Wife seeks closure on vanishing in London

The wife of a Northland man who vanished in the UK seven years ago is looking forward to the closure an inquest will bring
to the circumstances surrounding his death.
Lee Sheppard, from Pahi near Maungaturoto, disappeared on the night of January 31, 2003, after turning up for work at a refrigeration recycling plant in Willesden, North London.
His absence remained a mystery until top Auckland private investigator Ron McQuilter took up the inquiry three years ago.
In 2008, Mr McQuilter revealed he believed Mr Sheppard had died on  site in an industrial accident. He said it appeared he had been rendered unconscious and died before being caught up in  machinery when the plant started up the following morning.
An inquest into Mr Sheppard's death began in October 2009 but a series of pre-inquiry hearings meant the official start  date was still up in the air.
Almost seven years after his death, Mr Sheppard's wife, Juliet Sheppard, said she wanted the inquest over "the sooner the better".
"It's consumed my life but it needs to be done thoroughly and I don't want any corners cut."
It was the support of family and friends and her faith in God that helped her get through, Mrs Sheppard said.
She was not planning to take her 6-year-old son Jaden to the inquest, which may last  up to three weeks.
 "He's always known the truth and wishes his Dad was around, but he's never known any different."
Mrs Sheppard said she took Jaden to England last year.
"I took him to where Lee used to work and showed him the flat we used to live in to help him process everything and understand."
Not having a finishing date for the inquest was hard, Mrs Sheppard said.
"Everything keeps getting delayed but we are looking forward to  focusing on memories of Lee without dealing with the circumstances surrounding his death."
Mr Sheppard would have just turned 33 if he was still alive and Mrs Sheppard said life was different now.
"We were planning to build a house and start a family but circumstances meant that wasn't to be.
"It's out of my hands now and I don't have a choice but to get on with my life and look after Jaden."
Getting the inquest under way had cost a considerable sum of money but Mrs Sheppard said she wanted to do all she could to find out what happened.
"I felt I owed it to Jaden."
Mr Sheppard disappeared hours after Juliet had told him she was pregnant with
 Jaden, their first child.