called themselves John.
[1:18:23] After midnight, the group of four left together.
[1:18:28] One man departed earlier to catch a bus, and Helen and Jean
[1:18:32] shared a taxi with the other John.
[1:18:35] During the taxi ride, this well spoken man revealed oddly
[1:18:39] intense views. He spoke disapprovingly of
[1:18:43] married women attending nightclubs and dance halls and
[1:18:46] referenced the Bible repeatedly, remarking on Old Testament
[1:18:50] punishments for adultery. Jean also remembered that he
[1:18:53] mentioned he didn't drink on New Year's Eve because he preferred
[1:18:56] to spend his time praying. These comments made a strong
[1:19:00] impression on Jean. The man insisted on dropping
[1:19:03] Jean off first even though her home was farther, leaving him
[1:19:08] alone with Helen. It was the last time Jean saw
[1:19:11] her sister alive. The next morning Helen Puddock
[1:19:16] was found in her backyard, partially clothed and brutally
[1:19:19] beaten, with the third slayings obvious parallels to the others.
[1:19:24] A young mother attacked after a Burrow land night out.
[1:19:27] Police were convinced they faced a serial perpetrator.
[1:19:31] The manhunt for Bible John escalated rapidly after Helen
[1:19:35] was discovered. Jean Langford provided A
[1:19:39] detailed description of the suspect, a tall, slim, well
[1:19:42] dressed man in his mid 20s with short reddish blonde hair and
[1:19:46] overlapping front teeth. Detectives widely distributed
[1:19:50] the drawing. Interestingly, they noted that
[1:19:54] his hairstyle was so unfashionable that a local
[1:19:57] Barber may recognize the cut and ended up showing it to almost
[1:20:00] 500 local barbers With no leads. The investigation soon became
[1:20:06] one of the most intensive ever seen in Scotland.
[1:20:09] Over 100 detectives were assigned full time and more than
[1:20:13] 50,000 witness statements were taken.
[1:20:17] Additionally, thousands of potential suspects were
[1:20:20] questioned within the first year.
[1:20:22] Undercover officers even patrolled Glasgow dance halls,
[1:20:26] including the Barrowland, hoping Bible John might return to his
[1:20:29] hunting ground. Despite the massive manhunt and
[1:20:33] numerous tips, no arrest was made.
[1:20:37] By the early 1970's, the trail had gone cold.
[1:20:40] Some officers theorized that the unknown perpetrator might have
[1:20:44] died, been incarcerated for another crime, or that he may
[1:20:49] have been investigated and ruled out as a suspect.
[1:20:53] And trust me, you're going to want to keep that last point in
[1:20:56] the back of your mind. Others thought he may have
[1:20:59] simply left the area, perhaps explaining why the slaying
[1:21:03] stopped as suddenly as they began.
[1:21:06] With no further cases linked to Bible John, the case gradually
[1:21:11] moved into the realm of speculation.
[1:21:14] One early Ave. of suspicion was that the slayings might not have
[1:21:17] been the work of a random predator at all, but rather the
[1:21:21] result of separate domestic crimes.
[1:21:24] In later reviews of the case, some detectives noted that both
[1:21:28] Patricia Docker and Jemima McDonald had troubled marital
[1:21:32] histories. Docker was estranged from her
[1:21:35] husband, Alex, at the time of her death.
[1:21:39] The two were in the process of divorce and Alex was on leave in
[1:21:43] Glasgow that week. He was an early suspect as
[1:21:47] investigators learned he had a potential motive and even
[1:21:51] checked into a hotel with another woman the day after
[1:21:53] Patricia's slaying. This was seen as perhaps a
[1:21:57] celebratory measure taken by Alex Docker, though nothing
[1:22:01] could be proven. Likewise, Jemima McDonald had
[1:22:05] recently separated from her husband and moved back to
[1:22:08] Glasgow. These connections LED some
[1:22:11] within law enforcement to believe that at least two of the
[1:22:14] three Bible John cases might actually have been unrelated
[1:22:18] attacks by people known to the victims.
[1:22:21] Another suspect emerged years after the Bible John Terror John
[1:22:25] Irvine McGinnis, a former soldier and a cousin of a very
[1:22:29] senior Glasgow police official. Mcinnis was never publicly named
[1:22:34] during the original inquiry, but a secret 1995 review of the case
[1:22:40] zeroed in on him as a potential Bible John.
[1:22:44] Detectives in that review suspected that Mcinnis might
[1:22:47] have been the unidentified man in the taxi with Helen Paddock.
[1:22:52] Further, they even suggested that the original lead
[1:22:54] investigator, Joe Beatty, deliberately steered attention
[1:22:58] away from Mcinnis because McInnes cousin was his friend.
[1:23:03] In 1995, police obtained permission to exhume John
[1:23:07] McInnes body. McInnes had reached his end
[1:23:10] voluntarily in 1980. Thankfully, despite the Bible
[1:23:14] John slayings having taken place in the late 1960s, all
[1:23:18] biological evidence was preserved.
[1:23:21] The results were inconclusive and the genetic sample did not
[1:23:24] match nor definitively exclude McInnes.
[1:23:29] Notably, in a 2022 BBC podcast, the detectives who re examined
[1:23:34] the case in 1995 indicated that they would have arrested McInnes
[1:23:39] for the slaying of Helen Puddock if he had been alive.
[1:23:43] Still, notably, and somewhat oddly, despite incredible
[1:23:47] improvements in DNA analysis since the mid 90's, the evidence
[1:23:51] hasn't been retested as yet. That said, the involvement of
[1:23:55] McInnes remains a controversial theory.
[1:23:59] While McGinnis fit many aspects of the profile, such as being
[1:24:03] from a strict religious background, Gene Langford
[1:24:06] couldn't identify him conclusively as the man from the
[1:24:09] CAB. The most famous theory to emerge
[1:24:12] in modern times is the possible link between Bible John and
[1:24:16] convicted serial perpetrator Peter Tobin.
[1:24:20] Tobin, who was from Glasgow, was found guilty of three slayings
[1:24:23] between 1991 and 2006. In 2006, after Tobin's arrest,
[1:24:30] detectives launched Operation Anagram to retrace his life and
[1:24:34] see if he could be tied to other unsolved crimes.
[1:24:37] Several intriguing connections came to light.
[1:24:41] Tobin had lived in Glasgow in the late 1960s, not far from the
[1:24:45] Barrowland. He even married his first wife
[1:24:49] in August 1969 after meeting her at the Barrowland Ballroom
[1:24:54] itself in 1968. Now, to be fair, this isn't
[1:24:59] quite as odd as I initially thought it was, given that the
[1:25:02] venue has a capacity of almost 2000 people.
[1:25:06] Further, he was known for his violent hatred towards women.
[1:25:10] All three of his former wives later described the already
[1:25:13] violent Tobin flying into a rage when they were on their periods.
[1:25:18] Investigators have long suspected the Bible John
[1:25:20] perpetrator targeted his victims during this time of the month.
[1:25:24] This behavioural parallel, along with reports that Tobin was
[1:25:28] deeply religious, supported this theory.
[1:25:32] Further, Tobin was known to use the alias John Semple.
[1:25:36] Jean Langford couldn't remember the last name Bible John gave
[1:25:39] exactly, but believed that it was Templeton.
[1:25:43] Investigators and theorists have noted that Semple sounds
[1:25:46] extremely close to Temple. However, there's no hard
[1:25:49] evidence linking Tobin to the Bible John slayings and there's
[1:25:53] good evidence that he didn't do it.
[1:25:56] Going against the theory is the fact that Tobin moved to
[1:25:59] Brighton, England in early August 1969.
[1:26:02] His ex-wife has vehemently denied he could have slipped
[1:26:05] away to Glasgow to commit the final two horrendous acts.
[1:26:09] Furthermore, Tobin was 5 foot 6 and Jean Langford had remembered
[1:26:14] Bible John being a notably tall individual.
[1:26:18] I think it's also important to note that Tobin and Bible John
[1:26:21] simply really don't bear any meaningful physical resemblance.
[1:26:25] Tobin has dark hair and dark eyes, while Bible John, even
[1:26:29] when seen in low light, was identified as having reddish
[1:26:33] blonde hair and blue eyes. Interestingly, some
[1:26:38] investigators who've worked on the Bible John case have
[1:26:41] commented on the strong internal disagreements in the
[1:26:44] investigation over Tobin being Bible John.
[1:26:48] That said, the anti Tobin camp appears to have won out, with
[1:26:52] the Tobin theory now largely being confined to amateur
[1:26:55] theories rather than official theories.
[1:27:00] Personally, I think John McInnes needs yet another glance.
[1:27:03] With modernized forensic techniques.
[1:27:05] It's important to remember that all three of the women were
[1:27:08] young mothers. The authorities may be able to
[1:27:11] bring significant closure to their now adult children by
[1:27:14] using these modern techniques. On September 20th, 2004, a group
[1:27:22] of walkers in the Yorkshire Dales made a grim discovery
[1:27:26] along a remote stretch of the Pennine Way between Pennygant
[1:27:29] and Horton in Ribblesdale. They spotted the body of a young
[1:27:33] woman lying in a mountain stream.
[1:27:36] No identification was found with the body, and local residents
[1:27:40] and police alike were initially baffled as to who she was and
[1:27:44] how she had died. In the absence of a name, the
[1:27:48] mystery woman came to be known as the Lady of the Hills, a
[1:27:53] reference to the rugged Hill Country where she was found.
[1:27:57] When detectives arrived at the scene in 2004, they noted that
[1:28:01] the victim appeared to be of Southeast Asian origin.
[1:28:05] She was approximately 25 to 35 years old and quite petite, just
[1:28:10] under 5 feet in height. She had shoulder length dark
[1:28:14] hair and was found partially clothed, wearing only a pair of
[1:28:18] Marks and Spencer jeans and socks.
[1:28:21] The rest of her clothing, including whatever top or jacket
[1:28:24] she had on, was missing. A post mortem examination
[1:28:29] indicated that she had been dead for one to three weeks before
[1:28:33] her body was discovered, meaning she likely died in late August
[1:28:37] or early September 2004. The initial autopsy could not
[1:28:41] determine an exact cause of death.
[1:28:44] Importantly, there were no obvious signs of violence, and
[1:28:48] investigators ruled out hypothermia as well.
[1:28:51] With no clear evidence of foul play at that time, police
[1:28:55] considered the possibility of a natural or accidental death.
[1:28:59] For years, the cause of the Lady of the Hills demise remained
[1:29:02] officially unexplained, and the focus of the investigation
[1:29:07] turned toward identifying her rather than investigating a
[1:29:11] slaying. Identifying the young woman
[1:29:15] proved to be a daunting challenge.
[1:29:17] No one matching her description had been reported missing in the
[1:29:20] area or nationally at the time. Police pursued leads in the UK
[1:29:26] and even internationally. Given the indication that she
[1:29:29] was likely from Asia, they released forensic artist
[1:29:33] impressions of her face and appealed to communities,
[1:29:36] including the possibility that she could have been a woman who
[1:29:39] was brought to Britain for marriage.
[1:29:42] In 2016, a cold case review unit of the North Yorkshire Police
[1:29:47] took a fresh look at the unsolved file.
[1:29:51] Advances in forensic science had been made since the early 2000s,
[1:29:55] and detectives hoped modern techniques might shed new light
[1:29:58] on the mystery. Indeed, over the next couple of
[1:30:01] years, investigators managed to piece together a more detailed
[1:30:06] profile of the unknown woman. Scientific tests supported the
[1:30:10] original hunch that she was from Southeast Asia, and other
[1:30:14] evidence began to suggest that her death was not due to
[1:30:17] misadventure. In 2018, the Cold Case team
[1:30:22] announced A startling conclusion.
[1:30:24] The Lady of the Hills had been slain.
[1:30:27] This marked a significant shift in the investigation.
[1:30:31] What had long been treated as an unexplained death was now
[1:30:34] officially something much more sinister.
[1:30:38] Detectives still didn't know the victim's name, but they had a
[1:30:41] strong suspicion about her background.
[1:30:45] They went public with a theory that she was likely a Thai woman
[1:30:48] who had come to the UK as the wife of a British man.
[1:30:52] By early 2019, those appeals finally yielded the breakthrough
[1:30:56] investigators needed. ABBC News article about the cold
[1:31:01] case, including details of the Thai bride theory, was widely
[1:31:06] shared and eventually reached a remote corner of northeast
[1:31:10] Thailand. There, a couple saw the report
[1:31:14] and a drawing of what she may have looked like and immediately
[1:31:17] felt a jolt of recognition. The Thai family contacted North
[1:31:22] Yorkshire Police, telling them that they feared the woman in
[1:31:26] the Yorkshire Dales might be their missing daughter, Lam
[1:31:29] Duan. Lam Duan, they explained, had
[1:31:33] married an Englishman and moved to Britain years earlier.
[1:31:37] She had last been in touch with her Thai relatives in 2004 and
[1:31:42] then suddenly, all communication stopped.
[1:31:46] The worried parents had heard nothing from her in the years
[1:31:48] since and now seeing the news from Yorkshire, they suspected
[1:31:52] the worst. Police moved quickly and DNA
[1:31:56] samples were obtained from Lambduan's mother and father in
[1:31:59] Thailand and compared against the unidentified woman's
[1:32:02] remains. The results confirmed the
[1:32:05] parents intuition the Lady of the Hills was indeed Lambduan
[1:32:10] Armitage. In March 2019, North Yorkshire
[1:32:15] Police publicly announced the identification of Lambduan.
[1:32:19] She was around 36 years old at the time of her death and, as it
[1:32:23] turned out, a married mother of three children living in
[1:32:26] England. With Lambduan's identity
[1:32:29] confirmed, attention turned to her back story.
[1:32:33] Who was Lambduan and how did she come to be in the Yorkshire
[1:32:37] Dales that September day in 2004?
[1:32:40] In June 1990, while in her early 20s, she met a British man named
[1:32:46] David Armitage in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
[1:32:50] David was working as an English teacher at the time, and the two
[1:32:53] fell in love and decided to marry in January 1991.
[1:32:58] They were wed in Bangkok at the British Embassy.
[1:33:01] Not long after, Lambduan left her home country to start a new
[1:33:05] life in the United Kingdom with her husband.
[1:33:08] Lambduan's early years in Britain saw the couple moving
[1:33:12] around to different parts of the country.
[1:33:14] They lived in several places including the city of Portsmouth
[1:33:18] on the South Coast, the town of Rugby in the Midlands and later
[1:33:23] the Preston area in the north of England.
[1:33:27] During this time Lambduan became a mother and by 2004 she had
[1:33:33] three young children and the family was living in northern
[1:33:36] England. Friends and acquaintances
[1:33:39] recalled her as a petite, soft spoken woman.
[1:33:43] According to information later given by her family, Lambduan
[1:33:47] worked for a time in a Thai restaurant in England.
[1:33:51] However, all was not well behind the scenes and Lambduan's
[1:33:55] parents would later reveal that their daughter often phoned home
[1:33:59] in distress. In those calls, she confided
[1:34:03] that her marriage was troubled, and she allegedly told her
[1:34:06] mother that her husband, David, abused her.
[1:34:10] These deeply worrying phone calls continued up until 2004,
[1:34:15] when Lambduan suddenly stopped contacting her family.
[1:34:19] It appears that at some point that year, likely around late
[1:34:23] summer, she vanished from the life she had been living in
[1:34:26] England. No official missing person
[1:34:29] report was filed for Lambduan in the UK at the time.
[1:34:33] In fact, it later emerged that David Armitage never reported
[1:34:36] his wife missing to British authorities when she
[1:34:39] disappeared. This critical omission meant
[1:34:42] that when Lambduan's body was found in the Yorkshire Dales,
[1:34:46] there was no immediate link to any known missing person case.
[1:34:50] Lambduan's parents in Thailand also had no way to report her
[1:34:54] missing in the UK. They only knew that
[1:34:56] communication had ceased. Unaware of her fate, they spent
[1:35:01] years hoping for answers. Identifying Lambduan was a
[1:35:06] massive step forward in the investigation, but it also
[1:35:09] raised pressing questions about how she died.
[1:35:13] With a slaying now confirmed, detectives needed to piece
[1:35:16] together Lambduan's final movements and relationships.
[1:35:21] Naturally, attention focused on the person who knew Lambduan
[1:35:24] best in England, her husband David.
[1:35:28] In 2019, after Lambduan's identity was confirmed, David
[1:35:33] Armitage was located in Thailand, where he had been
[1:35:37] residing for many years. In fact, David had returned to
[1:35:41] Thailand not long after Lambduan's death in 2004.
[1:35:46] He went back to working as an English teacher, taking up a
[1:35:49] post at a university in western Thailand.
[1:35:53] By all accounts, he had built a new life there and he had never
[1:35:56] been questioned by police, either in Thailand or the UK,
[1:36:00] about Lambduan's disappearance during the intervening years.
[1:36:05] As the case heated up following the 2019 breakthrough, North
[1:36:09] Yorkshire Police made it clear that they wanted to speak with
[1:36:12] Lambduan's husband. He was, in effect, the last
[1:36:16] known person to see her alive, and the fact that he didn't
[1:36:19] report her missing raised serious suspicions.
[1:36:24] However, because David Armitage was overseas, British detectives
[1:36:28] couldn't simply bring him in for an interview without cooperation
[1:36:32] from Thai authorities. In public statements, David
[1:36:36] vehemently denied any involvement in Lambduan's death.
[1:36:40] In one interview with the press, he insisted he was innocent and
[1:36:43] claimed he had nothing to do with whatever happened to his
[1:36:47] wife. It was also reported that David
[1:36:50] had told people that Lambduan had, quote, run off back to
[1:36:53] Thailand in 2004, which he implied was why he hadn't
[1:36:58] alerted British police of her absence to investigators.
[1:37:02] However, these explanations only raised further questions
[1:37:07] throughout 2019. In the years that followed,
[1:37:10] North Yorkshire Police worked methodically to build their
[1:37:13] case. They liaised with Thai
[1:37:15] counterparts and navigated the legal processes required for an
[1:37:20] international investigation. Progress was slow, in part due
[1:37:25] to bureaucratic hurdles and later because of the events of
[1:37:29] 2020, putting many plans on hold.
[1:37:32] It wasn't until early 2023 that a significant on the ground step
[1:37:36] was taken. In February 2023, a team of
[1:37:41] North Yorkshire cold case detectives and family liaison
[1:37:45] officers travelled to Thailand to advance the investigation.
[1:37:50] Over the course of about two weeks, they met with Lam Duan's
[1:37:52] parents. They also worked alongside
[1:37:55] Thailand's Department of Special Investigations, conducting
[1:37:58] interviews throughout the country in places connected to
[1:38:01] Lam Duan's past and David's present.
[1:38:05] By late 2024, nearly two decades after Lam Duan's death, the
[1:38:10] investigation was reaching a critical point.
[1:38:14] Behind the scenes, authorities in the UK and Thailand
[1:38:16] coordinated to finally bring David Armitage in for
[1:38:19] questioning, and in January 2025, Thai officials took action
[1:38:26] David Armitage, now 61 years old, was detained by police in
[1:38:30] Thailand in connection with Lambdawan's case.
[1:38:33] Specifically, on January 23rd, 2025, officers in Kanchanaburi
[1:38:38] arrested him on Auk warrant for Lambduan slaying.
[1:38:42] This operation involved Thailand's immigration
[1:38:45] authorities as well as David's visa status was reviewed and
[1:38:49] revoked, rendering his stay in Thailand illegal.
[1:38:53] He was taken into custody in Bangkok while arrangements were
[1:38:57] made to deport him to the United Kingdom.
[1:39:00] According to official reports, once Thai authorities approved
[1:39:04] his deportation, David was put on a flight to London under
[1:39:07] escort. Upon arrival at Heathrow
[1:39:10] Airport, British police were waiting.
[1:39:13] David Armitage was immediately arrested by North Yorkshire
[1:39:16] Police on suspicion of the slaying of Lambduan Armitage in
[1:39:20] 2004. For three days, detectives
[1:39:24] interviewed him extensively about the events of 2004 and the
[1:39:28] circumstances that led to Lambduan's death.
[1:39:32] After those initial interrogations, however, the
[1:39:35] case didn't proceed as one may have expected.
[1:39:39] By February 4th, 2025, N Yorkshire Police announced that
[1:39:44] the suspect had been released on conditional bail while their
[1:39:47] inquiries continued. In other words, David Armitage
[1:39:52] was no longer in custody, but he remained under active
[1:39:55] investigation and subject to certain restrictions while
[1:39:59] detectives gathered further evidence.
[1:40:02] As of 2025, no criminal charges have yet been filed in the death
[1:40:07] of Lambduan, and the true nature of what happened to her remains
[1:40:11] unknown. I hope to have an update on this
[1:40:14] unsolved mystery in a future episode of this series.
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[1:41:08] On the morning of October 29th, 2004, a shocking scene unfolded
[1:41:13] at Wembley Point, a 21 story triangular office tower in
[1:41:18] northwest London. Office workers arriving for the
[1:41:21] day watched in horror as a young woman in the top floor cafeteria
[1:41:26] suddenly climbed onto a table, opened a window and leapt out.
[1:41:31] Her body was recovered shortly after 9:00 AM from the shallow
[1:41:35] River Brent at the base of the tower.
[1:41:39] Police quickly determined that the woman had fallen from the
[1:41:41] 21st floor and that her death was voluntary with no immediate
[1:41:46] evidence of foul play. Yet in the aftermath, 1
[1:41:51] perplexing fact would haunt investigators.
[1:41:54] Nobody knew who this well dressed, tragic jumper was.
[1:41:59] The unidentified woman appeared to be between 20 and 40 years
[1:42:02] old, of either African or Afro Caribbean descent, and stood
[1:42:07] around 5 foot 3. Witnesses described her as
[1:42:10] petite and well groomed, wearing layers of neat clothing on that
[1:42:15] brisk autumn morning. She wore a maroon zip up bomber
[1:42:19] jacket over a crew neck sweater and a thin black turtleneck,
[1:42:23] along with black pants tights and a pair of black Skechers
[1:42:27] shoes on her fingers. She had two distinctive rings,
[1:42:31] one shaped like a cowry shell, and a simple silver watch on her
[1:42:35] wrist. Investigators found no
[1:42:38] identification on the woman's body, no wallet, no phone, no
[1:42:44] cards or keys. This absence of ID combined with
[1:42:49] the traumatic manner of death posed an immediate challenge.
[1:42:54] Metropolitan Police officers treated the case as a non
[1:42:57] suspicious death, which unfortunately meant fewer
[1:43:01] resources were devoted to uncovering her identity.
[1:43:05] Officers recorded the basics, documenting the woman's
[1:43:08] description, her fingerprints and DNA in hopes she would
[1:43:12] perhaps be easy to identify. Early on, they also checked
[1:43:17] missing persons reports for any one of her description.
[1:43:20] But in 2004, with limited DNA technology and no immediate
[1:43:25] matches in police databases, those efforts yielded nothing
[1:43:29] conclusive. With no obvious signs of a
[1:43:32] crime, the investigation stalled quickly.
[1:43:37] The mystery woman's few possessions provided tantalizing
[1:43:40] clues. But also deep in the puzzle on
[1:43:44] the table in the 21st Floor Cafe where she had sat, she left an
[1:43:48] assortment of items, some usual but one highly unusual.
[1:43:53] Those items were £5 in cash, an empty 10 pack of Marlboros, a
[1:43:59] black plastic bag, a Guardian newspaper and most strikingly,
[1:44:05] A2 foot by 1 foot oil painting. If you're just listening, I put
[1:44:10] the painting up on the screen now and it looks a bit unusual
[1:44:14] and even slightly creepy to my eyes.
[1:44:18] That said, I'm not sure if that's because I knew the
[1:44:20] context of when and where it was found prior to seeing it, but
[1:44:24] I'll come back to this painting in a moment.
[1:44:27] Not a single item on the table bore her name or any personal
[1:44:30] detail. The seven day bus pass found
[1:44:33] among her things proved to be one of the most significant
[1:44:37] pieces of evidence. It had been issued just three
[1:44:40] days earlier on Tuesday, October 26th, 2004 at 7 O 7:00 AM from a
[1:44:47] ticket vendor on Seven Sisters Road in North London.
[1:44:51] This suggested she had travelled roughly 10 miles across the
[1:44:55] city, heading from the Seven Sisters area to Wembley,
[1:44:59] possibly as part of a regular route she took.
[1:45:03] The past still had two days remaining on it, potentially
[1:45:06] implying she originally intended to continue using it through the
[1:45:09] end of that week. The oil painting left at her
[1:45:13] cafe table was perhaps the strangest clue of all.
[1:45:17] Described as a mostly abstract scene with bold tribal style
[1:45:21] patterns, the artwork depicts what looked like dancing or
[1:45:24] falling figures and a large, blank white faceless shape in
[1:45:28] the center. Hauntingly, it's as if the
[1:45:32] painting itself symbolizes an unknown identity.
[1:45:36] Police circulated images of the distinctive painting, hoping
[1:45:40] someone might recognize it. Some speculated it was created
[1:45:44] by the woman herself or came from a local artist, but its
[1:45:48] origin remains unknown. The presence of the painting led
[1:45:52] to much speculation. Why would someone intent on
[1:45:56] ending herself carry a canvas with her to an office tower?
[1:46:00] One theory was that Wembley Point occasionally hosted art
[1:46:03] exhibitions, so maybe she was an artist familiar with the venue.
[1:46:09] This possibility, while unconfirmed, could explain how
[1:46:12] she knew there was a cafe on the top floor, open to the public.
[1:46:17] Indeed, Co workers in the building noted that the 21st
[1:46:21] floor restaurant wasn't widely advertised outside, yet the
[1:46:25] woman found her way there with apparent ease.
[1:46:28] Witness accounts from that morning added a few more details
[1:46:31] about the woman's final moments. Two people who rode the elevator
[1:46:36] with her up to the 21st floor recalled that she looked
[1:46:39] intensely distressed. 1 even tried to lighten the mood by
[1:46:44] saying something like Cheer up, love.
[1:46:47] It might never happen as they ascended, but the woman remained
[1:46:52] silent and miserable. In the cafe, she bought a coffee
[1:46:57] and smoked a cigarette quietly by a window, leafing through
[1:47:00] that day's Guardian newspaper. Nothing about her behavior
[1:47:05] overtly drew alarm until the very moment she jumped.
[1:47:10] The suddenness of her act left bystanders in shock.
[1:47:14] One cafe patron only feet away later described seeing the
[1:47:18] window left a jar and the woman simply gone in an instant.
[1:47:22] Those who witnessed the tragedy did not recognize the woman as a
[1:47:26] colleague or friend. In the hours and days following
[1:47:30] the death, no immediate leads emerged.
[1:47:34] No missing person report matching her description was
[1:47:37] filed either before or after October 29th, 2004.
[1:47:43] This LED people to start asking hard questions about what had
[1:47:46] happened. How could a woman seemingly in
[1:47:49] her 20s or 30s, with a job as implied by her attire and bus
[1:47:54] pass and presumably acquaintances, vanish from life
[1:47:58] without anyone reporting her missing?
[1:48:01] The lack of an ID and the absence of obvious family or
[1:48:04] friends coming forward meant the case quickly went cold.
[1:48:09] After a coroner's inquest confirmed the cause of death as
[1:48:12] self-inflicted by jumping, the unknown woman was eventually
[1:48:16] laid to rest with only a number marking her grave.
[1:48:21] For over a decade, the Wembley Point woman case saw little
[1:48:25] public progress. However, the mystery was never
[1:48:28] completely forgotten. Occasional media stories
[1:48:32] appeared about unidentified people and this young woman's
[1:48:35] death in a busy London office tower stood out as particularly
[1:48:39] baffling. Around 2018, a team of volunteer
[1:48:44] investigators and a charity called Locate International took
[1:48:47] a special interest in the case. These volunteers, including
[1:48:51] former police, researchers and concerned citizens, began re
[1:48:56] examining the evidence with fresh eyes.
[1:48:59] They combed through records, scoured the Internet for any
[1:49:02] mention of a missing person fitting the woman's profile, and
[1:49:06] even tracked down former Wembley Point workers to interview.
[1:49:10] More significant developments finally began to emerge in the
[1:49:13] early twenty 20s. In July 2021, an appeal was
[1:49:18] launched focusing on the mysterious oil painting Locate
[1:49:23] International, and police publicized the painting's image
[1:49:26] to art communities, hoping an artist or gallery might
[1:49:29] recognize its style. Then in October 2022, around the
[1:49:35] 18th anniversary of the death, London media picked up the story
[1:49:39] once again. A new lifelike composite image
[1:49:43] of the Wembley Point woman was released to the public, showing
[1:49:46] a young black woman with short dark hair and a calm expression.
[1:49:50] In late 2024, two decades after the woman's death, investigators
[1:49:56] revealed new information that had surfaced, accompanied by
[1:49:59] another public appeal. According to Locate
[1:50:03] International, a witness came forward to report a crucial
[1:50:06] conversation. This man claimed that about two
[1:50:09] weeks before the incident, he had met a woman matching the
[1:50:13] Wembley Point woman's description near the office
[1:50:15] building and chatted with her. She appeared deeply upset and
[1:50:20] confided that she was distraught over her boyfriend's health
[1:50:23] problems, implying she was caring for a partner who was
[1:50:26] seriously ill. If true, it indicates the woman
[1:50:30] had a personal relationship and perhaps a caregiver role,
[1:50:34] suggesting there may be a boyfriend or his family out
[1:50:39] there who knew her. Authorities have appealed for
[1:50:42] that unknown boyfriend or anyone who might recall a friend's I'll
[1:50:46] partner around 2004 to step forward.
[1:50:52] Another line of speculation focuses on the woman's
[1:50:54] background and community ties. Public tips have repeatedly
[1:50:58] suggested she might have been connected to community or arts
[1:51:02] centers around the Seven Sisters neighborhood. 1 Tip mentioned
[1:51:06] the Chestnuts Community Center, which in the early 2000s hosted
[1:51:10] programs for West African immigrants and asylum seekers.
[1:51:15] The idea, which remains unverified, is that she could
[1:51:19] have been an asylum seeker from West Africa who had relatively
[1:51:23] few contacts in London. This theory might also account
[1:51:27] for why loved ones abroad wouldn't know where to begin
[1:51:31] looking if she went missing in the UK.
[1:51:34] Similarly, the cowry shell ring she wore is a style often
[1:51:37] associated with femininity and fertility in some African
[1:51:40] cultures. This has led to speculation that
[1:51:45] she may have faced personal challenges like a longing for
[1:51:48] children, or that she may have lost a child.
[1:51:53] At the end of the day, though, everything with this unknown
[1:51:57] woman remains almost entirely speculative.
[1:52:01] Given the distinct painting she was found with, I suspect the
[1:52:05] best chance of identifying her is if someone comes forward who
[1:52:10] recognizes the painting. This may be the one break in the
[1:52:14] case required for all the other evidence to fall into place and
[1:52:18] for the case to be solved. Alternatively, there's also the
[1:52:23] possibility of familial DNA technology being used to connect
[1:52:27] her to her relatives. However, if she was a W African
[1:52:31] asylum seeker with no family in the UK, this vastly reduces the
[1:52:36] chances of this being an effective investigative method
[1:52:38] at present.

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