Married grandfather in his 50s arrested over missing Claudia Lawrence murder case

A MARRIED grandfather was being quizzed last night over the murder of missing chef Claudia Lawrence.

Police searching in gardenSWNS

Police are currently searching a house just half a mile from Claudia's house

The suspect, aged in his 50s, was arrested before 1pm at his detached home in the York village of Heworth – a few hundred yards from Claudia’s home.

The arrested man is understood to be a friend who regularly drank with Claudia before she vanished six years ago in March 2009.

She was 35 at the time and last week marked the sixth anniversary of her disappearance, which sparked an extensive hunt for her body.

The arrest came after the suspect was quizzed by detectives who wanted clarification on statements he had previously given to the investigation team.

Claudia’s father Peter, 68, said last night: “Any progress is obviously very good but we have been here before.”

Police urged the media not to name the suspect, claiming that his identity is crucial to the investigation.

But his name was common knowledge among many of Claudia’s friends.

Police swooped on the suspect as part of a planned operation.

The arrest came five days after detectives released CCTV footage of a mystery man lurking in shadows close to the rear of Claudia’s terrace cottage less than an hour before her last contact – a telephone conversation with her mother Joan.

Police claimed they had made a “significant breakthrough” in their six-year investigation and warned people who had been lying to them to “start telling the truth”.

A close neighbour of the suspect told yesterday how the man claimed he had been questioned by police about Claudia’s disappearance about a year ago.

The 79-year-old said: “We don’t know a great deal about him, he’s not very sociable with us.

“He lives there with his wife and they have two sons.

Claudia LawrencePA

A suspect in his 50s has been arrested on suspicion of Claudia's murder

“He was always out and about in the pubs.

"I think he went out by himself, I’m not sure his wife ever went with him.

“He never really spoke if you saw him, he’s not the most communicative of men.

“He told people he had been spoken to by the police about Claudia’s disappearance about a year ago but didn’t say anything more about it.

“We had just got home from a weekend away – a wedding and family birthday – and suddenly there were lots of police outside and they all went inside.

"They haven’t told us anything.”

Another neighbour, who has known him for two decades, described him as a “normal bloke”.

He said: “I know him, I’ve lived here 20 years and he’s just a normal bloke.

"He’s lived here longer than me."

A landlady at a pub where the man previously drank but hasn’t visited for “quite a while” added: “He was really funny; he always had a book with him and was always reading.

“He told us he has been questioned before.

Police searchSWNS

Police searching the outside of house in connection with murder investigation

"He told me how police had gone round to his house, he was questioned as were lots of people at the time.”

Jen King, one of Claudia Lawrence closest friends said: “I don’t really want to talk.

"I don’t know who it is - I haven’t got a clue but it could be someone I know and that would not be nice.

“Everyone wants closure, but they have already arrested two people and got nowhere.

“You can’t really have a reaction to something you have only just heard about and don’t know any more.

"They have arrested people before…. you just have to wait and see what happens.”

Detectives had originally held the theory that Claudia was abducted and killed on her walk to work after leaving for her 6am shift in the kitchens of York University on March 19.

But it is now thought something happened to her while she was still inside her terraced cottage home the previous evening.

Peter Lawrence’s family spokesman Martin Dales said: “I’m encouraged by all the police activity, they are clearly working extremely hard.

“There have only been three arrests in six years and that’s quite a small amount really.

"Nobody has been charged with anything, nor is there a crime scene.

“There’s still quite a bit to do.

"We have had highs and lows throughout all of this, it’s now a waiting game and that’s perhaps what we have learned to do these past six years.

“We just want answers.”

A 60-year-old man was arrested last year in connection with Claudia’s disappearance and suspected murder but was later released without charge, while a 47-year-old man remains on bail on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. 

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