The prime suspect in s murder died from a ruptured aneurysm in prison, an inquest has heard.

John Cannan, 70, was jailed in 1989 for the abduction and of newlywed Shirley Banks from Bristol.

The convicted rapist and murderer was later named by police as the beast who killed estate agent Suzy, 25, from London, who disappeared in July 1986. Her body has never been found and Cannon took his secrets to his grave.

Since his death experts have suggested his letters from prison and 'writings' behind bars should be examined for clues as he liked to 'play games'. An inquest heard on Friday he died aged 70 in HMP Full Sutton, in East Yorkshire, on November 6th.

Area Coroner for Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire Lorraine Harris said Cannan was identified by a prison officer. His cause of death was given as a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is a swelling in the artery that carries blood from the heart to the abdomen.

The coroner adjourned the inquest until a date to be set. Suzy vanished after going to meet a client only known as Mr Kipper in Fulham on July 28th 1986.

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Cannon was nicknamed Kipper during earlier prison sentences, which was suggested could have been a reference to being a ‘kidnapper’.

He also bore a striking resemblance to an e-fit of a man Suzy was seen talking to that day. He always denied her murder. Shirley Banks, a factory manager from Clifton was killed a year later.

Her new husband tried to track her down the morning after she disappeared and called the textiles factory she managed.

He was told she had phoned minutes earlier to say she was unwell.

This led police to believe she had been abducted and held by Cannan overnight and had possibly been told by him that she would be released safely.

Her body was found six months later in a stream on the Quantock Hills in Somerset.

Cannan also faced eight other charges including sexual offences and attempted abduction relating to incidents involving other women and was jailed for life in 1989.

In October 2023 a parole board ruled Cannan was too dangerous to release. Callan was originally from Birmingham, growing up in a middle class family. He went on to live in Bristol and would pose as a ‘West Country businessman’.

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He would ply women with flowers and champagne before attacking them when his advances were rejected. He has been linked with a number of cases that remain unsolved.

After Cannan’s death, Suzy’s brother Richard Lamplugh spoke of his hopes for clues in a 'book written in prison' which may lead to the discovery of her body.

He described his death as "no loss to society" but wanted to scatter his sister's ashes at the same location as those of his parents.

"If he's left some information somewhere, it would be lovely to have. I gather there was a possibility he was writing a book in jail, maybe he's put something down there.

"I gather it's all fiction but he might have left some clues to where he buried or left Suze."

Experts say his prison ‘writings’ and any letters should be examined for possible patterns or hidden meanings as Cannan ‘liked to play games’.

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A fake licence plate on a car at Cannan’s house may have links to her death, with the letters 'SLP' and '86' included.

Suzy’s parents, Paul and Diana, set up the Suzy Lamplugh Trust with the aim of helping people feel safe through offering personal safety training and advice.

It is now the leading personal safety charity in the UK, with a particular focus on stalking and violence against women and girls, and has run the National Stalking Helpline since 2010.

In a statement released after news of Cannan's death, the trust said: "We recognise that this is a difficult time for the family of Suzy Lamplugh as they process this news.

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"We would like to take this opportunity to recognise the work of Suzy’s parents who set up the trust to enable individuals and organisations to be and feel safer through campaigning, education and its specialist support services for victims of stalking.

"We are indebted to their persistence, resilience and their focus on ensuring that what happened to Suzy doesn’t happen to others."