UK UK - Sandra Rivett, 29, Belgravia, London, 7 Nov 1974

[Mrs G Norris]

Why are they doing this? They should just declare Lucan dead so his son can inherit, how old would he be if he was alive?

 

[wfgodot]

Why are they doing this? They should just declare Lucan dead so his son can inherit, how old would he be if he was alive?

John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, if alive would turn 81 on 18 December this year.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Son of missing UK Lord Lucan asks for death certificate

http://news.yahoo.com/son-missing-uk-aristocrat-asks-death-certificate-112753427.html

 

[wfgodot]

Telegraph:

Lord Lucan dead within hours of murdering nanny, new witness claims
In dramatic courtroom scenes, private detective reveals member of peer's
gambling set claims to have evidence he took own life and never left UK

 

[wfgodot]

Express:

Missing Lord Lucan not dead - official decision on 'killer' must wait until spring
Son of peer must wait until spring for decision on whether father can be declared "officially dead".

 

[wfgodot]

Telegraph:

Friend says Lord Lucan killed himself after murdering family nanny by mistake
Close friend of Lord Lucan tells Telegraph that far from disappearing abroad the
aristocrat simply jumped off his boat and drowned himself in Newhaven Harbour

 

[STANDREID]

That he killed himself shortly after the murder has always been one of the theories-looks like just conjecture though.

 

[wfgodot]

Mail:

Lord Lucan 'told George Osborne's grandmother he was planning to kill his
WIFE days before he murdered his nanny and then drowned himself days later'

 

[wfgodot]

Uh -- excuse me?

Daily Mail:

Lord Lucan 'shot himself then was fed to this tiger': Breaking a
40-year silence, one of the missing peer's gambling set reveals
what he insists REALLY happened within hours of nanny murder

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Uh -- excuse me?

Daily Mail:

Lord Lucan 'shot himself then was fed to this tiger': Breaking a
40-year silence, one of the missing peer's gambling set reveals
what he insists REALLY happened within hours of nanny murder

Hmmmm. Unlikely but not impossible, Aspinall was a funny old bugger, bit dodgy, very eccentric. I'll put this version just above the "working in a chip shop with Elvis" theory.

Did you notice the reader comments at the bottom? One lady says she knew his (now deceased) close friend who said Lucan wrapped himself in chains and jumped off a boat.

And I love the reader comment which says "not true, in the 1970's tigers ate Frosties" HAHAHA!

 

[wfgodot]

DM:

'He has lost a mother and I have lost a father': Lord Lucan's son consoles son of the
nanny his father 'murdered' after the runaway peer is finally declared officially dead

◦ The peer went missing in 1974 after his children's nanny was found dead
◦ His disappearance sparked many theories about him having fled abroad
◦ His son was today granted a death certificate for his father by High Court
◦ Son of murdered nanny believes Lord Lucan was alive as recently as 2002

 

[wfgodot]

Guardian:

Our fascination with Lord Lucan never fades – but who was he?
The mysterious disappearance of the charismatic peer has held the
public’s attention for decades – even now he has been declared dead

 

[wfgodot]

DM:

Lord Lucan's brother: He DID get away - and I've 'ghosted' his autobiography to show how:
After a 42-year family silence, Hugh Bingham makes the most explosive intervention of all

 

[wfgodot]

Guardian:

Lord Lucan: the lucky journalists who got to pursue him around the world
The hunt for the missing peer proved to be the best expenses ticket in Fleet Street

 

[Dan Cooper]

Habeas corpus.

Bodies invariably tend to wash up somewhere, and so if Lucan did commit suicide then you'd have expected one by now. I think the most likely scenario is either he managed to get abroad - which seems likely - or he was subsequently killed by gangsters as a result of his unpaid gambling debts or fear of him saying something he shouldn't have. If so, that would explain no body being found, as plenty of people were murdered by London gangsters in the 60s and 70s for whom no bodies were ever found. They were pretty good at it.

Circumstantial evidence seems to point to Lucan managing to flee to Africa, and although I don't believe he died in November 1974, I do imagine he's been dead a while now. His brother certainly seems to think he was able to get out of the country, and Lady Lucan's behaviour has always struck me as odd - as has the fact she has been estranged from her children for some years, and that her son doesn't believe his father is a murderer. Given what happened, and that the children were at home on the night of the murder, that seems like odd behaviour.

Either way, without a body we will never find out. Clearly someone knows what happened, and they've chosen not to speak.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

A new (to me) claim in this case:

Debt-ridden Lord Lucan was 'bumped off Mafia-style by his gambling friends after they helped him escape to Switzerland'

Lord Lucan was killed by his gambling friends after they helped him escape to Switzerland, it has been claimed.

The debt-ridden aristocrat vanished in 1974 after the nanny to his three children Sandra Rivett, 29, was found murdered in his London home.

His disappearance has come to be one of the greatest mysteries of the past 40 years, attracting an endless series of conspiracy theories.

And now thriller writer Peter James, who claims to have close contact within Lucan's circle of friends, has come up with a new theory.

'According to my source, Lucan's wealthy friends flew him in a light plane to a private air-strip in Switzerland,' he told the Mirror.

'He was put up in a chateau near Montreux.

'Days later, Lucan said he had to call his children to tell them that he was OK.

'One friend, most likely the late John Aspinall, told him, "You're never going to see your kids again"'.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ped-escape-Switzerland-new-theory-claims.html

 

[wfgodot]

DM:

Lady Lucan finally speaks out about disappearance of her husband 43 years ago:
Reclusive wife agrees to appear in documentary to 'get revenge against her son'

 

[wfgodot]

Daily Mail:

'I said to him, "Please don't kill me John"': Lord Lucan's
wife reveals how she begged husband not to kill her moments
after murder of their nanny as she gives first ever TV interview

 

[wfgodot]

Daily Mail:

Lord Lucan used to beat me with cane before we had sex:
Widow shares intimate details of their fraught relationship

 

[Jolamom]

Daily Mail:

Lord Lucan used to beat me with cane before we had sex:
Widow shares intimate details of their fraught relationship

I had never heard of this case until recently and I now find it rather interesting. The more I read of Veronica Bingham, the more I understand why her children haven't spoken to her in 35 years. She seems to not care much about their feelings. I do have a question for those who have been following this story. First, were the children raised with their mother after their father's disappearance and if so, did her accusations against their father cause disharmony in the household or did the children accept her version early on? Second, was there ever any formal statements given to the police by Lady Lucan? If so, have they always remained the same? Third and final, if Lord Lucan did flee the country, why would he have not simply gone to a country that would not extradite him and then maintain a relationship with his children, who seemed to have been very important to him? Thanks in advance!