He was the tall, dark and handsome Eton-educated aristocrat with a penchant for fast cars and high-stakes gambling, once considered so dashing he was even on a short list to play the famous role of 007 in the James Bond movies.
But beneath the veneer of gentility lay a sinister side to the seventh Earl of Lucan.
On the evening of November 7, 1974, he exploded in rage and bludgeoned his three children’s 29-year-old nanny Sandra Rivett to death with a lead pipe in the dark basement of the family’s Belgravia mansion, before also attacking his estranged wife, Lady Lucan.
FUGITIVE LORD
He fled from the gruesome scene of the crime, driving to a friend’s house in Uckfield in East Sussex, with his car later being found abandoned in the seaside town of Newhaven with its interior stained with blood and a lead pipe similar to the one used to kill Sandra in the car’s boot.
This would be the last confirmed sighting of the fugitive killer, who vanished without a trace, despite a massive police hunt. It was also the beginning of a 51-year mystery that may have finally been solved in, of all places, Brisbane, Australia.
In a shocking twist, it’s been claimed that Lord Lucan, who would now be 91, has been living in a Brisbane commune under an assumed name and with a new identity as a Buddhist, after new evidence emerged from a facial recognition expert.
The 91-year-old man, who lived in Nepal before moving to Australia, is a “definite match” for Lucan, according to facial recognition expert Professor Hassan Ugail, who correctly identified the Russian secret agents behind the infamous 2018 Salisbury Novichok poisonings in England.
The new evidence has been uncovered by the slain nanny Sandra Rivett’s son Neil Berriman, 58, who, despite denials by both the man in question and British authorities, is still convinced that the killer is alive and well and living in Brisbane.
“I’ve spent nine years trying to prove this man is Lucan,” says Neil. “Now with the new scientific information, the police must act. This isn’t emotion. It’s fact.”
Professor Ugail says he used technology that his team has spent 20 years developing, using an algorithm which has never been wrong, to link the Australian pensioner, who categorically denies the claim, to Lord Lucan.
Neil announced that his own investigation had located the fugitive lord, and that he refuses to accept the British authority’s denial of the new evidence, and will instead present his dossier to the Australian High Commission in London.
“My mission is to keep my mother’s memory very much alive and to seek justice,” Neil says on his website.
“She is not ‘just the nanny’, she is the victim of a violent crime who became secondary because her killer was a lord, a lord who was protected and who vanished abroad with the aid of his rich and powerful friends rather than face justice.”
SPOTTED OVERSEAS
This is not the first time that Lord Lucan has been sighted since he vanished, with hundreds of claims of alleged sightings in countries around the world.
There have been sightings in France, Portugal, southern Africa, India – and even New Zealand in 2007, when residents reported they believed he was a homeless resident living there.
However, Lady Lucan and many of their friends believed the lord, whose nickname was “Lucky” due to his gambling prowess, killed himself shortly after vanishing by jumping into the English Channel.
Tragically, after suffering from mental health issues, Lady Lucan broke all ties with her family, including her children.
She took her own life in 2017. Before her death, she spoke about how her husband had physically and mentally abused her throughout their marriage.
The missing earl was officially declared dead in 1999, which allowed his eldest son George to inherit his title.
Anyone needing support can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
