Murder of Shirley Anne Banks from Clifton 1987
29-year-old Shirley Banks disappeared from a Bristol multi-storey carpark during the early evening of Thursday 8 October 1987. She had been shopping in Debenhams and a sales receipt for a dress placed her in the store at 19.26 hrs. With her went her orange-coloured Mini, index number HWL 507N, and she was not seen alive again. At about 2.15 p.m. the following day, an elderly couple, Mr and Mrs Hart, were driving along Bridge Road near the Clifton Suspension Bridge, when they noticed a pall of smoke coming from Leigh Woods, so they slowed down to investigate. Suddenly a man's voice shouted, 'Come on, come on'. The tone expressed annoyance and urgency. It sounded as if a fight were taking place in the thickly wooded copse.
There were no people to be seen - only the thumping of heavy blows as if someone was hitting a punch-bag. Suddenly, the dark-clad figure of a man was highlighted by a shaft of sunlight breaking through the canopy of trees. He appeared to be holding something with one hand and punching it with the other. The object of this assault screeched in protest, leaving no doubt that the victim was human. The man shouted several times, 'I told you what I would do,' and continued to punch and kick his victim who was now on the damp ground screaming in terror.
After that, apart from a dreadful choking sound, there was an ominous silence. Amelia told her husband she thought something terrible was going on and she was frightened. The screaming was now over and the man who was crouched down became aware that he was being observed and looked over his shoulder. Amelia Hart opened the car window and shouted to him, asking what he was doing. The man moved out of sight but then suddenly loomed up on the pavement beside the car. Raising his hands, he yelled 'Cow!' at her. Mrs Hart saw a crazed look on his face and he appeared to be breathing heavily from his exertions.
She quickly wound up the window and shouted to her husband to drive off, and although they were unaware of the fact, they had just witnessed the murder of Shirley Banks. Her body was found in the Quantock Hills in Somerset on 3 April 1988. At the autopsy, it was determined that Shirley Banks had been bludgeoned to death, and her skull smashed like an eggshell. John Cannan was caught on 29th October 1987 when he tried to rob a petrol station. When he was arrested for it, the police found the tax disc for Shirley's car in his glove compartment.
Suzie Lamplugh went missing on 28th July 1986 in Fulham, London, after meeting 'Mr Kipper' in her role as an estate agent. Cannan, until three days before, had been serving a sentence at Wormwood Scrubs prison, less than three miles from where Suzie was last seen.Her body has never been found. Sandra Court was found strangled on 3rd May 1986 in Bournemeouth. On this day, it is known that Cannan had made a trip to Bournemouth with a friend. Suzy Lamplugh - local man still police suspect
A former Congresbury car salesman has been revealed as the main suspect in the murder investigation into estate agent Suzy Lamplugh. The Metropolitan Police confirmed this week that John Cannan, a former car salesman at Holders Garage, is the key suspect for her murder. Miss Lamplugh, aged 25, vanished in 1986 as she went to show a man a house in London. Bristol born Cannan, 47, is currently serving life for the rape and murder of newlywed Shirley Banks in Bristol in 1987. He has been questioned twice in the Lamplugh case but Crown Prosecutors decided there was too little evidence to bring charges.
Now detectives have launched a renewed appeal for information. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bill Griffiths said: 'John Cannan has been interviewed twice by police in connection with Suzy's murder since his arrest. 'He has not been eliminated from our inquiries as a suspect. 'As this investigation has progressed more and more questions about his involvement remain unanswered. 'We know that there are still people who have not come forward to us - maybe they think what they saw was unconnected or maybe they were trying to protect someone they cared about. It is never too late to speak to us.' Cannan, who worked at Holders Garage as a salesman in 1986, has previously denied any involvement in Suzy's disappearance.
It is understood Cannan only worked at Holders for a few months before moving on to set up his own sales business. Cannan, 37, a Bristol car dealer, has always protested his innocence of the Lamplugh murder, and senior police officers have stressed their belief that there was no concrete evidence linking him with Suzy. 'Four years after the unanimous guilty verdict of the jury, John Cannan continues to deny any responsibility for the series of crimes for which he was convicted -- the murder of Shirley Banks from Bristol and the rape and attempted abduction of two other women.
Sentencing Cannan, Mr Justice Drake expressed his horror of the crimes by saying Cannan should be jailed for the rest of his natural life. In doing so, the judge removed any possibility that Cannan would make a post-conviction admission to hasten his release or improve his conditions in prison.
Among the convictions Cannan denies is the rape of a woman in Reading for which there was overwhelming DNA evidence.'
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