A new BBC podcast hears from the mother of missing chef Claudia Lawrence describe how her life is ‘still in limbo’ 15 years after her daughter’s disappearance.
In the four-part series of Claudia Lawrence: A Mother’s Story, produced by BBC Radio York for BBC Sounds, Joan Lawrence opens up about the pain of not knowing what’s happened to Claudia and the anguish she felt when first hearing the news her daughter had vanished.
Claudia was last seen walking home from work in York on 18 March 2009 and the alarm was raised to police two days later by her father.
Her unexplained disappearance sparked one of the largest and most complex investigation in the history of North Yorkshire Police.
Although her body has never been found, police have been treating her disappearance as a murder investigation.
Nine people have been arrested or interviewed under caution in connection with the investigation. Police have also submitted files to the Crown Prosecution Service but there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
Now 15-years on, Joan shares how she ‘didn’t have a voice’ in the aftermath of her daughter’s disappearance in the podcast series.
Joan also describes wanting Claudia’s home in Heworth to be used by the local community and says North Yorkshire Police lacked a ‘human side’ in dealing with her daughter’s disappearance. The force has said that both parents have had their own Family Liaison Officers from the beginning weeks of the investigation.
Elly Fiorentini, a senior content producer for BBC Radio York who presents the series, has built a relationship with Joan over the years, she says: “I got to know Joan in the year after Claudia went missing. I started to build a relationship with her. Trust has been vital to any work I have done with Joan and because I work in BBC Local that one-to-one relationship has always been maintained.
“Claudia’s 50th birthday was in February, and it is 15 years of not knowing what happened to her daughter, so Joan has found this year particularly difficult. This series of interviews has been an emotional journey.
“Here’s a mum who just wants to know where her daughter is. Joan shares things about her own life which we have never heard before.”
Rob Dowell, Audio Executive Editor BBC Radio York and BBC Radio Humberside says: “This series demonstrates how BBC Local Radio can connect with the people behind a story in a really personal way.
“The way in which Joan opens up and speaks as a mum really comes to the fore because of the knowledge, understanding and trust which has been consistently built by the BBC Radio York team over the past 15 years.”
You can listen to all four episodes of Claudia Lawrence: A Mother’s Story on BBC Sounds now.
