By Grant Smith

THE ESTRANGED father of murdered Dundee teenager Carol Lannen yesterday spoke of his shock after learning of her death only two weeks ago—almost 26 years after it happened.

Norman Lannen (71), who lives in Bradford, had split from his family long before her death and was never told that she had been one of the two victims of the unsolved Templeton Woods killings.

It was only when two Tayside detectives turned up unexpectedly on his doorstep that he learned of the grim events of March 1979 that ended with the discovery of the prostitute’s naked body, strangled by a murderer who has never been caught.

Almost a year later, the body of trainee nursery nurse Elizabeth McCabe was found in similar circumstances. Police have always kept an open mind about whether or not the same killer was responsible.

Interest in the cases were renewed last year thanks to Operation Trinity, an investigation into seven unsolved murders across Scotland which officers believe may be linked.

Despite the media attention the murders attracted, Mr Lannen knew nothing about them. He had had no contact with Carol, the mother of a three-month-old baby at the time of her death, or the other members of his family, since he returned to Yorkshire.

In return, the family had believed he was dead.

Speaking from his home yesterday, Mr Lannen explained, “Two men knocked on the door and said they were police from Dundee. They asked me if I was Norman Lannen and if I had a daughter called Carol.

“They said they were there to speak about her death in 1979. I didn’t know owt about it.

“It was a shock. You’d think that somebody would have told me earlier. I am well known in Bradford. They all know I come from Bradford.”

He said the detectives seemed surprised that he had not known of his daughter’s murder.

“They said it was too sensitive and they couldn’t just phone me, they had to come down.”

The detectives questioned Mr Lannen about personal matters, including how long he had been married and when he had left Dundee.

Mr Lannen said that he had originally come to the Dundee area because he was serving at RAF Leuchars.

He settled in the city, but went home after what he said had been a family breakdown, and had never been back.

Carol had been aged about 10 or 11 when he last saw her. He admitted, “If my sons came in the door now, or if I saw them on the street, I would not know them.”

Although the detectives were able to give him some details about what happened to Carol, Mr Lannen got in touch with The Courier to ask to be sent cuttings from articles to help fill in the blanks.

He had mixed feelings when asked if he regretted not having still been in touch with his daughter at the time of her death.

He said, “Whatever happened with Carol I couldn’t have stopped it.” However, having been told she had been working as a prostitute, he could not help wondering if he might have been able to keep her away from that.

Mr Lannen had been planning to come to Dundee last week, but his partner of 17 years is ill and he cannot leave her at present. He is now thinking about visiting the city in the summer.

In a statement released through the police, Carol’s mother said last night, “Prior to Carol’s murder, her father was in a new relationship and requested that there should be no further communication with us.

“We have had no contact during the last 25 years. We presumed that he had since died.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed that officers had made contact Mr Lannen as part of their on-going investigation.

She said, “His place of residence was not established until very recently as he has not maintained any contact with other family members and it was believed that he had died.

“Mr Lannen intimated to the inquiry officers that, despite the local and national media coverage surrounding Carol’s murder, he had not been made aware historically of Carol’s death.

“Accordingly he was appraised of the circumstances of her murder and the current investigation. This contact with Mr Lannen has already assisted the investigation and now that he has been traced he, along with other family members, will be updated of any significant developments in the enquiry.”

The most recent event publicly announced by the police was the enlisting of a behavioural expert and a geographic profiler to study the site at Templeton Woods where the bodies were found, and the site at Kintore in Aberdeenshire, where Carol’s handbag was later found.