Disappearance of Claudia Lawrence - Wikipedia
A chef at the University of York, Ms Lawrence was last seen walking towards her home on Heworth Road in the city on 18 March 2009.
United Kingdom CLAUDIA LAWRENCE: Missing from York, United Kingdom - 18 Mar 2009 - Age 35
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A chef at the University of York, Ms Lawrence was last seen walking towards her home on Heworth Road in the city on 18 March 2009.
Mother's quest for 'justice' 15 years after York chef Claudia Lawrence went missing
The mother of Claudia Lawrence says she cannot accept her daughter is dead – almost 15 years after she went missing.Joan Lawrence, 80, is still searching for answers about what happened to her daughter ahead of what would be her 50th birthday.
Claudia, who was a chef in York, disappeared on 18 March, 2009, prompting the biggest and most complex missing person inquiry in the history of North Yorkshire Police.
The case remains unsolved.
Asked if she believes her daughter is dead, Joan Lawrence told ITV News: "I can't go down that road, I block it out. You just can't do it.
"I want justice and I want answers and continually there are people coming forwards still, with information.
"I must never give up. There are days when I think I should but I can never give up."
North Yorkshire Police were contacted for comment but declined to respond.
The FIVE unanswered questions of Claudia Lawrence's disappearance
More than 15 years after Claudia Lawrence was last seen, there are still key questions that remain unanswered in what has become one of Britain's most well-known unsolved murders.
The FIVE unanswered questions of Claudia Lawrence disappearance: Who was the mystery stranger lurking behind her home and why was a cigarette butt found in her car?
The disappearance of Claudia Lawrence has baffled detectives for more than 15 years.Privately educated chef Claudia was 35 when she vanished without a trace after failing to turn up to work at York University on March 19, 2009.
Despite an extensive investigation, there are still key questions that remain unanswered in what has become one of Britain's most well-known unsolved murders.
Who was the mystery man who was spotted outside Claudia's home?
The last definite sighting of Claudia had been on March 18, 2009, after she finished work at Goodricke College.Later that evening, at around 8pm, she spoke to her father on the phone. She then called her mother Joan and the pair watched and spoke about the TV programme Location, Location, Location.
Claudia was said to have sounded normal and relaxed during the call, and had told her mother she was going to sleep early because her car was in the garage and she would need to walk to a work - a 45-minute journey.
The next day she did not turn up to her 6am shift at the university canteen, but when her father forced himself in the next day, it seemed as though she had left for work - her used breakfast plates were in the sink, and her chef's whites, rucksack and mobile phone were all missing.
Following enquiries, police were able to uncover CCTV footage of a man standing behind Claudia's house on the morning of her disappearance.
A witness also told police there was a man, aged around 55 to 65, seen standing outside her property at around 6.45am that morning.
While Claudia was understood to be single, she was said to have had several secret relations with men who are thought to have been married or in other relationships.
Images retrieved by police from the same CCTV camera the night before showed what looks to be the same man outside the house. A dark figure can be seen hanging about the area, looking as though he was waiting to meet someone.
The images were timestamped around 7.15pm on March 18 - around an hour before Claudia was on the phone with her parents.
Questions over who the identity of the mystery man has never been confirmed, with detectives still believing establishing his identity could help solve the case.
Why was there a cigarette butt in her car?
Claudia's Vauxhall Corsa was being repaired at a garage at the time of her disappearance.When police examined the car for clues, they found an Embassy Regal cigarette butt in the ashtray and forensic tests showed that the DNA profile belonged to a male. It was also believed to have come from a left-handed smoker.
Police hoped that running a DNA match could aid them in getting to the bottom of the case. But despite still periodically running checks through the national DNA database, they have never been able to identify the smoker.
Claudia was not a smoker, but it is understood she had no issue with friends and family smoking while in the car.
Senior investigating officer at North Yorkshire Police, Wayne Fox, told The Times earlier this year that 'all those known to have been in contact with the car assisted the inquiry and are eliminated on the basis of DNA recovery'.
Where is her body?
Claudia lived by herself at a two-bedroom terraced house in Heworth when she disappeared. But when police attended her house, there was nothing to suggest something had happened to her while in the property.Police believe that Claudia was murdered, yet her body has never actually been found.
A number of searches were conducted as recently as 2021 but to no avail.
It seemed as though there was a potential breakthrough in the case when specialist teams searched for Claudia's remains in the Sand Hutton gravel pits - about eight miles out from York - in August 2021. However, nothing came of this.
Claudia's mobile phone - a silver Samsung D900 - and her blue and grey Karrimor rucksack which had her chef's whites were missing when police searched her house, suggesting she had left for work on the morning of March 19.
These items were also never found.
The last message Claudia sent before her disappearance was at 8.23pm on March 18, around the time she was speaking to her parents.
The final text she received was on the same night at 9.12pm from a friend in Cyprus.
Her phone was then deliberately turned off at around 12.10pm on March 19.
Mystery couple arguing outside the university
A motorist reported seeing a man and woman arguing outside the University of York campus at around 6.10am on March 19 - Claudia's shift was supposed to start at the university's Goodricke College at 6am.The witness told police the couple had been arguing next to a parked car which had the passenger-side door opened.
Just half an hour before, at around 5.35am, a cyclist also reported a sighting of a couple near the electricity substation at Melrosegate bridge, which is on Claudia's route to work.
It was said the man had been smoking a cigarette in his left hand, suggesting there could be a link to the cigarette butt found in Claudia's car.
Despite several high-profile appeals by the police, the man has never been traced.
The mystery man was described as being 5ft 6in tall, wearing combat trousers and a dark hooded top which covered his face. The woman, who could have been Claudia, was described as being shorter with dark blonde hair, wearing a white t-shirt, overcoat, jeans and white trainers.
It is believed if information were to come forward about the identity of the smoker, it could be a crucial point in solving the case.
Who was in the car behind Claudia's house?
In 2014, police released CCTV footage of what they thought could be 'highly significant' in the case.It showed a vehicle near Claudia's house on the morning of March 19.
The video revealed an old-style silver Ford Focus driving along Heworth Road around 5.42am. It was seen braking as it approached Claudia's house.
Police also attempted to trace the owner of white Vauxhall Astra which was also caught on CCTV on the evening of March 18.
The car was parked opposite the road from Claudia's house, by a Costcutter shop and local chippie, at 9.01pm and remained there for at least 30 minutes.
Detectives tried to track down the owners of the cars, releasing the footage in an appeal for information, but the vehicles were never tracked down.
Detectives to re-enter home in fresh bid to end famous 16-year mystery
EXCLUSIVE: A hidden loft, believed to have been untouched for years, may hold the key to unravelling one of the most haunting mysteries of the past two decades.
www.express.co.uk
Detectives to re-enter Claudia Lawrence's home in fresh bid to end 16-year mystery
Detectives are planning to re-enter missing Claudia Lawrence’s home after it emerged a hidden loft above her bedroom may never have been physically searched.North Yorkshire Police are now aiming to conduct a fresh sweep of the still vacant home belonging to Claudia, who was reported missing after she failed to turn up for work at York University on March 18, 2009.
It comes as other potential evidence was discovered after her mother Joan made a return trip for a recording of the Answers for Claudia podcast.
In a fresh episode of the hit series, the team visited to check on Claudia’s still vacant two-bedroom terraced home in Heworth, York, where they made some fresh discoveries of items that have sparked fresh police interest.
Acting on a tip-off to the podcast, they found some personal items in the pockets of Claudia’s jackets – two tissues and an opened packet of chewing gum – which could hold crucial DNA clues as to who the then 35-year-old chef was with before she vanished without trace.
On the eve of what would be her 51st birthday on Thursday, the team also discovered a loft hatch inside a row of fitted wardrobes which, it transpires, may not have been previously physically searched by police.
As a result of these findings, the case’s new senior investigating officer is seeking permission from Joan to return to the house. This will be the first time in the best part of a decade that police have been inside Claudia’s home, and could herald a major development in the long-running mystery.
Claudia Lawrence's mum demands apology from police as new clues emerge
Claudia Lawrence was 35 when she vanished without a trace in March 2009 after failing to show up to her work at the University of York canteen - her mother Joan is still searching for answers.
www.examinerlive.co.uk
Claudia Lawrence's mum demands apology from police as new clues to her disappearance emerge
It has been 16 years since Claudia Lawrence disappeared, yet her mother still awaits answers. Claudia, a 35 year old chef, vanished without a trace in March 2009 after failing to appear for work at the University of York canteen.Despite an extensive police investigation, her disappearance remains a mystery and one of Britain's most infamous unsolved missing person cases.
Claudia's mother, 81 year old Joan Lawrence from Malton, recently revealed to the Mirror that she discovered a small, previously unsearched opening in the roof of Claudia's former home in Heworth, North Yorkshire. Joan has agreed to meet with a police chief at the property, where Claudia lived alone in a two-bedroom terraced house.
Joan made the discovery a few weeks ago while visiting the property with a podcast crew. However, she has expressed that she has "lost all faith and trust" in the police handling her daughter's case, reports the Mirror.
North Yorkshire Police conducted two investigations and questioned nine individuals, but no charges have been brought. Joan has disclosed that a variety of bottles were found at her terraced property and they need testing.
"We found them behind the internal door into the living room, it was a mixture of wine, cider and water bottles," she narrated. She's open to listening during the meeting next Wednesday: "I am willing to hear what they have to say. But they have had 16 years to find answers."
With the anniversary of Claudia's disappearance imminent, Joan admits, "The anniversary is coming up. This is so hard for me. It takes me right back to the beginning."
She yearns for an acknowledgement of past lapses: "I would like an apology for the first five years. It breaks my heart every time I go in the house, it's such a mess which has destroyed all the happy memories I had of being there with Claudia."
In a separate but shocking turn, a woman claims to have discovered a rucksack matching the description of one owned by Claudia shortly after she vanished. Speaking on the podcast 'Answers for Claudia,' a woman named Bev recounted how she spotted the purple and blue Karrimor bag beside a tree stump near the River Tees at Ingleby Barwick - some 40 miles from York – containing sandwiches in foil.
Initially leaving the backpack undisturbed, Bev decided to retrieve it when she learned from a press conference featuring DCI Lucy Pope of North Yorkshire Police about its significance. Upon her return, the rucksack was nowhere to be found.
Reflecting on her delayed realisation, Bev said on the podcast: "It wasn't until I seen the newspaper article that I then went, that is the bag I found. I distinctively remember turning the newspaper over and seeing the bag, knowing that is the bag I found."