By April 1989, John Cannan had been convicted of kidnapping and murdering Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks, raping another woman, and attempting to abduct a third at gunpoint — crimes that led one psychiatrist to conclude he could “dispose of a human life with as much emotion as you and I throw away a toffee wrapper.” But was Cannan also responsible for the 1986 disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, missing three years before his trial? In Part 2, forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes examines the number plate that almost gave Cannan away, revisits a 2000 polic...
By April 1989, John Cannan had been convicted of kidnapping and murdering Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks, raping another woman, and attempting to abduct a third at gunpoint — crimes that led one psychiatrist to conclude he could “dispose of a human life with as much emotion as you and I throw away a toffee wrapper.” But was Cannan also responsible for the 1986 disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, missing three years before his trial? In Part 2, forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes examines the number plate that almost gave Cannan away, revisits a 2000 police re-interview in which his meticulous alibi collapses hour by hour, and asks why — despite compelling circumstantial evidence — he was never charged before his death in prison in November 2024.
Key psychological themes
This episode explores: performative charm masking predatory violence • narcissistic slips of the tongue • fabricated alibis unravelling under interrogation • third-person distancing as a psychological defence • the limits of circumstantial evidence • grief, campaigning and unfinished justice
Contributors featured in this episode
Kerry Daynes — Forensic psychologist, presenter, and author of Dark Side of the Mind and What Lies Buried.
Rod Chaytor — Veteran crime correspondent (Daily Mirror) who covered the Cannan trial and the Lamplugh case.
Michael Barley — Former Detective Sergeant, Metropolitan Police; interviewed Cannan after his arrest and again during the 2000 review.
Jim Dickie — Former Detective Superintendent, Metropolitan Police; led the 2000 review into Suzy Lamplugh’s disappearance.
What you'll learn in this episode
How John Cannan’s 1989 trial for the murder of Shirley Banks and other offences ended in three life sentences, and what the judge’s sentencing remarks revealed about his psychology
Why the number plate on Shirley Banks’s car, found in Cannan’s garage — SLP 386 S — became one of the case’s most chilling details
What happened when Detective Sergeant Mike Barley asked Cannan, ‘Is that man you, John?’ — and why the answer still divides investigators
How Cannan’s detailed alibi for the weekend Suzy disappeared — the Euston train, a cinema date, lunch with his mother — fell apart inside a recorded 2000 police interview
Why the CPS found insufficient evidence to charge Cannan, and what happened when he died in prison in November 2024
Relevant links and further reading
Kerry Daynes — Dark Side of the Mind (Endeavour, 2019)
Kerry Daynes — What Lies Buried (Endeavour, 2021)
Faking It: Tears of a Crime (Warner Bros. Discovery) — some interviews in this episode were originally featured in the series. Watch on discoveryplus.com
suzylamplugh.org — The Suzy Lamplugh Trust: Suzy’s story and the Trust’s safety campaigning
Support for families of missing or murdered people — Missing People (UK) • Victim Support
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Credits
Presented by Kerry Daynes
Produced by Shearwater Media
Executive producers: Jeff Anderson and Steve Anderson
Editor: Jeanette Smedley
Music: Rob Warner
Content note
This episode contains descriptions of kidnap, rape and murder, and discussion of a presumed murder victim whose body has never been found. Listener discretion is advised. If you have been affected by the issues raised, support is available from Victim Support (0808 168 9111) and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust (020 7091 0014).
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