THE TRIAL OF LORD LUCAN, DAY TWO – Prosecution Opening Statement: Gambling addict ‘plotted murder to ease his finances and rid himself of his estranged wife’… and his daughter, 10, was a crucial witness in the case
Last week the Mail revealed a new bombshell document outlining the case against Lord Lucan.
The Lord Lucan case is one of the most enduring in the world crime mysteries. November 7 marks 50 years since the 39-year-old British aristocrat disappeared without a trace within hours of the murder of his nanny Sandra Rivett, 29, and the near-fatal attack on his estranged wife Veronica, who police told her Eton. ..educated husband was responsible for both attacks.
Police have long believed Lucan murdered mother-of-two Mrs Rivett in the basement kitchen of his family’s five-storey Belgravia home in Central. London, after mistaking her for his wife. His three young children were upstairs.
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Lord Lucan’s wife Veronica Mary Duncan was almost fatally attacked that same night
It’s been almost fifty years since British aristocrat Lord Lucan, 39, disappeared without a trace
The Count disappeared after his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, was murdered in the family home
Today on the forensically detailed podcast The trial of Lord Lucan – in which two eminent real-life lawyers will argue whether Lord Lucan was innocent or guilty using the stunning new document and unheard evidence in an unmissable twist on courtroom drama – senior barrister Max Hardy takes on the role of the prosecutor.
After analyzing the original 60 pages Scotland Yard report about the 1974 case, and by examining contemporaneous statements, letters, books and other evidence, Mr. Hardy explains why he believes Lucan – and Lucan alone – was responsible for the murder of babysitter Sandra Rivett and the near-fatal attack on his woman.
In doing so, he explains the colleague’s background and how he had the means, motive and resources to carry out the atrocities.
His downfall, Mr. Hardy says, began after he left a well-paying job in banking “for what many believed was the easy road to wealth: gambling, racing, horses and motorboats, bobsledding and winter sports.” These are all activities that match his views on his status and place in society.’
Lady Lucan with Frances and George, two of the three children she had with her husband
The blood-soaked basement with Sandra Rivett’s body in a mailbag next to a discarded shoe
The Plumbers Arms, where Lady Lucan ran after finding Sandra Rivett dead in her home
Susan Maxwell-Scott with her husband William. She was the last person to see Lord Lucan alive
Nanny Sandra Rivett was beaten to death
In 1974, gambling was Lucan’s full-time occupation, Mr Hardy says, ‘but it did not provide income for the life Lord Lucan wanted’. It didn’t even provide the money for family necessities. The milk bill remained unpaid. The family’s grocery bill from Harrods was cancelled. The nanny agency was looking for payments. The reality is that Lord Lucan, despite his distinguished origins, good looks and military character, was no different than any other addict who labored under the illusion that he could break the bank.
It was then, Mr Hardy says, that Lucan plotted murder to ease his finances and get rid of his estranged wife, who had custody of their three children.
“Lady Lucan knows exactly who killed Sandra Rivett and tried to kill her, because fortunately she lived to tell the story,” the lawyer said. ‘And within minutes of being attacked, she was able to flee to a refuge, The Plumbers Arms pub, just 100 yards away, to make her accusation.’
And Mr Hardy says there is another crucial witness in the case: Lucan’s own daughter Lady Frances, aged 10, who was at home on the night in question and saw – or heard – some of the drama.
Listen to The trial of Lord Lucan hereand also wherever you normally get your podcasts.
