John Luper case: Man arrested in 2004 cold case murder of wealthy Leeds businessman

A man was arrested on suspicion of murdering a wealthy businessman in February 2004.

John Luper, 57, was killed during a robbery at his home in an affluent suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of murder in Bradford on Wednesday.

The arrest followed “analysis of forensic materials.”

Police said he was detained for questioning.

Mr Luper was attacked by a group of masked men while walking his dog near his home in Sandmoor Drive, Alwoodley, on the evening of 16 February 2004.

He was dragged to the single-family home, where his wife, daughter and a babysitter were bound with duct tape and left in an upstairs bedroom.

They later managed to free themselves but found Mr. Luper unconscious below.

Police were called at 1.45am and Mr Luper was pronounced dead at the scene.

The robbers took jewellery, clothing and cash worth around £100,000.

The stash also included a rare platinum and diamond Cartier watch, one of only four watches sold in the UK at the time.

Mr Luper, a director of a clothing company and a property rental company and a non-executive director of a sports and media group, was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the autopsy examination, it was determined that the person died of asphyxia.

“Our investigative team is committed to doing everything we can to obtain justice for John Luper and his family,” Senior Investigating Officer Detective Damian Roebuck said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This includes analysis of forensic material which I can confirm led to today’s arrest.

“Mr Luper’s family has been informed and while we appreciate that the arrest will understandably lead to a renewed focus on the investigation, we do not anticipate any immediate developments at this stage.

“It has been more than 22 years since John was brutally murdered and we are determined to find out who killed him.

“He was a leading businessman in North Leeds so I would appeal to anyone who is aware of people investigating him and his business dealings around the time of the murder to please come forward with their names.

“Similarly, you may have been contacted around the time of the murder and asked to buy jewelry from unknown people.

“This information could be vital to our investigation.”