1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky Listener Discretion advised Thursday, November seventh, 3 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four. The residential London neighborhood of Belgravia was 4 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: known back in the Tudor period as a hotspot for 5 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: highwaymen and robberies, but by the nineteen seventies it was 6 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: considered a quiet space in the heart of the city. Today, 7 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: the neighborhood's Lower Belgrave Street has its own wiki page 8 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: with four notable residents listed, two writers, the wife of 9 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: a Nicaraguan dictator, and John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan. 10 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: The night of November seventh, Lucan's estranged wife, Veronica, was 11 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: home with the couple's children and their nanny, a woman 12 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: named Sandra Rivet. Thursday was normally Rivet's night off, the 13 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: evening she would go out with her boyfriend, but Sandra 14 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,479 Speaker 1: switched her schedule that week and had seen her boyfriend 15 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: the night before. A little before nine, Sandra Rivet put 16 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 1: the youngest children to bed and asked Lady Lucan if 17 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: she wanted a cup of tea. After a while, Veronica 18 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: began to wonder what was taking the nanny so long, 19 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: and so she headed downstairs to the home's basement kitchen. 20 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: She made it to the top of the basement stairs, 21 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: where she was struck by a metal pipe. Aving to 22 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: later testimony, Veronica screamed for her life and then recognized 23 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: her attacker's voice as her husband's when he told her 24 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: to shut up. A struggle ensued. Lucan only released the 25 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: grip on his wife's throat when Veronica managed to grab 26 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 1: his testicles, and he gave up the fight. With tensions 27 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: slightly calmer for the moment, Veronica asked her husband where 28 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: Rivet was. At first he was evasive, Finally he admitted 29 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: she was dead. In an attempt to placate her husband 30 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: and by herself some time, Veronica suggested she would help 31 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: him dispose of the body, but that she had to 32 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: stay in the house until her wounds from their earlier 33 00:02:55,480 --> 00:03:02,079 Speaker 1: fight were healed. Her gambit was successful. Lucan agreed, and 34 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: when he went into the bathroom to get a wet towel, 35 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: Veronica realized he wouldn't be able to hear her over 36 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: the running water. She fled the house and successfully ran 37 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: to a nearby pub, the Plumber's Arms. The story of 38 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: the Lucans captivated the nation and continues to perplex true 39 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: crime fans to this day, not only because it was 40 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: a murder case involving nobility, but because of the incredibly 41 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: mysterious circumstances of the crime's aftermath. In nineteen seventy five, 42 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: Lord Lucan was found guilty of the murder of Sandra Rivet, 43 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: but he wasn't there to hear his sentence, nor did 44 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: he serve his time. In fact, the last time Lord 45 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: Lucan was seen was the day after the murder, November eighth, 46 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four. Lord Lucan simply disappeared, despite being legally 47 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: declared dead twice. The whereabouts and status of Lord Lucan 48 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: remain a mystery to this day. Lady Lucan's opinion has 49 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: oscillated over the years, from her being convinced her husband 50 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: was still alive at times in the decades following his disappearance, 51 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 1: to the staunch belief that he must be dead. Described 52 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: in her twenty seventeen obituary by The New York Times 53 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: as imperious and wickedly witty, Lady Lucan's life was documented 54 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: from nineteen seventy four up until her death through a 55 00:04:55,520 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: series of interviews and reflections about the fateful day in 56 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: question and the abusive marriage that preceded it. Her marriage 57 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: has largely defined not only her public image but her life. 58 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 1: Lord Lucan may Or may not have been able to 59 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: escape with what he had done, but Lady Lucan was 60 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: the one who had to live with it. I'm Danish 61 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: Schwartz and this is noble blood. Lady Lucan was born 62 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: Veronica Mary Duncan on May third, nineteen thirty seven, in 63 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: the coastal English town of Bournemouth. Her father, a major 64 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: during the First World War, died in a car accident 65 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: when Veronica was only two years old, which meant Veronica 66 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: and her younger sister, Christina were raised entirely by their mother. 67 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: The sister's childhoods were spent between England and South Africa, 68 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: where their mother remarried, and then Veronica would settle in London. 69 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: As a young adult, she spent her first years out 70 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: of school doing what many do, throwing interests and possible 71 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: careers at the wall and seeing what stuck. She went 72 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: from art school to helping out in her stepfather's bar, 73 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: to modeling school, to learning shorthand, which eventually led to 74 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:46,040 Speaker 1: becoming the director of a small printing company. She recalls 75 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: she didn't date much during this period of her life, 76 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: but that would change in nineteen sixty three. That year, 77 00:06:54,320 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: Veronica's younger sister, Christina, married William shand Kid, the son 78 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: of a wallpaper magnet, and the sisters were both introduced 79 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: to London society. If that name, or the phrase British 80 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: wallpaper magnet is ringing some kind of bell for you, you 81 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: probably know a lot about Lady Dye. William shand Kidd's brother, 82 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: Peter shand Kid, was Princess Diana's stepfather. It was at 83 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: a London Society function, a golf club actually, where Veronica 84 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: first saw Lord John Bingham, eldest son of George Bingham, 85 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: sixth Earl of Luken. Although their exchange was brief, he 86 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: stood out to Veronica among the other men present. Quote 87 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: he looked like a gentleman, almost in caricature, Veronica recalled 88 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: in her memoir, it's a good description. John was apparently 89 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: briefly considered for the role of James Bond before Sean 90 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: Connery beat him out for it, probably on the grounds 91 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 1: of acting experience. That was March. Veronica wouldn't see John 92 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: again until August, when John visited Christina and her husband 93 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 1: at their country house in the south of France, and, 94 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: remembering Christina's sister, Veronica asked for her to join. Christina 95 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: was weary of the potential match, warning Veronica that he's 96 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: got socialist parents, he's a professional gambler, and he's said 97 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: to be queer. Quite untrue, Veronica would reflect on the 98 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: last bit, but no one could deny John's gambling addiction. 99 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: He had first picked up the taste for it as 100 00:08:54,600 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: a student at shocker Eton College before becoming a regular 101 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: at the Clermont Club as an adult. He would sometimes win, 102 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: but his losses were often bigger, once he found himself 103 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:14,959 Speaker 1: out ten thousand pounds in one night. She recalled that 104 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: the two spent time together during this trip, but Veronica 105 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: didn't feel a spark, and she was surprised to learn 106 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: he was interested in her. When he asked her out 107 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: following their return to London. He was apparently impatient to 108 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: sleep with her, and they did so after a few dates. 109 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: John's passion it appears was even more intent though, when 110 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 1: it came to powerboats. He had spent all of his 111 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: money buying one, which he called White Migrant, and had 112 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: his sights set on winning the Daily Express powerboat race. Quote. 113 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: He was obsessive about gambling and everything else he was 114 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: interested in. Veronica reflected if he also later observed that 115 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: spending all your money on a boat was a silly 116 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,079 Speaker 1: thing for someone without a job to do. Quote, why 117 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: would I work in a bank when I can earn 118 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: a year's money in a single night at the tables, 119 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: John once told a colleague after he lost out on 120 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: a promotion and quit. Apparently his boating aspirations weren't totally 121 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: far out. White Migrant was leading the race for some 122 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 1: time before it sank then and there during the race, 123 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: leaving John's only asset at the bottom of the English Channel. 124 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: Despite what was perhaps a perfect symbol, Veronica did not 125 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: see the fate of the White Migrant as representative of 126 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: their budding relationship. It seemed they were headed toward marriage, 127 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: both feeling like it was time to take the step. Quote, 128 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,200 Speaker 1: you haven't got a line on your face, John said, 129 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 1: praising the youthful appearance of his Then wait, for it. 130 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: Twenty six year old girlfriend Veronica reflected with a sort 131 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: of tragic honesty in a twenty seventeen documentary I Was 132 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: Getting On, She said, I was twenty six, and in 133 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: those days you were approaching being on the shelf. John 134 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: was twenty nine, and while men generally had a longer 135 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 1: shelf life when it came to marriage, then he also 136 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 1: felt it was time. Both of them seemed to have 137 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: the idea that marriage was what they were supposed to do, 138 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: not necessarily what they wanted. In all her descriptions, Veronica 139 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: conveys the sense that the couple were attracted to each other, 140 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 1: but that the relationship lacked a depth or intimacy beyond that. 141 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: Whether this is something she realized in retrospect or her 142 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: feelings at the time, however, we can't know. One morning, 143 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: after the two spent the night at John's place, John 144 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: woke Veronica up with the words will you marry me? 145 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,400 Speaker 1: In the documentary, Veronica recalled not being able to say 146 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: anything at first, while in her memoir she even claims 147 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: she fell back asleep. Will you marry me? He asked again, 148 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: this time earning a reply yes, I will marry Despite 149 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: John's having no money. Veronica still believed quote to marry 150 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: a peer of the realm was a coup on your part. 151 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: Their engagement was announced in The Times in October nineteen 152 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: sixty three with the headline Lord Bingham to wed business girl, 153 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 1: and the couple were married in December. It was sparsely 154 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: attended on both sides, Veronica reflected, because neither of us 155 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: were very pospoula. Their most famous guest was poor Princess Alice, 156 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,839 Speaker 1: as the bride called her sympathetically, who had attended because 157 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: Veronica's mother in law had been a lady in waiting. 158 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: Veronica recalled one woman at the wedding exclaiming there's nobody here, 159 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: and added that she was quite right. There was nobody, 160 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: at least nobody of social interest there at all. One 161 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: of the couple's wedding presents was two hundred pounds to 162 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: spend at John's beloved Claremont Club from the club's owner, 163 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:42,839 Speaker 1: John Aspinall. Veronica later argued that her husband was useful 164 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:48,439 Speaker 1: to Aspinall, as looking like the poster child for British aristocracy, 165 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: conveyed a sense of legitimacy to foreign players in the club. 166 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 1: Sitting beside her husband quietly as he gambled. Veronica noticed 167 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,720 Speaker 1: he was growing anxious and she could tell it wasn't 168 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 1: going well. John eventually got up and asked one of 169 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: the club's directors to join the big game, but he 170 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: was sternly told no. John go home in the car. 171 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: That night, John apologized to his wife, and when she 172 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: asked him how much he had lost, he told her 173 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: the truth eight thousand pounds. At the time, his capital 174 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: was nine thousand pounds, all of the insurance money he 175 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: had received after his boat sank. Veronica performed what she 176 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: considered quote her duty as a gambler's wife, assuring her 177 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 1: husband he could win it all back. But he and 178 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: I'm sure she was in no place to be comforted. 179 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: They spent a quote very unhappy Christmas, but in a 180 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: dark twist of irony, it wouldn't be long for John 181 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: to come in to plenty of money. In January, when 182 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: his father died. John was now the seventh Earl of 183 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: Luken and Veronica a countess, money land and a title. 184 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: Things were looking up for the couple after a messy 185 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: start to their marriage. They soon sought to purchase a 186 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:30,640 Speaker 1: home after learning Veronica was pregnant, and they finally found 187 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 1: one they liked at forty six Lower Belgrave Street, which 188 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: is where you'll recall. The beginning of this episode began. 189 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: In October, Veronica gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Francis. 190 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 1: The chapter of Veronica's memoir titled Francis doesn't actually tell 191 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: us anything about Francis. Instead, it consists of Veronica telling 192 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,239 Speaker 1: the reader about how she hired a nanny for Francis 193 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: so that she and John could spend more time together 194 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: at the Claremont Club. John and by extension, his wife, 195 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 1: had an obsession with being seen, with being socially regarded, 196 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: even if they weren't that popular or liked all that much. 197 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: The chapter then concludes, quote at about that time, meaning 198 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty six, I considered that it was time to 199 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: start another child, as I wanted to have a three 200 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 1: year gap between my first and second child. In the 201 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: December of nineteen sixty six, I became pregnant in a 202 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: somewhat less clinical manner. Veronica described in the twenty seventeen 203 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: documentary the expectations on women to produce children and the 204 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: special pressure that was on her to have a son. 205 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: If you couldn't, She explained, your reputation was in tatters. 206 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 1: Veronica's reputation was spared, however, as her next child was 207 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: her son, George. As expressed earlier, children felt like a 208 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 1: duty to Veronica, not a calling, so they were left 209 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 1: to nanny's. When she explained that to the documentarian, the 210 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:31,240 Speaker 1: documentarian expressed that to an outsider, it appears that the 211 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 1: relationship between Veronica and her children were cold. A cold relationship, 212 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: she repeated. She paused, all my relationships are cold. In 213 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: that same vein, her relationship with John lacked not only 214 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:54,439 Speaker 1: warmth but familiarity. The couple used to travel extensively, but 215 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:59,000 Speaker 1: only to the places John considered most socially fashionable at 216 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: the moment. Veronica recalls that she couldn't appreciate the places 217 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: she was seeing, partly because she had no one really 218 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 1: to share them with. You wasn't communicative, so you couldn't 219 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: really enjoy it as a couple, she said. You were 220 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 1: both on your own in a strange sort of way. 221 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:23,080 Speaker 1: John once told Veronica that's the point of being married. 222 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,719 Speaker 1: You don't have to talk to the person. Problems in 223 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: their marriage took a darker turn after John's general disinterest 224 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: led to Veronica becoming closer with a man named Greville Howard, 225 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:43,959 Speaker 1: another frequent patron of the Clermont. What it seems to 226 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 1: come down to is that Howard treated Veronica like the 227 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,919 Speaker 1: thing she needed most in the world, like a friend, 228 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:56,359 Speaker 1: and she fell in love. It doesn't explicitly seem like 229 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: the relationship ever got physical, but even if it did, 230 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:04,120 Speaker 1: the relationship was cut off before it could deepen when 231 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: John told Howard to get lost and he did. This 232 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: led to Veronica falling into a depression, likely compounded by 233 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 1: untreated postpartum depression, and John took her to a psychiatrist 234 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: for the first time. John brought Veronica to the Priory, 235 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: a mental hospital in South London, under the pretense of 236 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 1: simply going for a drive. When Veronica realized where they were, 237 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: she took off running, and both the doctor and her 238 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:42,199 Speaker 1: husband gave chase. They convinced her to come back, and 239 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 1: she was prescribed her first antipsychotic, Moditan. This was the 240 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 1: beginning of a long battle with John over accusations of 241 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: Veronica's mental state. It's an incredibly delicate matter to discuss 242 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,399 Speaker 1: the mental health of someone you don't know, let alone 243 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: someone who's recalling the events of decades past in a memoir. 244 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:12,959 Speaker 1: But based on John's future behavior, it's fairly arguable to 245 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: say he almost certainly did not have his wife's best 246 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: interest at heart. You may have heard the term mother's 247 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:26,639 Speaker 1: Little helpers used in the nineteen fifties and sixties to 248 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: refer to drugs like valium, which were marketed toward housewives, 249 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 1: effectively used as tranquilizers to help them cope with their 250 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: unhappiness by turning them into Stepford wives. These were usually 251 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: sedatives and antidepressants, but moditon was typically used to treat 252 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: more extreme cases like schizophrenia. Despite no record of an 253 00:20:55,560 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: official diagnosis for Veronica, she claimed the drugs worked, however, 254 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: only under the condition that the side effects were so 255 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: terrible that they would make her forget about anything else 256 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,920 Speaker 1: that might be causing her problems. It's a terrible thing 257 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: to be drugged, she would reflect, because you really are 258 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: not in control. John had recently begun seeing new doctors, 259 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: all men, and Veronica began to see those same doctors, 260 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: despite having had a female GP up until that point. 261 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:36,120 Speaker 1: Looking back, she says things might have been different if 262 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: her doctor was a woman, as the male doctors believed 263 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: everything her husband said about her mental health at complete 264 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: face value. I can describe this period of Veronica's life 265 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: best by letting you know that in these pages of 266 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 1: her memoir, you stumble across a new drug name every 267 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:01,679 Speaker 1: couple of paragraphs. On top of the monotan, there were 268 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,480 Speaker 1: drugs for anxiety, drugs for sleeping, and drugs for mitigating 269 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: the side effects of the other drugs. Much of her 270 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 1: life outside of her medication stayed the same. The Claremont Club, 271 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:20,159 Speaker 1: expensive holidays to keep up appearances, and even the birth 272 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: of a third child, Camilla. But the way John treated 273 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: Veronica changed. He didn't think he had to be nice 274 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: to me anymore, Veronica recalled. She says he told her 275 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: he would beat the mad ideas out of her before 276 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,119 Speaker 1: giving her ten strokes with the cane. He did that 277 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 1: three times total, Veronica claimed, and he would follow the 278 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: beatings with affection and sex. The quote mad ideas he 279 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: referred to were likely Veronica's vocal concerns about the couple's 280 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:02,280 Speaker 1: financial troubles, at least based on letters that were found 281 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,439 Speaker 1: in their home after Veronica passed away in twenty seventeen, 282 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:12,520 Speaker 1: John obsessed with keeping up the appearance of wealth, seemingly 283 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:18,360 Speaker 1: resented his wife's descent. Veronica also notes that the cane 284 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: he used to beat her had had the end cut 285 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: off and wrapped in plaster so that it wouldn't cut 286 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 1: as much, which was how she knew the beatings were premeditated. 287 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,639 Speaker 1: The pipe that would be used in the murder of 288 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: Sandra Rivet was similarly covered in plaster. The abuse would 289 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: continue in other less physically drastic ways until January nineteen 290 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: seventy three, when John knocked Veronica over after she goosed him, 291 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: which she claimed had always been a playful move between 292 00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: the two. He called a mental hospital for a doctor 293 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 1: to come over, and when the doctor arrived, John asked 294 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,120 Speaker 1: if Veronica was fit to look after the children. When 295 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: the doctor said yes, it seemed that she was, John 296 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: packed his bags and left. After John was gone, the 297 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:23,360 Speaker 1: doctor stayed behind to inform Veronica that on Boxing Day, 298 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: John had actually called the hospital to attempt to have 299 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:34,120 Speaker 1: Veronica involuntarily committed under the Mental Health Act of nineteen 300 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 1: fifty nine. While Veronica was not committed, John did use 301 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:46,440 Speaker 1: accusations of mental instability to obtain a court order allowing 302 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: him to take the children. A few months later, this 303 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: began a massive custody battle in which John argued that 304 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: his wife was quote seriously mentally disturbed and that he 305 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,639 Speaker 1: feared for the safety of their children. He submitted to 306 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 1: the court audio recordings of the fights the couple had, 307 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:12,400 Speaker 1: which Veronica claimed were edited to make them seem one sided. 308 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:19,440 Speaker 1: That day, the court heard Veronica insult her husband's quote miserable, weak, 309 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: drooping little penis end quote and call him quote a 310 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: ventriloquist's dummy with a mustache stuck on your face. But 311 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 1: apparently John's deception didn't work, and coupled with John's claims 312 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: that he quote needed to be out of the country 313 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: and away from his children when he was really on holiday, 314 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,679 Speaker 1: the court did not see him favorably. On top of this, 315 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 1: Veronica's doctors didn't support John's claims in court, and John 316 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,879 Speaker 1: was advised by his legal team to concede the case. 317 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 1: Veronica believes John genuinely did not believe how much legal 318 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:08,360 Speaker 1: fees and losing would cost him, and John's finances fell 319 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,680 Speaker 1: into a worse state than they had ever been in. 320 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 1: He turned to high risk, low reward gambling, and his 321 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:23,879 Speaker 1: debts began to pile. The official ruling was custody to 322 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: the mother Veronica with a nanny, which meant Veronica needed 323 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: to hire someone full time. This was when she hired 324 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: twenty nine year old Sandra Rivet, whom she'd described as 325 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: a good, kind, decent girl. Woman. Really. Veronica noted that 326 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 1: even Francis liked her, and she was the most difficult 327 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: to please. As they got to know each other, Veronica 328 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: learned a bit about Sandra's background. She spent part of 329 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 1: her childhood in Australia. She was one of three daughters. 330 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 1: When she was nineteen, she got in gauged and became pregnant, 331 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: but by the time her son was born, the relationship 332 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,959 Speaker 1: had fallen apart, and her parents ended up adopting her child. 333 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: Three years later, Sandra had had another son, who was 334 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 1: also put up for adoption. She was divorce, having been 335 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: in a lonely marriage, but she now had a steady boyfriend. 336 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,320 Speaker 1: She had long red hair and a cat, Tara, who 337 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: slept in her bed with her. I think this biographical 338 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 1: information is important. The fact of the matter, unfortunately, is 339 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 1: Veronica only knew Sandra for nine weeks before she was killed. 340 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,200 Speaker 1: I've already told you what happened that night through Veronica's retelling, 341 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: but before John's disappearance, John actually told a different story. 342 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: That same night, he drove home in his Ford Corsair 343 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:57,919 Speaker 1: and called his mother, telling her there had been quote 344 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: a terrible catastrophe at fourty, referring to their address. Before that, 345 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: John apparently tried to go to a neighbour's house, the 346 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: mother of one of Francis's friends, likely to tell the 347 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,679 Speaker 1: same story. Following the call to his mother, John drove 348 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: to his friends Ian and Susan Maxwell Scott's house, but 349 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:24,320 Speaker 1: only Susan was home. John told Susan he arrived to 350 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 1: an intruder attacking his wife and in a state of shock. 351 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: Veronica thought he was the attacker, so he panicked and fled. 352 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: Susan told reporters she believed his story entirely, even after 353 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:45,320 Speaker 1: John's disappearance, speaking of which, John left the Maxwell Scott 354 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 1: house at one a m and that was the last 355 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: time he was ever seen. While he was at the house, 356 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: he wrote several letters, one to his brother in law 357 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 1: Bill shand Kid detailing the same story he had told 358 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: to Susan, with the addition, when I interrupted the fight 359 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 1: at Lower Belgravee Street and the man left. Veronica accused 360 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 1: me of having hired him. The circumstantial evidence against me 361 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: is strong in that v will say it was all 362 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: my doing. There was a sense of finality in the 363 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: letter asking Bill to take care of the children in 364 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: his absence, with no indication that he would return. The 365 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: next day, the murder of Rivet, the beating of Lady Lucan, 366 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: and the missing Lord were already in the papers, quickly 367 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: becoming national news. Veronica was admitted to the hospital for 368 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:49,560 Speaker 1: her injuries, and Sandra Rivet's death was declared a murder. 369 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 1: On November tenth, John's Ford Corsair was found with a 370 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 1: piece of lead pipe covered in plaster and a full 371 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 1: bottle of vodka in its trunk. A warrant was officially 372 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,480 Speaker 1: put out for his arrest and details were issued to Interpol. 373 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: After Veronica was discharged from the hospital, Veronica resumed custody 374 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: of her children. She didn't speak much about the period 375 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 1: following the murder and the disappearance beyond the nitty gritty 376 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 1: of the investigation. Her children, she claimed, were largely unaffected 377 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: because they were so young. Whether that's true or not, 378 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 1: Veronica remembered her youngest daughter, Camilla, remarking one day, I 379 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: don't think daddy's coming back. No, I don't think he's 380 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: coming back, Veronica responded. Veronica believed her husband's fate was suicide, that, 381 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,480 Speaker 1: based on how much he knew about powerboating mechanics, he 382 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: managed to get on a ferry and jump off into 383 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: its propellers. At least that was her opinion in the 384 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: two twenty seventeen documentary, but in a nineteen eighty one 385 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 1: news program, she told the presenter that she was convinced 386 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,640 Speaker 1: he was alive. I was very heavily drugged at the time, 387 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 1: Veronica reflected, confirming her earlier belief that once they start 388 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,800 Speaker 1: you on this step, it's very hard to get off. 389 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:25,320 Speaker 1: The mental health regime. She believed her husband tried to 390 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:29,360 Speaker 1: kill her to solve his financial problems and to gain 391 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: custody of the children he lost in court. He went 392 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:38,560 Speaker 1: mad with pressure, She pausits. While her insights about her 393 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: life before the murder oscillate between lacking and acute self awareness, 394 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: any reflection about life after the tragedy is closed off 395 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: and clinical. The chapters of her memoir become procedural, simply 396 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: detailing the investigation, and any details about her relationships with 397 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 1: family and others are limited to brief mentions in the 398 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 1: final inconclusion chapter. That might also be because there weren't 399 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 1: many relationships to talk about. Veronica never remarried, noting that 400 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,480 Speaker 1: it felt impossible to her, and her relationship with her 401 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: children soured. She became heavily addicted to antidepressants, and in 402 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,200 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two, her sister Christina and her husband Bill 403 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: shand kid became the court ordered foster parents of their 404 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 1: nieces and nephew, who remained estranged from their mother from 405 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:46,680 Speaker 1: then up until her death. She reflected in twenty seventeen 406 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: that she knew all was lost, but she had to 407 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 1: accept that her children would have a better life without 408 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 1: her than they could living with her. I once bumped 409 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 1: into George in a park, but we didn't say very much. 410 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 1: Over the years, the children have also taken various stances 411 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: on the guilt and status of their father, despite being 412 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:15,680 Speaker 1: so young at the time of the incident. In twenty twenty, 413 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 1: John Lucan was officially declared dead so that George could 414 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 1: inherit his title and become the eighth Earl of Lucan. 415 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:31,440 Speaker 1: In twenty seventeen, Lady Lucan died at eighty years old 416 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:37,000 Speaker 1: from respiratory failure caused by barbituates and alcohol poisoning, and 417 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 1: the coroner concluded the death was a suicide. Veronica believed 418 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,400 Speaker 1: she was developing Parkinson's disease, even though she had not 419 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:50,400 Speaker 1: spoken to a doctor yet and had been researching assisted suicide. 420 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:54,240 Speaker 1: Despite having not spoken to her children in over fifty years, 421 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: all three of them attended her funeral. She finished her 422 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: memoir A Moment in Time the very year she died, 423 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:07,840 Speaker 1: making the final edits and choosing the photos to include 424 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 1: just weeks before she passed. The memoir concludes with the line, 425 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:18,560 Speaker 1: I will eternally regret that an innocent woman died because 426 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:30,040 Speaker 1: of my relationship with my husband. That's the tragic story 427 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:34,840 Speaker 1: of Lady Lucan and Sandra Rivett. But keep listening after 428 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:39,239 Speaker 1: a brief sponsor break, to hear more about the speculations 429 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:54,720 Speaker 1: of the fate of Lord Lucan. The disappearance of Lord Lucan, 430 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: a seemingly powerful and well connected man who seemed to 431 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: get a way with murder, gave birth to no small 432 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 1: number of conspiracy theories. In early apparent sighting actually turned 433 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:14,439 Speaker 1: out to be brace yourself the politician John Stonehouse, who 434 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:18,880 Speaker 1: was attempting to fake his own death. When he was arrested, 435 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,800 Speaker 1: he was ordered to pull down his pants because Lucan 436 00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 1: had a six inch scar on the inside of his 437 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:35,800 Speaker 1: right thigh. John Lord Lucan has been reported in France, Columbia, India, Switzerland, Australia. 438 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,839 Speaker 1: You name the place, they've probably seen a guy that 439 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: looks a little bit like the Missing Lord. One of 440 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:47,480 Speaker 1: the most interesting theories, however, popped up in twenty twenty. 441 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:53,920 Speaker 1: Spearheaded by Sandra Rivet's son. Neil Barriman, a builder from Hampshire, 442 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,760 Speaker 1: was Rivet's second son who had been put up for adoption, 443 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,160 Speaker 1: and he only found out who his birth mother was 444 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:05,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight. His shock eventually turned to 445 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,960 Speaker 1: anger as he tried to learn more about his long 446 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:14,080 Speaker 1: lost mother. Everything is about Lord Lucan. Where did he go? 447 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 1: He said? And Sandra is just a forgotten victim in 448 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:24,640 Speaker 1: the whole equation. Bharman contacted Professor Hassan Ugale, a facial 449 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:29,640 Speaker 1: recognition expert, who concluded that an eighty seven year old 450 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:34,480 Speaker 1: man living in a Buddhist community in Australia was in 451 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: fact the missing Lord Lucan. It's him, he told the 452 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,759 Speaker 1: Daily Mail. This isn't opinion, that's a fact. However, when 453 00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:49,040 Speaker 1: contacted by the Guardian, Professor Ugale explained, I can't one 454 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:54,120 Speaker 1: hundred percent confirm it's Lord Lucan. It looks remarkably like him. 455 00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:59,279 Speaker 1: It's worth investigating further. Okay. Then the eighty seven year 456 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:03,000 Speaker 1: old man or his part, denies being Lord Lucan, and 457 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:08,360 Speaker 1: the Metropolitan Police have eliminated him from the investigation. However, 458 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:13,279 Speaker 1: Bharman still continues his search. Quote my mission is to 459 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:18,160 Speaker 1: keep my mother's memory very much alive and to seek justice, 460 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 1: he states on his website. She is not quote just 461 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 1: the nanny. She is a victim of a violent crime 462 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:29,600 Speaker 1: who became secondary because her killer was a lord, a 463 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,120 Speaker 1: lord who was protected and who vanished abroad with the 464 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:52,680 Speaker 1: aid of his rich and powerful friends, rather than face justice. 465 00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and 466 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:01,600 Speaker 1: Mild from Aaron Mankie. Noble Blood is created and hosted 467 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:06,359 Speaker 1: by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and researching by 468 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:11,920 Speaker 1: Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender and Lori Goodman. 469 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:16,200 Speaker 1: The show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and 470 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:22,160 Speaker 1: rima Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive 471 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:26,879 Speaker 1: producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more 472 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:32,839 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 473 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:34,880 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.