Was Lord Lucan a murderer?

The case against Lord Lucan has never been tried, as he vanished.

There have been a score of different theories as to what happened to Lord Lucan after the murder - and there are just as many theories as to how Sandra Rivett came to be killed in the first place.

What’s certain is that there was a mix-up. It was definitely Lucan’s estranged wife Veronica who was meant to have been killed - but somehow it was Sandra who was bludgeoned to death.

This has led many people to believe that Lucan hired a hitman, who mistook the nanny for Veronica.

It is more plausible to stick with the simplest theory: Lucan tried to do the job himself. He waited for Veronica in the basement, having already removed the light-bulb - and then when he saw this slight woman come down the stairs, naturally assumed it had to be his estranged wife. Both Veronica and Sandra had the same petite build.

One can only imagine Lucan’s horror as he realised he’d got the wrong woman. He then tried to stuff Sandra into a mailbag, only to be disturbed by Veronica coming down to the basement. The pair of them fought on the stairs before Veronica caught him a sharp blow to the testicles.

Bizarrely, the pair of them then talked quietly on the stairs for a few minutes. Lucan let his guard down and went to clean up - and that’s when Veronica took her chance and fled the house to go to the nearby Plumber’s Arms.

After he’d escaped, Lucan later claimed to friends that he’d just been walking past the house when he’d peered into the basement. There he’d seen Sandra being attacked by a mystery intruder; had gone in to investigate; and had then been caught downstairs by Veronica.

Unfortunately, this story just does not hold water. It’s just about possible that Lucan may have hired a hitman - but, without question, Lucan was up to his neck in the murder.

There is a mountain of circumstantial evidence against Lucan, including his carefully prepared alibi at the Clermont Club, as well as the fact that he’d borrowed a friend’s Ford Corsair in order to dispose of the body.

But there was also one damning piece of evidence which has inextricably linked Lucan to the murder.

Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death with a piece of lead piping. This had been specially prepared for the job and had a piece of white taping wrapped round the end. Sandra was hit so hard that the piping actually bent. This murder weapon was left at the scene.

A couple of days after the murder, Lucan’s getaway car was discovered in Newhaven - and there in the boot was another piece of lead piping, complete with white tape round the end. It was a total twin to the bludgeon that had been used to kill Sandra Rivett.

If Lucan were genuinely innocent, he would have had a very hard time indeed trying to explain away this second bludgeon in the back of his getaway car.

The story of Lord Lucan can be found in William Coles' brilliantly edited
Lord Lucan: My Story