Just a few points to remember here; After a few weeks submerged in a river, a body will undergo significant decomposition, including skin sloughing, bloating from gas build-up, tissue breakdown by bacteria and scavengers like fish, and potential development of a waxy substance called adipocere, especially in colder water; making identification difficult due to the extensive damage to soft tissues and potential dismemberment from currents and aquatic life.
After a few months immersed in a river, a body will likely be significantly decomposed, with most soft tissues consumed by scavengers and bacteria, leaving behind a skeleton with potentially some remaining skin and connective tissue, depending on water temperature and the presence of aquatic life.
After 30 years immersed in a river, the majority of a body would likely be reduced to just the skeleton, with very little soft tissue remaining due to the decomposition process, potentially with some residual "adipocere" - a waxy substance formed from the body's fat - on the bones, depending on the water conditions and scavenging activity.
A victim's teeth can potentially last for many decades, even after being immersed in a river for thirty years, as teeth are one of the most durable parts of the human body and can survive for a very long time due to their hard enamel structure; making them a common find in archaeological digs spanning thousands of years.
Overall, while the exact timeframe is difficult to pinpoint, it's highly likely that a victim's teeth would still be identifiable and present after 30 years submerged in a river, especially if the conditions are relatively stable and not highly destructive.
Indeed. The river is literally close to where the Fiesta was located that evening at 22:01. I would say that Suze was not driving her car but someone else quite tall and clearly in a hurry. The notion of someone tossing her body over from the Thames walkway would be an extremely difficult task at hand given it was daylight and many people are walking along that stretch, particularly in the summertime. They would have had to choose the moment very discreetly. Would she be dead at this point or would they have gone for a chat. I think this is too, highly unlikely.
I suspect she ended up in the canal (Grand Union Canal it is called I guess) where a man came across someone resembling a certain suspect carrying a large suitcase on a pathway near a bridge. He then noticed a loud splash etc. (so the story goes). Did the police search the canal?
As for the Fiesta found abandoned at about 10 pm with the driver s seat pushed back and the door unlocked here my theory:
Suzy was abducted in her own car that afternoon by the certain suspect who had a history in abducting women in their own cars (1 rape victim abducted in her car by the suspect, 1 abduction (unsuccessful, Julia H. was her name?, murder victim Shirley Banks, whose car was found in the suspect s garage)
Barbara Witfield, a friend of Suzy, testified that she had seen Suzy driving in her car with a male passenger in Fulham around lunchtime that day.
My theory:
Suzy and the suspect both arrived in their cars at the first house she wanted to show the "client" in Sherrolds Road. After that she decided to show him another house for sale. She drove to Stevenage Road in the Fiesta with the suspect following her in his own car.
She parked in front of the garage in Stevenage Road, the suspect parked his car nearby. She showed him the second house for sale near Stevenage Road. After that they decided to drive to some place for having lunch, using her car (that happened in the time frame when Barbara Witfield spotted her driving down Fulham Palace Road with a male passenger (the suspect) in her white Fiesta).
During the "lunch break" she was abducted in her own car by the suspect who then harmed her and/ or hid her in his home.
As he was keen on collecting his own car, he then drove back to Stevenage Road in the Fiesta. As he was in a hurry, he didn t bother pushing the driver s seat back in "Suzy position" and he did not lock the car as he didn t care about it. He then collected his own car and drove away. The Fiesta s car keys were never found as far as I learned, he most likely threw them away later.
It seems to hang together although it sounds quite complicated. The only part I disagree with is the canal. It's too far away. The Thames is literally right there at Stevenage Road.
The parallel parking thing has just given me an idea... I find parallel parking easy (just reverse into the space) but I avoid it because I don't want to be blocked in if other drivers park too close to my bumpers. Maybe Suzy went back to the car, found it crammed in between two others, or another obstruction (eg, a parked motorbike) and just decided to walk back to the office...and along the way fell into the river / was pushed in by a mugger. This case reminds me of another missing person, Trevor Deely, in Dublin 20-odd years ago. He probably fell into the canal.
Thanks for this interesting article. If Suzy was wearing the hat, why was it in the car when it was found? She was spotted by a friend leaving the area in her car so if that’s true she wouldn’t be in the river. The Grand Union Canal isn’t far away either. Someone witnessed a man throwing a heavy suitcase in there around that time. I’d be interested in joining you in the spring.
I'll add you on the list and keep you in the loop. She might have taken the hat off later on. I believe the friend (on the bike?) to be mistaken. I know about the suitcase but I believe this was some days later... I need to check. Anyway the Thames is much closer than the canal. Would be good to have you.
Yes Barbara Whitfield I think you mean who was a friend of Suze. She had said from a BBC reconstruction in which she starred, that Suzy was heading north bound along the Fulham Palace Rd. On another ITV reconstruction she said she herself was heading toward Putney and Suze was heading toward Hammersmith again however, this video depicts the opposite; Barbara is heading towards Hammersmith and Suze's car was parked outside the cemetery gates pointing towards Putney. So I think we can categorically dismiss this witness account.
This has come up too many times to mention now. Just to clarify for others; he was a truck driver walking along the grand union canal that year 1986. He said he saw what looked like notably the person of interest (John Cannan) hurriedly carrying a flight case on wheels and depositing it from the footbridge over and into the Brentford lock canal. After he had reported this to the Brentford police, it would appear no action had been taken and his sighting had not been logged. From what I have gathered regarding this event, there was another murder back in 2014 of a young 14 year old girl Alice Gross who was found on the northside of the lock on September 30. During the search for Alice the Police confirmed that they had dredged the whole of the lock with no suitable flight case being recovered.
Wendy Jones who had claimed to have seen the white Fiesta outside her flat at 123 Stevenage Rd at around 10am, later retracted and withdrawing her statement. It appears from workmen in the area that the vehicle may well have appeared at 16:00 that day. Another account of witness 'Harry Riglin' 35 Shorrolds Rd who also later withdrew his statement saying he didn't get a very good look at the couple outside 37, despite him giving a photofit to the police. Riglin initially said he saw ‘a struggle’ outside 37 Shorrolds Road with a woman bundled into a van, then later this was seemingly rescinded.
River doesn't fit in at all you are going off on a tangent. Look at Terry and Pam lol at mortgages I have the notes hundreds of them love to join you in spring
Just a general comment to thank everyone for adding their thoughts. I will collect everything for a follow up post. I might try to explain my method in focusing so fixedly on the river.
Just one more thing about the Thames Walkway; You can walk it on google maps: - https://tinyurl.com/Thames-Path
This link contains a vital clue. Compare the river wall with my photo in the article. Anyone got a 1986 photo?
I can't find any stock photos of the Thames Walkway for that specific year.
Just a few points to remember here; After a few weeks submerged in a river, a body will undergo significant decomposition, including skin sloughing, bloating from gas build-up, tissue breakdown by bacteria and scavengers like fish, and potential development of a waxy substance called adipocere, especially in colder water; making identification difficult due to the extensive damage to soft tissues and potential dismemberment from currents and aquatic life.
After a few months immersed in a river, a body will likely be significantly decomposed, with most soft tissues consumed by scavengers and bacteria, leaving behind a skeleton with potentially some remaining skin and connective tissue, depending on water temperature and the presence of aquatic life.
After 30 years immersed in a river, the majority of a body would likely be reduced to just the skeleton, with very little soft tissue remaining due to the decomposition process, potentially with some residual "adipocere" - a waxy substance formed from the body's fat - on the bones, depending on the water conditions and scavenging activity.
A victim's teeth can potentially last for many decades, even after being immersed in a river for thirty years, as teeth are one of the most durable parts of the human body and can survive for a very long time due to their hard enamel structure; making them a common find in archaeological digs spanning thousands of years.
Overall, while the exact timeframe is difficult to pinpoint, it's highly likely that a victim's teeth would still be identifiable and present after 30 years submerged in a river, especially if the conditions are relatively stable and not highly destructive.
Thanks for the great detail. I was surprised at how wide and deep the river feels at Fulham and how close it is to the Fiesta location.
Indeed. The river is literally close to where the Fiesta was located that evening at 22:01. I would say that Suze was not driving her car but someone else quite tall and clearly in a hurry. The notion of someone tossing her body over from the Thames walkway would be an extremely difficult task at hand given it was daylight and many people are walking along that stretch, particularly in the summertime. They would have had to choose the moment very discreetly. Would she be dead at this point or would they have gone for a chat. I think this is too, highly unlikely.
I suspect she ended up in the canal (Grand Union Canal it is called I guess) where a man came across someone resembling a certain suspect carrying a large suitcase on a pathway near a bridge. He then noticed a loud splash etc. (so the story goes). Did the police search the canal?
As for the Fiesta found abandoned at about 10 pm with the driver s seat pushed back and the door unlocked here my theory:
Suzy was abducted in her own car that afternoon by the certain suspect who had a history in abducting women in their own cars (1 rape victim abducted in her car by the suspect, 1 abduction (unsuccessful, Julia H. was her name?, murder victim Shirley Banks, whose car was found in the suspect s garage)
Barbara Witfield, a friend of Suzy, testified that she had seen Suzy driving in her car with a male passenger in Fulham around lunchtime that day.
My theory:
Suzy and the suspect both arrived in their cars at the first house she wanted to show the "client" in Sherrolds Road. After that she decided to show him another house for sale. She drove to Stevenage Road in the Fiesta with the suspect following her in his own car.
She parked in front of the garage in Stevenage Road, the suspect parked his car nearby. She showed him the second house for sale near Stevenage Road. After that they decided to drive to some place for having lunch, using her car (that happened in the time frame when Barbara Witfield spotted her driving down Fulham Palace Road with a male passenger (the suspect) in her white Fiesta).
During the "lunch break" she was abducted in her own car by the suspect who then harmed her and/ or hid her in his home.
As he was keen on collecting his own car, he then drove back to Stevenage Road in the Fiesta. As he was in a hurry, he didn t bother pushing the driver s seat back in "Suzy position" and he did not lock the car as he didn t care about it. He then collected his own car and drove away. The Fiesta s car keys were never found as far as I learned, he most likely threw them away later.
It seems to hang together although it sounds quite complicated. The only part I disagree with is the canal. It's too far away. The Thames is literally right there at Stevenage Road.
Why are you bothering just let it go she is never going to be found it is almost 40 years ago
This is certainly the more sensible route!
The parallel parking thing has just given me an idea... I find parallel parking easy (just reverse into the space) but I avoid it because I don't want to be blocked in if other drivers park too close to my bumpers. Maybe Suzy went back to the car, found it crammed in between two others, or another obstruction (eg, a parked motorbike) and just decided to walk back to the office...and along the way fell into the river / was pushed in by a mugger. This case reminds me of another missing person, Trevor Deely, in Dublin 20-odd years ago. He probably fell into the canal.
Wow.
Thanks for this interesting article. If Suzy was wearing the hat, why was it in the car when it was found? She was spotted by a friend leaving the area in her car so if that’s true she wouldn’t be in the river. The Grand Union Canal isn’t far away either. Someone witnessed a man throwing a heavy suitcase in there around that time. I’d be interested in joining you in the spring.
I'll add you on the list and keep you in the loop. She might have taken the hat off later on. I believe the friend (on the bike?) to be mistaken. I know about the suitcase but I believe this was some days later... I need to check. Anyway the Thames is much closer than the canal. Would be good to have you.
Yes Barbara Whitfield I think you mean who was a friend of Suze. She had said from a BBC reconstruction in which she starred, that Suzy was heading north bound along the Fulham Palace Rd. On another ITV reconstruction she said she herself was heading toward Putney and Suze was heading toward Hammersmith again however, this video depicts the opposite; Barbara is heading towards Hammersmith and Suze's car was parked outside the cemetery gates pointing towards Putney. So I think we can categorically dismiss this witness account.
This has come up too many times to mention now. Just to clarify for others; he was a truck driver walking along the grand union canal that year 1986. He said he saw what looked like notably the person of interest (John Cannan) hurriedly carrying a flight case on wheels and depositing it from the footbridge over and into the Brentford lock canal. After he had reported this to the Brentford police, it would appear no action had been taken and his sighting had not been logged. From what I have gathered regarding this event, there was another murder back in 2014 of a young 14 year old girl Alice Gross who was found on the northside of the lock on September 30. During the search for Alice the Police confirmed that they had dredged the whole of the lock with no suitable flight case being recovered.
Yes, you can’t rely on eye witnesses. It’s the same with the sightings of the car on Stevenage Rd.
Wendy Jones who had claimed to have seen the white Fiesta outside her flat at 123 Stevenage Rd at around 10am, later retracted and withdrawing her statement. It appears from workmen in the area that the vehicle may well have appeared at 16:00 that day. Another account of witness 'Harry Riglin' 35 Shorrolds Rd who also later withdrew his statement saying he didn't get a very good look at the couple outside 37, despite him giving a photofit to the police. Riglin initially said he saw ‘a struggle’ outside 37 Shorrolds Road with a woman bundled into a van, then later this was seemingly rescinded.
River doesn't fit in at all you are going off on a tangent. Look at Terry and Pam lol at mortgages I have the notes hundreds of them love to join you in spring
I will DM.
Just a general comment to thank everyone for adding their thoughts. I will collect everything for a follow up post. I might try to explain my method in focusing so fixedly on the river.