Show Notes
Forty years after the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh, former Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Michael Barley returns to True Criminals to revisit one of Britain's most haunting unsolved cases. As the officer who established the original incident room on the night Suzy vanished and remained involved in the investigation for more than a decade, Mike offers an extraordinary insider's account of the decisions, frustrations and missed opportunities that shaped one of the UK's most notorious missing person investigations.
In this exclusive interview, Mike reflects on the original inquiry, the emergence of prime suspect John Cannan, and reveals why he still believes a search of Norton Barracks could have changed the course of the case forever. He also discusses the realities of policing in 1986, long before CCTV, mobile phones and modern forensic techniques transformed major investigations, and explains why, after four decades, he felt it was finally time to tell the full story.
Mike also talks about the emotional process of writing his new book with True Criminals producer Russell Barnes, sharing never-before-told insights into the investigation, the challenges faced by detectives, and the lasting impact Suzy's disappearance had on policing, personal safety and the families left searching for answers.
📖 Susie Lamplugh: The Inside Story of Britain's Most Notorious Missing Person Investigation by Michael Barley and Russell Barnes is out now. You can buy your copy here: Amazon UK.
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Connect with Martin Brunt
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY.
Connect with Helen Fospero Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575.
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