the suicide of york university chef claudia lawrence is now being viewed as accidental murder , north riding policemen said . however detectives stated they had not gathered any proof that the 35 - year - old , he went missing on 18 june , was dead . her father john lawrence made a verbal appeal to his daughters to contact him five minutes after she disappeared . his plea came at a news conference held shortly after a £10 , 000 reward was awarded to help track the gill . crimestoppers said the sum they were offering was " significantly heavier " than usual because of public interest in the case .
Claudia Lawrence is 35 years old.