Claudia Lawrence disappearance: 'Unlikely' double murderer was in York - police

Despite numerous appeals, searches, arrests and interviews, Claudia Lawrence's case remains unsolved

A double murderer is "unlikely" to have been in York when Claudia Lawrence went missing, police have said.

Ms Lawrence, then 35, has not been seen since March 2009. No charges have ever been brought.

Witnesses now say Christopher Halliwell - serving life for killing two women in Wiltshire - had links to Yorkshire, and may have stalked females there.

The mother of Becky Godden, one of his victims, told the Daily Mirror there could be a link to Ms Lawrence's case.

She said there was a claim Halliwell wanted to relocate to Yorkshire.

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.

North Yorkshire Police said it had investigated Halliwell's movements around the time she disappeared.

Police examined the movements of convicted murderer Christopher Halliwell around the time of Claudia Lawrence's disappearance

Halliwell, a Swindon taxi driver, is serving life sentences for murdering Becky Godden, 21, in 2003, and Sian O'Callaghan, 22, in 2011.

Det Supt Wayne Fox, head of the Major Investigation Team at North Yorkshire Police, said officers had been working with their counterparts in Wiltshire since September 2016 when a detective there first suggested a possible link between Ms Lawrence's disappearance and Halliwell.

"We have pursued lines of enquiry which are focused on any link he [Halliwell] may have to the North Yorkshire area and, in particular, the movements of Christopher Halliwell during the material times in which we believe Claudia came to harm," Det Supt Fox said.

"The results of those enquiries, which included examinations of digital devices and the interviewing of several witnesses, indicated that Halliwell continued to operate as a taxi driver in the Swindon area within the relevant time parameters.

"Both investigation teams reached a position in which we concluded it to be unlikely that Halliwell left the Wiltshire area, or was present in North Yorkshire, at the time of Claudia's disappearance."

Open mind

Det Supt Fox said he was "mindful of recent information" from witnesses who suggested Halliwell had links to Yorkshire where he may have "stalked females".

He added: "Steps have been taken to conduct interviews with these witnesses and that information has been thoroughly assessed against known facts."

The detective said he continued to "keep an open mind" and that North Yorkshire Police was "committed to finding the answers that Claudia's family deserve and need".