On 28 July 1986, 25-year-old estate agent Suzy Lamplugh left her Fulham office for an appointment with a prospective client recorded in her diary as “Mr Kipper”. She never returned.
That evening, Metropolitan Police detective Mike Barley was called at home. The duty detective inspector had heard the circumstances and told him: “I don’t like the sound of it. I think you’d better come in.”
In Part 1 of this three-part Crime Time Inc. special, Mike gives Tom Wood a first-hand account of the opening stages of one of Britain’s most enduring missing-person investigations.
Mike recalls the discovery of Suzy’s white Ford Fiesta and the details that immediately concerned detectives: the unlocked driver’s door, the handbrake off, the driver’s seat pushed back and the car left awkwardly positioned.
He explains the search for witnesses, the artist’s impression and photo-fit, the huge national media response and the flood of information into the incident room. At its height, almost 100 officers were involved. With no modern computerised major-incident system, investigators relied on a manual card index that eventually contained more than 26,000 cards.
Mike also describes the painful moment police told Suzy’s parents, Paul and Diana Lamplugh, that they believed their daughter was dead — while still being unable to tell them either “we’ve got him” or “we’ve found her”.
As months passed, resources dwindled until only four officers remained on the inquiry.
After Mike’s account, Simon McLean and Tom Wood review the investigation from their own policing experience. Tom returns in particular to the condition and position of Suzy’s car, reaching a stark conclusion: “The car was dumped, not parked.”
This is Season 7, Episode 10 and Part 1 of a three-part Crime Time Inc. interview with former Metropolitan Police detective Mike Barley.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Cold Open: “I Think You’d Better Come In”
00:45 Simon and Tom Introduce the Case
02:52 Mike Barley Joins Crime Time Inc.
05:24 “Mr Kipper” and Suzy’s Final Appointment
09:11 Suzy’s Car Is Found
10:36 Police Treat the Case at Its Most Serious
15:54 Witness Sighting and Artist’s Impression
16:52 The Case Explodes in the National Press
18:23 From Artist’s Impression to Photo-Fit
20:58 Telling Suzy’s Parents Police Believe She Is Dead
22:22 The 26,000-Card Incident Room
25:28 Nearly 100 Officers — Then the Team Shrinks
26:12 The National Missing Person Helpline
28:11 Simon and Tom Review the Investigation
36:07 “The Car Was Dumped, Not Parked”
37:33 Next Time on Crime Time Inc.
Mike Barley & Russell Barnes — Suzy Lamplugh: The Inside Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Missing Person Investigation
UK: Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GX81YK1N
Outside the UK: Search Amazon in your local country for ASIN B0GX81YK1N
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