Fresh lead in Lamplugh case

Suzy Lamplugh disappeared after going to meet a client

Police say they have made a significant discovery in the inquiry into the murder of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh.

The Suzy Lamplugh case

28 July, 1986 Suzy Lamplugh reported missing

December 1986 Suzy Lamplugh Trust established

July 1998 Police investigating new lead

May 2000 New witness emerges

They have seized a car which may have been used in her abduction, a mystery that has gone unsolved for 14 years.

The Mail on Sunday reported that the car was recovered from a used-car dealership in north London, where it had been parked for several years.

A police spokesman said: "A further witness has come forward with new information which officers view as significant.

"The witness told police that he lent a motor vehicle to one of the key suspects at the time that Suzy Lamplugh disappeared. This car has been traced and is currently being forensically examined."

Suzy Lamplugh's parents set up a trust to promote personal safety

Earlier this month police had 25 calls from the public after reopening the inquiry into her death.

Detectives said they hoped an advance in scientific techniques, including DNA testing, would give fresh hope to the inquiry.

Miss Lamplugh's mother later said that the family had not expected a new witness to come forward 14 years after her daughter's disappearance.

"We are astounded because we hadn't expected someone to come forward after such a long time with such good information," she said.

"There are new DNA techniques now which will help police. If this evidence had been found earlier maybe we wouldn't have been able to find out whether it was significant or not."

'Very pleased'

She added that the family were trying not to raise their hopes too high in case the car did not yield any new clues.

"We are very pleased with the find but we are trying not to be too pleased or excited," she said.

"But it does look like a very significant move and we are hopeful."

Miss Lamplugh, 25, went missing in July 1986 after going to show a house in south west London to a client calling himself Mr Kipper.

Police have always assumed she was murdered, but no evidence of the killing was found and her body has never been recovered.