Family still buys presents for missing Claudia 'to keep her memory alive'

THE father of missing Claudia Lawrence has revealed how her family still buy her Christmas presents almost two years after her disappearance.

Solicitor Peter Lawrence, 64, said relatives continue to buy gifts to keep his daughter's memory alive after she vanished aged 35 in 2009. Mr Lawrence, from Slingsby in North Yorkshire, added that the missing York University chef loved spending time with her family at Christmas, meaning this was an unbearably poignant time.

He will spend the festive period with his 39-year-old daughter, Ali, her husband, Danny, and their children in the Peak District.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: "We shared 35 years of Christmases with Claudia until last year, so this is an extremely difficult time for the family. We like to make it as normal...and everyone buys presents for Claudia. But when they have gone to bed and Ali and I are left downstairs together, it is a very sad time. There will certainly be a chair for her (Claudia) and two years worth of presents if she were to return, which of course would be the best Christmas present of them all."

Miss Lawrence was last seen walking near her York home on March 18, 2009.

Police upgraded the inquiry to a murder investigation the following month.