Lord Lucan suspected to be alive after brutal killing of nanny Sandra Rivett

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of his mother Sandra Rivett's death, her son Neil has shared he believed is still alive and well.

A three-part documentary on the gruesome 1974 murder of the nanny titled Lucan is set to be aired this Wednesday, November 6, on , as it looks into , her son, and his life following her passing. Neil was compelled to find answers after learning who his real mother was, following the death of his adoptive mum.

Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, , was said to have ended his life after committing the sinister act but no body was ever discovered during a decades-long search. However, Neil is convinced and living miles away from the UK.

Born on September 16, 1945, was the third child of a large family and, while not much is known about her early life, she was known to have battled depression after a failed romance and bravely became a voluntary patient at a mental health institution in Surrey.

Later on, in 1973, she moved to Portsmouth to be with her older sister and met her husband, Roger Rivett. The pair tied the knot in June, 1967, in Croydon. Their marriage collapsed in May, 1974, and, after working for a cigarette company, Sandra was listed on the books of a Belgravia domestic agency and cared for an elderly couple before being employed for the Lucans.

On November 7, 1974, the 29-year-old nanny was bludgeoned to death while working for the Lucan family in their London townhouse. Her body was found in a blood-soaked mailbag in the basement kitchen, prompting police to launch an "all alerts" man hunt on the night of the murder but the prime murder suspect, her boss Lord Lucan, had already fled the country.

As mentioned, it is now believed that Lord Luca was able to escape to Australia with the help of rich friends. There have since been multiple 'sightings' of the missing man as far as India and Mozambique.

In January 2020, Mr Berriman gave police “evidence” that Lucan, who would now be 89, was alive and living in a Buddhist commune in . Emails sent last month show the Metropolitan Police’s cold case unit is investigating Neil Berriman’s claim. He says the Englishman is seriously ill, and shared his fears he would never see justice.

The police have several pictures and videos of the man Neil believes is Lucan, Central London - but the aristocrat may have had plenty of reasons to vanish and outrun justice. It was notably revealed that he had run up huge gambling debts and, to make matters worse, his nine-year-long marriage to Lady Veronica Lucan had collapsed and the couple were battling for custody of their three children.

Police think he attacked Sandra with a lead pipe after mistaking her for his wife. There were rumours he had committed suicide by throwing himself off a cross-Channel ferry from Newhaven days later.

Despite the absence of a body, the High Court declared Lord Lucan dead on February 3, 2016, but contractor and father-of-two Neil affirmed he had received a detailed tip claiming that the aristocrat was still alive. He has since spent a staggering £30k investigating the claim. This eventually led him straight to an OAP in Australia, , but what will be the outcome of their encounter? Find out this Wednesday on Two.

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