MajorLang
Former Member
Claudia Lawrence
Claudia Lawrence investigation
http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/13147
It is now six years since Claudia Lawrence disappeared without trace in York. Despite the intensive efforts of the police, the resolve of her heart-broken family and saturated media coverage, her sudden disappearance remains a mystery.
North Yorkshire Police's commitment and determination to solve the case and bring closure for Claudia's loved-ones, is undiminished by the passage of time.
Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, head of the force's enhanced Major Crime Unit, is leading a comprehensive review of the original investigation.
This has been supported by national experts from other forces and agencies, including forensic specialists who recently completed a re-examination of Claudia's home on Heworth Road in York.
As a result of this work, Det Supt Malyn and his team have identified new lines of enquiry and fresh public appeals to pursue, as well as renewed appeals on previous key items of interest to the investigation.
Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Mason, Head of Crime for North Yorkshire Police, said: "The decision to focus and prioritise the efforts of the enhanced Major Crime Unit on this case and undertake a comprehensive review of the original investigation, is producing progressive results which we expect to continue over time."
Use our interactive map to explore these lines of enquiry and CCTV footage from the investigation. Zoom in and click the hotspots for more information:
Interactive map - Google My Maps
If you have any information that could assist the investigation, please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and pass details to the Force Control Room. Please quote "Claudia Lawrence" when passing on details.
The independent charity Crimestoppers has also lent its support by offering a £10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and charge. Callers can remain anonymous.
Please pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, quoting "Claudia Lawrence, North Yorkshire Police". Alternatively, go to www.crimestoppers-uk.org and fill in an Anonymous Online Form.
Timeline: http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/13193
Thread #1
I have put together a timeline with a bit more information and also to miss out any of the "Red Herrings" (unintentional of course) Examples being of where an appeal has been made for a sighting but then ruled out by police or even a suspect or suspects ruled out.
It is some of these that have frustrated me and i am sure others when trying to make sense of what could have happened.
I Start prior to CL disappearance:
Tuesday March 10th or Friday March 13th 2010
2 men seen at her door-One has a sandy Mac and one is an Asian gentleman, younger-Could he be man in Hoody referred to later, a younger dress style
(Does anyone know what time??)
During same week as above:
14:30
Man with Sandy coloured Mac seen on phone, he has a backpack and approaching her house, CL comes to door, she is also on phone and is surprised to see him and lets him in. Before doing so she looks up and down the road?? Day is unknown but it was at a time that she would normally be at work and so this suggests it was her day off or she was on a different shift.
(Had police checked her work rota to establish day off and so establish day or do we know of day of week??)
Saturday 14th March
Racing day and many including CL at Nags head-CL stayed all day. Did she meet someone new here on that day. Betting shop across road from Nags Head-Are there any connections here?
This was last time CL was seen at Nags Head.
Tuesday March 18th 2010
05:57
CCTV verifies that CL arrives at work
During her shift she tells a work colleague that she has been out all night drinking in the city centre until 4 am and just got back home at 5am.
She advised colleague that she had been out with a new boyfriend.
Police have appealed to hear from new boyfriend but no one has come forward.
If she returned home then, that would have given her 34 minutes to get to work (A walk from home to Work is 1.7 miles and takes 34 minutes) This would entail her setting off at 05:23 to arrive at 05:57.
Hardly time for her to do much more than brush her teeth and grab her bag.
If she didn't return home, someone may have given her a lift to work or she ay have walked from a different direction?
14:31 pm
CL leaves work-Verified by CCTV cameras.
On her walk home she is seen at parade of shops / post box near 204 Melrosegate-She is seen talking on her phone to someone as she stops to post a letter in the post box-Verified by CCTV cameras. This location is the half way point between work and home.
Later her mother mentions that they had a call during the time frame of approx. 14:05 to 14:40 pm.
14:48
It was a walk to the post office of 0.8 miles from work and would take 17 minutes and so she would arrive to post letter at approx 14.48.
If her Mother was accurate with her time of conversation, she was probably talking to someone else as seen when posting the letter-who?
14:51
CL was spotted walking home and given a lift by a female work colleague, Jo.
This would have to be after posting the letter and by car the time to cover the remaining distance of 0.9 miles would be Approx. 3-4 minutes.
Jo dropped her off outside her home, again at Approx 14:51 (Based upon above time and distance assumptions).
14:51 to 15:05
CL then goes back out at an unreported time and Returns home at a reported time of 15:05 when seen by childminder, Linda Chapman with child in pram at this time. CL was returning back home and they exchanged pleasantries as she passed by the Nags Head, her local pub.
No one knows where she went for such a short period of time (10 minutes maximum). What is known as whilst she would have had time to visit the parade of shops at Heworth Village nearby, she was not picked up on CCTV camera there. However given that she may have visited and met someone (possibly to arrange something)
She could only have walked 3-4 minutes away from her home-Who did she know who lived within or worked within this radius...???
20:10
Call with her Father, followed by a call with her Mother. Whilst she had TV on in background and her Mother quotes that they were watching the same programme during call.
CL could have been at home or in someone else's house??
20:23
Outgoing text from CL to her friend Jen King-In it Jen advises that CL describes how busy she will be for next few weeks due to 12 early shifts and wont have much of a social life.
No one can be sure that CL sent the text and it could have been sent by anyone trying to throw Jen off the scent-Possibly whoever abducted her??
21:02
White Astra van seen parked for at least 30 minutes outside of Dave (Lead staff member at Nags Head) and Tinas house just along from Nags Head and on opposite side of road. If it was his car or a visitor he would have declared this and so unlikely.
21:12
Incoming text message from Male friend in Cyprus. CL never replies.
Wednesday 19th March 2010
05:25
A light coloured Ford car was seen braking on opposite side of road of CL house as it approaches her house-Did they stop to give a lift or were they just checking iff she was at home?? Was this someone who normally and innocently gave her a lift?
05:32
A different silver coloured car seen heading away from University at 05:32-Caught on camera at same pint where CL posted letter the previous day-Moving with headlights on.
This same silver car was seen again around the same time a week later on 25th March-Both Days being Wednesdays. Was this a shift worker heading for their 06:00 shift and on way to City Centre or a Shift worker finishing their shift. Were they a part time worker as Wednesday was the constant day? CCTV shows a still shot.
05:35
Someone resembling CL and a male in combat trousers and a hoody, Left handed smoker seen both talking outside of Electricity Sub Station on Melrosegate Bridge. This would appear to be accurate because at that time it would then take her another 21 minutes to cover by foot the next 1.1 miles to work.
If CL had walked to work that day, why was she not picked up by the same CCTV camera that picked her up posting the letter the afternoon before?
This suggests that she did NOT walk to work on this day??
06:00
CL does not report for work as is normal.
06:05
Again a couple but this time seen arguing on bank of grass on University Road. Maroon hatch back car is on opposite side of road and passenger door is open. Whilst CL would now be late for work. The location is the point that someone giving her a lift to work would drop her off so that she could walk the remaining distance to work using the University footpaths that start here.
Description of person in Hoody appears to be very similar as person seen talking to her at 5:35 that same morning?
06:45 to 06:55
Someone then seen outside CL house. Sandy Mac again ??
10:00
CL Manager calls her mobile and leaves a message
12:10
Phone powers down-A explicit power down meaning phone was actually turned off by someone rather than it running out of battery, being submerged or smashed-I don’t know i this is the case. Perhaps a Techy can comment on this?
That evening
CL does not turn up for a Pre-Arranged evening with Suzy Cooper. Suzy sends her a text and gets no reply.
Thursday 20th March 2010
SuzyCooper is concerned and rings CL’s Father, Peter. He calls CL workplace and when they advise she did not report for work on 19th he goes with Suzy to check CL house at 46 and no one there.
14:00
Peter Lawrence reports CL missing to Police.
Following a police investigation and a police review that includes the setting up of a new squad and a new senior officer being appointed.
A period of 5 years passes and many suspects are interviewed and released and thousands of statements along with many searches have taken place.
2015
20th April 2015
4 men arrested, their houses searched and released on bail-They all knew Claudia:
Alistair Cooper (59) Was he Suzy Coopers Brother? Allegedly also sighted wearing Tan Mid Length Jacket-Sandy Mac?
His son worked as a bar man at Nags Head when not at University, during breaks.
Peter Ruane (55) Builders and Car Repair business in Malton.
Was he and is he still in relationship with Jen King?
Shane Ruane (52) Brother to Pete Ruane.
David Robinson (52)-Window Installation Business?
Stated that he was taken out of context when Police interviewed him about a report that he had said he killed CL.
CPS are asked to review case and advise on strength of evidence
In no way am I suggesting any guilt here. I am just trying to link together who was arrested and who they were in close relationships with.
2016
8th March 2016
CPS decide that there is insufficient evidence to charge any of the 4 men.
Police understandably have a very frustrating period as of course they want to solve the case and quote that due to friends and acquaintances being economic with the truth or silent, they are unable to progress things further.
Some notes about Claudia Lawrence
A hard working person with a wide circle of friends as well as a smaller close group of people. Much of her socialising but not all, is centred around the Nags Head public house.
What we have learnt so far is that she does not spend every night there and varies between nights out in York City centre, with Jen and Suzy. More of a girly night out.
The Complex and complicated life that she is labelled with with, probably comes from perhaps one or two relationships that she had with married men. We have heard though that the marriage was already “on the rocks” and so CL was certainly not a marriage breaker.
There does appear to be a side of her that she didn’t want even her close male and female friends aware of and so she did meet some men at the Acomb, public house-Now the “Clocktower” Many people do this and it is a way of keeping your life private and away from unnecessary gossip. But was this to be her ultimate downfall?
The media appear too have been guilty of latching onto some gossip from a few and portray Claudia as a “Man eater” which is very unfair. However sensational journalism sells news papers and catches the TV viewers attention.
Missing Items
A backpack, likely to be containing:
Chef Whites for work
Curling Tongs
House keys?
There was a sighting of a backpack in the grounds of the university, just off footpath that she would have taken to work. Whilst it was reported, it was never found.
In summary
I have, in the short but concentrated time of looking at this case, changed my mind on what happened and could change it again based upon any updates or corrections from this forums members.
However, I reached a point where I became tired of reading out of date media and police reports that are still posted on the Wider Web.
It is forums like this one that have corrected many of the out dated communications and in doing so I am sure will help to find out what really happened to Claudia-I really hope that they do.
Given that Claudia stayed out all night on the evening / morning of 17th /18th with a “new boyfriend” I do not believe that she stayed at home on the evening of 18th.
The key reason that I have come to this conclusion is strangely enough, the missing hair tongs and her phone charger, suggesting an overnight stay somewhere else.
They were probably in her back pack and she took these with her spontaneously that night (18th) to wherever she was going. Perhaps a second or further date with the previous nights boyfriend?
It is stated many times that Claudia preferred the company of men older than herself but on this occasion I think the boyfriend was younger, possibly related to one of her close group of friends and hence the “Wall of silence” the police have been met with.
She had a pre-arranged meet with Suzy on the evening of 19th. She would have wanted to come home from work first, get ready and do the girly things like hair Etc. before going out.
Had she stayed in on the evening of 18th, the curling tongs would have been in her house, they were not.
Her phone
The Samsung model of Phone had a battery life of 2-3 days dependent upon usage. Claudia was a prolific texter and so 2 Days is a more realistic battery life for her.
She would not normally take the charger with her to work as she would use the phone less during this time.
However if she was planning to be away from home for longer she probably would take it with her-Where was the Phone Charger?
Her Keys
Keys would have allowed someone opportunity to enter her house and cover things up.
The Vehicles
CL had a Black Vauxhall Corsa that was being repaired before and during her dissapearance
18th March
The white Astra Van seen parked up in her road at 21:02
19th March
The Car that braked outside her house at 05:25-A light coloured Ford car.
A Silver car seen on same morning at 05:32 heading away from University in direction of CL house on road she normally walked along to work.
The Maroon hatchback with passenger door open near Uni where a couple were seen arguing at 6:05
Finally
It is highly likely that she stayed overnight on a second occasion, was given a lift to work when a row broke out.
The rest the police probably know more about but due to Wall of Silence cannot progress any further.
I do hope that in some way we can help them and her family…..
