After Sandra Rivett was found dead in the home of her employers, Lord and Lady Lucan, in November 1974, Lord Lucan was never seen again — and some people believe he used his wealth and connections to escape from England and go into hiding for decades.
Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock PhotoLord Lucan and Lady Lucan on their wedding day in November 1963.
On Nov. 7, 1974, Lord Lucan made international headlines when his wife, Veronica, stormed into a London pub in their affluent Belgravia neighborhood in London and hysterically accused him of murdering their nanny and attempting to kill her.
Upon investigating the couple’s home, authorities discovered a grisly crime scene that hinted at a violent and desperate struggle. Despite exhausting search efforts, numerous leads, and potential sightings, Lord Lucan, officially known as John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, had vanished without a trace.
At the time, the disappearance of Lord Lucan and the shocking murder were subject to gossip in England’s upper society, unraveling a hidden tale of extensive personal troubles.
It was revealed that, behind the façade of an otherwise average marriage, the Bingham family grappled with severe gambling addiction, mental health issues, physical abuse, and an ugly custody battle that ultimately culminated in tragedy and left the world with an enduring mystery.
The Early Life Of Richard John Bingham, The Future Lord Lucan
PA Images/Alamy Stock PhotoDowager Countess Lucan, mother of the missing Lord Lucan.
Richard John Bingham, better known as Lord Lucan, was born on Dec. 18, 1934, in London. His parents, George Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan, and Kaitlin Elizabeth Anne Dawson, belonged to the British aristocracy. From a young age, Lord Lucan lived a privileged life. He attended a preparatory school in London before World War II forced his family to send him away.
In 1940, Lord Lucan and his siblings moved to Canada to avoid the conflict. They later relocated to New York, where Lord Lucan attended the Harvey School while living with American millionaires Brady and Marcia Tucker. They eventually returned to the United Kingdom in 1945 to find that their old neighborhood had been devastated during the war.
The abrupt change from a pampered life in the United States to a war-ravaged neighborhood in London understandably caused the young lord considerable stress. Despite the challenges, Lord Lucan continued his education at Eton College.
There, Lord Lucan would begin his life-long struggling with gambling. He participated in horse racing as a student and used his meager salary as a bookmaker to bet in card games.
After graduation, Lord Lucan joined the British Army to fulfill his national service requirement. During this period, he was stationed in Krefeld, West Germany, as a second lieutenant in the British Army’s Coldstream Guards. He remained in the service for a year, after which he became a banker at William Brandt’s Sons and Co. in London.
Unfortunately, Lord Lucan did not leave his gambling ways behind him when he left the British Army. Instead, his appetite for a quick thrill only grew. In one instance, Lord Lucan lost roughly £10,000 and needed his uncle to pay off his debts.
His heavy losses did not deter him from living the high life in both Britain and the United States for a few years. When he finally felt ready to settle down, Lord Lucan moved back to London and began looking to start his family.
Lord Lucan Marries Veronica Duncan And Becomes A Family Man
Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock PhotoLord Lucan’s marriage to Veronica Duncan in November 1963.
In 1963, Lord Lucan met Veronica Duncan at a golfing event. By all accounts, Duncan was born into an average middle-class English family. As a college student, she shared an apartment with her sister, Christina Duncan, who later married William Shand Kydd, the half-brother of Princess Diana’s stepfather. Her connection with Kydd allowed her access to England’s upper society events, including the golfing event where she met Lord Lucan.
The two became engaged only months after meeting, and on Nov. 20, 1963, they were married in London. Lord Lucan’s father gave the couple a hefty financial gift to purchase themselves a home following the wedding, and the couple decided on 46 Lower Belgrave Street in Belgravia, London.
Only a few months after their marriage, George Bingham suffered a stroke and passed away, making John Bingham the new 7th Earl of Lucan. The new Lord Lucan inherited the titles and a seat in the House of Lords.
On Oct. 24, 1964, Lady Lucan gave birth to their first daughter, Lady Frances Bingham. Three years later, they welcomed George Bingham, the 8th Earl of Lucan, and three years after that, they welcomed their final child, Lady Camilla Bingham.
Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock PhotoLady Lucan with children Lady Frances (10) and Lord Bingham (7) in 1974.
In the initial years of their marriage, the couple had an amicable relationship. Lord Lucan reportedly tried to share his passions for gambling, golfing, and hunting with his new wife. However, his voracious appetite for easy thrills and expensive hobbies slowly caused a rift between the two.
Gambling Addiction, Divorce, And A Path Toward Murder
Rex FeaturesLord Lucan gambling, one of his most frequent pastimes.
The couple’s marriage was not at all the whirlwind romance the media made it out to be. Shortly after the wedding, Lady Lucan noted how cold her husband had become. She later told ITV in 2017, “He talked to me more before our marriage than he ever did afterwards. He said, ‘That’s the point of being married, you don’t have to talk to the person.'”
Their strained marriage was worsened when Lady Lucan suffered from postpartum depression following the births of the couple’s last two children. Lord Lucan reportedly became increasingly frustrated with his wife as her mental state declined.
Lady Lucan recalled her husband caning her on her behind when she had depressive moods to get “the mad ideas out of [her] head.” She told ITV, “He could have hit harder. They were measured blows. He must have got pleasure out of it because he had intercourse [with me] afterwards.”
After Lord Lucan attempted to hospitalize her for depression, Lady Lucan isolated herself further. By 1972, the couple was no longer living together.
Lord Lucan seemingly resolved to divorce Veronica that same year. In a plot to get full custody of his children, Lord Lucan had his wife followed for evidence that she was unfit to take care of them.
In 1973, Lord Lucan took their children out of school early and kept them from his wife. The issue eventually found its way to court, where Lady Lucan petitioned for the return of her children.
At the hearing, doctors testified that Lady Lucan was not insane but instead suffering from depression and anxiety. Lord Lucan was forced to answer for his bizarre behavior toward his estranged wife and his gambling habits, leading to the judge granting Lady Lucan custody of the children. Lord Lucan was only granted visitation every other weekend.
The court decision infuriated Lord Lucan, prompting him to amp up his harassment toward his wife. He was hell-bent on getting his children back — no matter the cost.
Lord Lucan Disappears From His London Home
Google MapsThe home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street in Belgravia, London.
On Nov. 7, 1974, Lady Lucan ran into Plumbers Arms, a nearby pub, screaming that her husband had murdered her nanny and was trying to kill her.
When the police arrived at the scene at 46 Lower Belgrave Street, they discovered the body of Sandra Rivett, the family’s nanny, in a sack in the basement. She had seemingly been beaten to death with a metal pipe.
Wikimedia CommonsSandra Rivett, the nanny who worked for Lord Lucan and his wife.
When the police interviewed Lady Lucan in the hospital, she told investigators that on the evening of Nov. 6, she was putting the children to bed while awaiting tea from Rivett. When the nanny failed to appear with the tea, Lady Lucan went downstairs to look for her.
She found blood at the top of the basement stairs and called out for Rivett before a man attacked her. The two fought, and Lady Lucan reportedly recognized the man’s voice as her husband’s. The fight ended when Lady Lucan squeezed the assailant’s genitals.
According to Lady Lucan, her attacker was Lord Lucan. When she asked him where Rivett was, he reportedly admitted to murdering her. Lady Lucan pleaded with her estranged husband to spare her in return for her help in his escape from the scene.
Lord Lucan allegedly took his wife upstairs to the bedroom, laid her across the bed, and asked her if she had any barbiturates. When he disappeared into the bathroom, Lady Lucan ran out of the home and into the nearby pub.
By the time the police arrived at the scene, Lord Lucan was long gone.
Inside The Search For The Missing Earl
Keystone Press/Alamy Stock PhotoPolice divers looking for Lord Lucan in the Newhaven Harbor on Nov. 14, 1974.
Following the murder and Lady Lucan’s testimony, authorities began a widespread search for Lord Lucan. They began by speaking to Lord Lucan’s mother. She claimed that her son called her around 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 7, complaining about an incident at his home. He told her that he would call the police later that day.
The police also received word that the earl wrote two blood-stained letters to his brother-in-law, Bill Shand Kydd, in the hours following the murder. In the letters, Lord Lucan discussed the incident:
The most ghastly circumstances arose tonight which I briefly described to my mother. When I interrupted the fight at Lower Belgrave St. and the man left Veronica accused me of having hired him. I took her upstairs and sent Frances up to bed and tried to clean her up. She lay doggo for a bit and when I was in the bathroom left the house. The circumstantial evidence against me is strong in that V will say it was all my doing.
On Nov. 10, police discovered Lord Lucan’s Ford Corsair in Newhaven, about two hours south of London. Inside the car, investigators recovered a lead pipe and a bottle of vodka. Investigators searched the bay and used tracker dogs to look for any sign of the earl, but nothing turned up. By Nov. 12, the police had issued an arrest warrant on murder charges for Lord Lucan.
What Happened To Lord Lucan?
Despite the widespread circulation of the shocking murder among a high-status English family, there were very few promising leads in the case.
Later interviews with Francis Bingham, the only child to witness the events inside the Bingham home that night, revealed how she saw her father in the home. She stated that her father asked her where her mother went before walking downstairs to search for Lady Lucan.
The Plumbers Arms pub owner testified how Lady Lucan barreled into the establishment covered in blood and screaming, “Help me, help me, I’ve just escaped from being murdered! My children, my children, he’s murdered my nanny!”
The last person to see Lord Lucan alive was his friend’s wife, Susan Maxwell-Scott. She testified that Lord Lucan appeared disheveled and had a stain on his pants when he showed up at the Maxwell-Scott residence the night of the murder.
Despite the handful of eyewitnesses, authorities never identified Lord Lucan’s whereabouts. To this day, he has never been identified. On Oct. 27, 1999, he was declared legally dead. In 2016, his son, George Bingham, inherited his father’s titles and seat in the House of Lords.
As far as theories, Lady Lucan believes her estranged husband died by suicide that night.
“I would say he got on the ferry and jumped off in the middle of the Channel in the way of the propellers so that his remains wouldn’t be found — I think quite brave,” she told ITV. However, others are not so sure that Lord Lucan would have taken his life that night.
“The evidence points towards the fact that Lord Lucan left the country and lived abroad for a number of years. Whether he is still alive today, I don’t know,” Deputy Chief Superintendent Lewis Benjamin told the Telegraph in 2004.
Despite the claims, no definitive evidence has ever surfaced regarding the disappearance of John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan. For now, the case remains a mystery.
After reading about Lord Lucan, dive into the story of Xavier Dupont De Ligonnès, the French nobleman who disappeared after allegedly murdering his entire family in 2011. Then, read about Michael Rockefeller, the heir who vanished on an expedition to New Guinea in 1961.
