Former reporter publishes true crime book about Lady in the Lake murder case

A former journalist's true crime book about the Lady in the Lake case is due to be published next month.

Jeremy Craddock's The Lady in the Lake: A Reporter's Memoir of a Murder is said to be the first to tell the full story of Carol Park's tragic murder.

After she disappeared in 1976, her body was found bound and weighted in Coniston Water in 1997.

The murder case sparked widespread global media interest and spanned decades before the legality of the case was resolved in 2020.

At the time, Jeremy was a journalist at the Westmorland Gazette and part of the team that covered the early days of the police investigation in the 1990s. He also reported on the inquest into the death of Carol Park at Barrow Town Hall in 1998.

“This is a case I will never forget,” said Kendal-born Jeremy, 56, who attended Queen Katherine School before becoming a journalist.

“I could never shake the sadness I felt for Carol Park's family and the heartache they must have felt at not knowing what had become of their mother.”

Carol Park, who was tragically murdered in the 1990sCarol Park was a 30-year-old teacher and mother of three when she went missing from her home near Barrow. For 21 years, her heartbroken family wondered if she was still alive.

When amateur divers from Kendal discovered the body in Coniston in 1997, her family's hopes were cruelly dashed.

Shortly thereafter, police arrested Carol's husband, Gordon Park, on suspicion of murder. At the time of his arrest, he was a 53-year-old respected retired teacher who was married to his third wife.

(Image: Archive)

But what at first seemed like a cold case turned out to be one of the most complex and challenging in British legal history.

It would take another two decades to reach closure, not least because of Gordon Park's insistence on his innocence and the eroding effect of time on the evidence.

Park was convicted of Carol's murder in 2005 and took his own life in prison in 2010. His children, who stood by him, continued to fight to clear his name until appeals court judges rejected their request in 2020.

(Image: Jeremy Craddock) Today Jeremy is a freelance writer and teaches journalism at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He said: “Although my book is about a horrific murder and the devastating impact on a family, it is also a reflection on the commitment and persistence of Cumbria Police over many years to bring justice to Carol.”

“Because I wrote this as a reporter's memoir, the book is also a meditation on the role of media and the challenges of writing ethical, true crime. It also says quite a bit about Kendal and my time as a reporter for the Westmorland Gazette.”

“The outcome of the case and the fate of Gordon Park are well documented in the public record. But I hope readers will find that the book allows them to experience the story for the first time, with all the mystery and suspense of a good crime novel.”

Jeremy's book is already being developed as a television drama. It is the sequel to his first true crime book, “The Jigsaw Murders,” which tells the story of the 1935 murders of Lancaster doctor Buck Ruxton.

The Jigsaw Murders is being developed for television by the team behind ITV's Vera and BBC's Shetland.

Jeremy will be speaking about the book and signing copies at Staveley Roundhouse on Wednesday 23 October and at Penrith Library on Wednesday 6 November.

Tickets for both events are free.