DC Laura Prior investigated the murder of Mark Wylde with DS Nick Henshall after Mark's body was discovered by Sam Dingle. After questioning the Wylde and Lamb families, the detectives arrested Nathan Wylde on suspicion of his father's murder but was released, due to a lack of evidence. Nathan's half-brother, Ryan Lamb, was arrested after Nathan framed him by planting the murder weapon at the garage where he worked and a gold chain with Ryan's DNA at the murder scene. After questioning Ryan, Prior and Henshall charged him with Mark's murder.
Prior returned in January 2011 to investigate the arson attack in which Viv Hope and Terry Woods were killed. She was unaware that Henshall was responsible for the blaze but his frequent mood swings made Prior suspect he was overworked. Together, they questioned Katie Sugden, Chas Dingle and Gennie Walker. Katie told Prior that she thought the arsonist had also been making prank telephone calls and broke into their home. Chas, however, thought her ex-boyfriend, Carl King, could be responsible but Gennie believed Andy Sugden was the culprit. After stating that Carl and Andy would be interviewed, the detectives left. Henshall and Prior went to Butlers Farm and questioned Andy at the police station, where he protested his innocence. After the interview, Prior remarked to Henshall that they have no evidence against Andy, only hearsay and speculation.
Prior attended Terry's funeral with Henshall and noticed Henshall's discomfort, asking if he was alright but he brushed off her concerns. Andy went to the police station and made a complaint about Henshall harassing him. Initially Prior insisted that Henshall was just doing his job and had not broken any rules until he told her Henshall and Katie were dating and he suspected Henshall is trying to frame him. Prior was surprised by Andy's revelation and confronted Henshall, who admitted his relationship with Katie. Realising Henshall was jeopardizing the case, Prior reported him and Henshall was taken off the case. He angrily confronted Prior in the locker room, frightening her with his rage, accusing her of ruining his further promotion chances and being jealous of Katie. The following day, Prior went to Victoria Cottage to review Katie, Chas and Gennie's witness statements and found Henshall there. Katie told her that on the night of the attack, she had been out for dinner with Henshall and after a confrontation with Andy, they ended their relationship.
Prior also visited Carl to review his statement and discovered a key piece of information missing from Carl's original statement. Carl had revealed that he nearly crashed into a car as he drove into the village in his van, just before he saw the fire. Carl says that he was not shown his statement to sign, surprising Prior as this was police procedure. Prior confronted Henshall in The Woolpack and demanded an explanation but he insisted that he did not think the evidence was reliable. Prior warned Henshall that if she discovered the truth then she will not defend him.
Henshall spotted Prior speaking to DC Darren Foster at the police station. He told Henshall that Prior had found a CCTV camera across the road from the shop where the phone used to make the nuisance calls to Victoria Cottage was bought from. They found footage of Henshall leaving the shop, making Prior search for Henshall and warn Katie. On arrival in the village, Chas told her that they had gone, first to Henshall's house for his luggage and then away for a while. Prior gave Chas her mobile number and asked her to call if either Katie or Henshall contacted her. She and Foster went to Henshall's house and knocked on the door, knowing that he and Katie were there, but no one answered. Realising the danger Katie was in, it soon turned into hostage situation and the area was cordoned off. Prior waited by the cordon when Andy and Gennie arrived and she reassured them that the situation was under control, and asked for Katie's mobile number. Prior called Katie's mobile and Henshall answered. She told him that she knew he was responsible for the prank calls and asked for his side of the story but he refused to say anything or let her speak to Katie. On Prior's request to see that Katie was alive, he dragged her to the window for her to see.
As night fell, Prior continued to call Henshall's phone but he didn't answer. Prior's boss told her that as she couldn't handle Henshall, he would send a team in. Foster suggested they storm the place but she overruled him, reminding him that Henshall had already killed two people so they could not risk Katie's life. She tried again to speak to Henshall, putting Foster's mobile through the letterbox when he wouldn't answer the door and calling it repeatedly but he didn't answer that either so Prior picked up a loudspeaker and asked Henshall to answer the phone but he ignored her. The chief inspector told Prior that she did her best and they will send a team in. Andy tried breaking through the cordon and had to be dragged away, warning Prior that he would hold her responsible if anything happened to Katie. Gennie asked what will happen next and Prior told her that she will try to talk to Henshall for as long as possible, reassuring her that the armed response teams were trained for the type of situation they were in. A shot later rang out and Prior was apprehensive, thinking Henshall has killed Katie but she emerged unharmed. Katie told Prior that Henshall had shot himself and she was overcome with shock.
List of appearances[]
2010[]
2011[]
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