大象传媒

LORD LUCAN - THE MYSTERY UNRAVELLED

Last resting place? Is Lucan buried under the bowling green?

The mystery of Lord Lucan has gripped the nation for over 30 years. But what happened after his mysterious disappearance? Is it possible that Lucan is still alive and living abroad? Or did he die or commit suicide after the murder of his nanny Sandra Rivett?

Inside Out looks at the background to this murder mystery.

There are many theories about Lord Lucan's disappearance.

Some think that he escaped abroad with the help of well-connected friends.

Others believe that he committed suicide or persuaded his friends to kill him before he was tracked down by the Police.

Strange sightings

Over the last 30 years many people have claimed to have seen Lord Lucan, whose body has never been found.

The murder scene at Lower Belgrave Street

Although there have been sightings all over the world, none have proved to be fruitful.

A high profile sighting in 2003 involved a bearded man bearing a striking resemblance to Lucan looked potentially credible.

However the Lucan "look-alike" turned out to be Barry Halpin, a well-known figure on the 1960s UK folk circuit who had been living in Goa, and is also a keen gambler.

New evidence?

In October 2004 Scotland Yard reopened the Lucan case so they could examine existing police evidence, using DNA profiling.

Police prepared a computer-generated image of how Lord Lucan would look today, aged 71-years-old, if he were still alive.

However, the DNA testing has so far failed to provide any conclusive evidence to solve the Lucan mystery.

Suicide?

One theory is that Lucan committed suicide as the gentleman's way out and to protect his family honour.

As well as the murder charges, Lucan was also heavily in debt due to his gambling addiction - he was facing financial ruin.

It's a theory supported by the late casino owner John Aspinall, one of the last people to see Lucan before his disappearance.

Speaking to the 大象传媒 in 1994, he said that he believed Lucan's bones were "lying 250 feet under the Channel".

His theory was that Lucan was guilty of the murder of his nanny, and that he killed himself out of shame.

Aspinall told 大象传媒 News that he believed that Lucan "tied a stone around his body and scuttled the powerboat he kept at Newhaven, and down he went".

In his absence Lord Lucan was found guilty of the murder of Mrs Sandra Rivett by a Coroner's Jury in June 1975.

A warrant committing Lord Lucan for trial at the Central Criminal Court was issued immediately after the decision.

However, due to Lucan's disappearance, the case has never been examined in a criminal trial.

The law relating to murder cases changed shortly after the Coroner's Jury's decision.

Lucan is still wanted for the murder of his nanny and the attempted murder of his wife.

Murder theories

There are many theories about what actually happened on the night of Sandra Rivett's murder.

Lord Lucan wrote three letters to close acquaintances before his disappearance, hinting at his innocence.

Supporters of Lucan claim that the coincidence was that Lucan had passed the house at the very same moment that Lady Lucan had been attacked.

There are three main schools of thought about what happened on the night of November 7, 1974:

1) Lord Lucan was guilty of the murder and the attack on his wife, and no-one else was involved.

2) The murderer was an unknown assailant and the attack was bungled burglary.

Lucan was passing by, saw a commotion and saved his wife from the attacker, but fled because he felt that he would not be believed.

"My dear Michael, I have had a traumatic night of unbelievable consequences... Yours ever, John".
Letter from Lord Lucan, 1974.

3) Lucan hired a hit man to murder his wife but the murderer botched the job - it was a case of mistaken identity.

Final resting place - was Grants Hill House Lucan's last stop?

The hitman murdered the nanny accidentally - she would have looked similar to Lady Lucan in the dark and she wasn't supposed to be working in the house that evening.

Lucan arrived to discover the mistake and then attacked his wife and tried to murder her.

Supporters of this theory claim that there is some evidence to suggest that Lord Lucan borrowed money a few weeks before the murder, perhaps to hire a hitman.

However this money borrowing may have been to pay off his mounting gambling debts.

Into thin air

There are also numerous theories about what happened to Lord Lucan after the murder of Sandra Rivett.

The main possibilities are:

• Lord Lucan committed suicide to save his honour and escape prosecution;
  
  
• Lucan fled abroad with the help of his well-connected friends and created a smokescreen to cover his tracks. He created a new identity and is still alive living under a new name;
  
  
• Lord Lucan persuaded his friends to murder him and hide his body

Inside Out asked Countess Lucan what her response is to the many theories surrounding her husband's disappearance. This is what she said:

Thank you for your email. I had hoped that my website had put an end to absurd ideas. My late husband committed suicide on 8th November 1974.

Conspiracy?

Countess Lucan does not hold with the conspiracy theories, and this is what she says on her official website:

The Plumber's Arms where Lady Lucan fled on the murder night

"The killer of Mrs Sandra Rivett does not remain unknown. The inquest jury of the Coroner's Court in June 1975 named the 7th Earl as the murderer of Mrs Sandra Rivett.

"They were the last inquest jury to name anyone as a murderer... their unanimous verdict was 'MURDER BY LORD LUCAN'."

The Countess of Lucan has also publicly stated since 1987 that her husband is not alive, and she sometimes uses the prefix "dowager" to make her position as a widow clear.

Dead or alive?

Speculation continues as to the whereabouts of Lord Lucan and whether he is dead or alive.

One of the keys to the Lucan murder mystery is what happened at several key points in time:

Lucan's car was dumped on Newhaven's Norman Street

* what really happened between 9pm and 9.45pm on the night of the murder?

* why did Lady Lucan delay running out of the house to the pub to raise the alarm for 35 minutes?

* what happened to Lucan after he visited the Maxwell-Scotts in Uckfield?

* how did Lucan's car appear in Newhaven three days later?

These and the answers to many more questions are still unclear.

To make things more difficult to unravel, many of the protaganists involved in the Lucan story are now dead or elderly with fading memories.

Only one thing is certain.

Until further evidence is produced, the mystery of Lord Lucan's disappearance will continue to baffle Police and public alike.

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