Coronation Street spoilers: Carla Connor and Nina Lucas sickened as they lose their beloved Roy Cropper in traumatic death story

There’s a shock twist in the story of the disappearance of Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) in upcoming Coronation Street episodes when the police make an arrest for the teen’s murder. And the person who’s arrested is Roy Cropper (David Neilson).

Yes, it’s unthinkable. Roy may be something of an oddball, but Corrie viewers have known him for a long time and the mild-mannered cafe proprietor is certainly no murderer. Sadly, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Bobby Crawford (Jack Carroll)’s suspicions were raised when he found Roy in Lauren’s flat, apparently going through her things.

Roy’s explanation that he was merely tidying the flat up so Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman) didn’t get charged for the messy state it was in didn’t convince Bobby.

When bloodstains are discovered on the curtains in Lauren’s flat, the police realise that they could now be looking at a murder, rather than just a disappearance.

We know that Roy was probably the last person to see Lauren in Weatherfield when he called to her flat to give her her wages – plus a little bit of extra cash – after having to sack her previously.

The next person to visit the flat was Bobby, who found Lauren missing, but with a bacon sandwich still on the coffee table it looked like she’d left in a hurry.

There were signs that there’d been a scuffle, too – pointing to evidence that Lauren had been taken from the flat against her will.

Previously Roy has done his best to help the troubled teen. On one occasion she offered to sleep with him in exchange for his kindness, a situation Roy handled with tact and kindness.

In episodes to be aired soon he becomes the target of online trolls following his appearance in an appeal to find missing Lauren.

Carla (Alison King) reluctantly shows him the horrible comments, and she and Nina (Mollie Gallagher) warn Roy not to get involved when Max (Paddy Bever) wants to do another appeal with Suzi from the Gazette.

As Suzi arrives at the cafe to record the appeal, there’s another visitor – DS Swain (Vicky Myers). She’s there to arrest Roy for the murder of Lauren Bolton, and as Nina and Carla can only watch on in horror, he’s led away to the police station.

Video of his arrest is soon posted online, as Carla seriously worries for her friend’s future.