08 Nov 1974 - Lord Lucan disappears, murder suspect

[TonyGosling]

Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934; disappeared 8 November 1974), commonly known as Lord Lucan, was a British peer who disappeared after being suspected of murder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bingham,_7th_Earl_of_Lucan

He was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, the eldest son of George Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan by his mother Kaitlin Dawson. He was an evacuee during the Second World War but returned to attend Eton College, and served with the Coldstream Guards in West Germany from 1953 to 1955. He developed a taste for gambling and became skilled at backgammon and bridge, and he was an early member of the Clermont Club. His losses often exceeded his winnings, yet he left his job at a London-based merchant bank and became a professional gambler. He was known as Lord Bingham from April 1949 until January 1964, during his father's lifetime.

Lucan was considered for the role of James Bond in the cinematic adaptations of Ian Fleming's novels. He was known for his expensive tastes; he raced power boats and drove an Aston Martin. In 1963, he married Veronica Duncan, with whom he had three children. The marriage collapsed late in 1972, and he moved out of the family home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street in London's Belgravia to a property nearby. A bitter custody battle ensued which Lucan lost, and he began to spy on his wife and record their telephone conversations, apparently obsessed with regaining custody of the children. This fixation and his gambling losses had a dramatic effect on his life and personal finances.

On the evening of 7 November 1974, the children's nanny Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in the basement of the Lucan family home. Lady Lucan was also attacked; she later identified Lucan as her assailant. As the police began their homicide investigation, Lucan telephoned his mother, asking her to collect the children, and then drove a borrowed Ford Corsair to a friend's house in Uckfield, East Sussex. Hours later, he left the property and disappeared. The car was found abandoned in Newhaven, its interior stained with blood and its boot containing a piece of bandaged lead pipe similar to one found at the crime scene. The police issued a warrant for Lucan's arrest a few days later, and the inquest into Rivett's death named him as her murderer.

There has been continuing interest in Lucan's fate, and hundreds of alleged sightings have been reported in various countries around the world, none of which has been substantiated. Lucan has not been found, despite a police investigation and widespread press coverage.

[TonyGosling]

Scotland Yard reveals Lord Lucan case is still 'OPEN' and officers are keen for 'any information' into 1974 murder of nanny - after her son 'tracks down fugitive peer, 85, to Australia where he is now a Buddhist and housebound'
Neil Berriman's mother Sandra Rivett was murdered by Lord Lucan in Nov 1974
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7940419/Lord-Lucan-son-nanny- murdered-Fugitive-peer-tracked-Australia.html

Lord Lucan's car was later found abandoned but he has never been located
Assumed he killed himself off Newhaven - but there have been global sightings
Mr Berriman thinks he has found Lucan, now 85, in suburban Australian house
He said: 'I believe I've tracked down the man, Lucan, who murdered my mother'
Met says Sandra's murder case still 'open' and will 'consider new information'
By JOE MIDDLETON FOR MAILONLINE and KUMAIL JAFFER FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 23:32, 28 January 2020 | UPDATED: 12:47, 29 January 2020

The Met Police's cold case team will speak to the son of the nanny beaten to death by Lord Lucan after his sensational claim he has discovered the fugitive peer living as a Buddhist in Australia.

Neil Berriman's mother Sandra Rivett was murdered by Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, in November 1974, who has never been seen since.

Mr Berriman, from West Sussex, says Lucan is housebound and awaiting a major operation after decades living Down Under - and has spoken to the Met who have reassured him they will look into his claims.

He told the Daily Mirror: 'I believe I have tracked down the man, Lord Lucan, who murdered my mother. He has been alive all this time. Lying about who he is. Lying about it to his new friends'.

Scotland Yard told MailOnline today that Sandra Rivett's case remains 'unsolved' and 'open' more than 45 years after she was bludgeoned to death with a length of lead piping and her body then stuffed into a mail-sack in Lucan's basement.

A spokesman said: 'The inquiry into the death of Sandra Rivett remains open as is the case with all unsolved murders. It has never been closed. Any significant new information will be considered. We keep an open mind in relation to this case'.

Neil Berriman's mother Sandra Rivett was murdered by Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, in November 1974 and he said today: 'I believe I have tracked down the man, Lord Lucan, who murdered my mother' +15
Neil Berriman's mother Sandra Rivett was murdered by Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, in November 1974 and he said today: 'I believe I have tracked down the man, Lord Lucan, who murdered my mother'

George Bingham, the only son of the infamous British aristocrat Lord Lucan, arrives at the High Court with his wife Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard in 2016 where he obtained a death certificate for his father allowing him to become the 8th Earl of Lucan