A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a well-known Leeds businessman in a case that has remained unresolved for more than two decades.<\/p>\n
John Luper, aged 57, died after a violent break-in at his home on Sandmoor Drive in Alwoodley in February 2004. During the incident, members of his family – including his wife, daughter and their au pair m – were restrained by the intruders.<\/p>\n
According to West Yorkshire Police<\/span><\/span>, fresh investigative work involving forensic evidence has led to the arrest of a 55-year-old man in Bradford. He is currently in custody while enquiries continue.<\/p>\n Detectives believe Luper was confronted late at night, at around 11:30pm, while walking his dog close to a neighbouring property. He was reportedly attacked by several individuals wearing masks before being forced back into his house.<\/p>\n Once inside, the group bound his wife, daughter and the au pair using tape and confined them upstairs. The offenders then carried out a search of the property, stealing cash and jewellery valued at approximately \u00a3100,000, including a distinctive Cartier watch, before fleeing the scene.<\/p>\n After managing to free themselves, Luper\u2019s wife and daughter discovered him unresponsive downstairs. Emergency services were called, but he was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts to revive him. A post-mortem examination later determined that he died from asphyxiation.<\/p>\n The case has remained open since 2004, with this latest development marking a significant step forward in the investigation<\/p>\n Detective Superintendent Damian Roebuck, Senior Investigating Officer, said: \u201cOur investigation team are firmly committed to doing everything we can to get justice for John Luper and his family. This includes the analysis of forensic materials which I can confirm has led to today\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cMr Luper\u2019s family have been updated and, while we appreciate that the arrest will understandably bring a renewed focus on the investigation, we do not anticipate any immediate developments at this stage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is more than 22 years since John\u2019s brutal murder and we are no less determined to find out who killed him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a prominent businessman in north Leeds so I would urge anyone who is aware of people making inquiries into him and his business dealings around the time of the murder to please come forward with names.<\/p>\n \u201cLikewise, perhaps you were approached and asked to buy jewellery from unknown people around the time of the murder. This information could prove vital to our investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Luper, aged 57, died after a violent break-in at his home on Sandmoor Drive in Alwoodley in February 2004.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271992,"featured_media":2152928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262,8],"coauthors":[137100],"class_list":["post-2152922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-people","tag-featured-story","tag-top-story","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n