Ex-girlfriends of John Cannan are living in fear as convicted rapist and killer nears parole 

Former girlfriends of the prime suspect in the murder of Suzy Lamplugh are still under police protection, more than three decades after he was jailed for other crimes, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Convicted rapist and killer John Cannan, who investigators named as the only suspect for the unsolved murder of the estate agent, will be eligible for parole next year.

He is currently serving three life terms for the 1987 murder of factory manager Shirley Banks in Bristol, the attempted kidnapping a night earlier of Julia Holman and the rape of a woman the previous year.

But terrified ex-partners who helped put Cannan away want him kept behind bars indefinitely amid fears he will hunt them down in revenge if he is released.

REVENGE FEARS: Previously unseen photograph of Suzy, right, with siblings Lizzie, left, Richard and Tamsin

Ms Lamplugh, 25, vanished in July 1986, just days after Cannan was released from a bail hostel next to Wormwood Scrubs prison – four miles from where she was last seen in Fulham, West London. 

He had spent five years behind bars after raping a shop worker at knifepoint and threatening to stab her two-year-old son.

One of his former girlfriends – herself a victim of a sex attack by Cannan – revealed he had called her up out of the blue around the time that Suzy vanished. 

‘I was shocked to the core,’ she said. ‘In the five years while he had been in prison I had changed my name, got married, found a new job and moved to a different part of the country.

‘He asked to see me. He said, “I’ve changed while I was in prison. I’m a new man. I’ve been out three months and I’m going straight”. I refused to see him.

‘I immediately called the police and they told me, “He’s not been out three months, he’s been out three days”. I’ve no idea how he found me, and so quickly.’

Pictured: Convicted rapist and killer John Cannan, who investigators named as the only suspect for the unsolved murder of the estate agent, will be eligible for parole next year. He  may be free soon

The woman said police had installed a panic alarm in her home, adding: ‘I’m really scared to think he is so close to being released again. He is still capable of inflicting terrible damage. The thought of what he might do keeps me awake at night.’

Fears over Cannan’s release come as a TV documentary tonight revisits the case of Ms Lamplugh. Her body has never been found, but she was declared dead in 1993.

Detectives believe Cannan, now 67, killed Ms Lamplugh but prosecutors say there is insufficient evidence to charge him, Officers who reinvestigated the case in the early 2000s concluded Cannan may have tried to woo her, then murdered her when she rejected his advances.

Ms Lamplugh, 25, (pictured) vanished in July 1986, just days after Cannan was released from a bail hostel next to Wormwood Scrubs prison – four miles from where she was last seen in Fulham, West London

Ms Lamplugh was meeting a client called Mr Kipper on the day she disappeared. Police discovered that Cannan was nicknamed ‘Kipper’ by residents at his bail hostel because of his fondness for wearing 1960s-style kipper ties and habit of sleeping frequently during the day.

Retired Met detective Jim Dickie, who led the second police probe into Suzy’s case, said: ‘Any woman who rejects him, he responds in a really violent and threatening way so there is a real issue about seeking revenge on his ex-girlfriends, partners and even his victims.’

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, set up by her family in her memory, operates a National Stalking Helpline 0808 802 0300. 

• The Suzy Lamplugh Mystery premieres tonight at 9pm on Sky Crime and Now TV.