The new BBC in three parts true crime documentary Lucan investigates the murder of Sandra Rivett, who was killed by her employer, Richard John Bingham, better known by his title Lord Lucan.

Lucan is explored through the experience of Hampshire builder Neil Berriman, who is forced to find answers after learning, following the death of his adoptive mother, that he is Sandra’s son. This was a discovery he made 30 years after the death of his birth mother, from an envelope containing details that indicated his true parentage.

Lucan was believed to have taken his own life after committing the murder. However, despite a decades-long manhunt, his body has never been found. Over the years, sightings have been reported all over the world, from New Zealand to India, France and South Africa, but those tracks have always gone cold.

Along with the help of investigative journalist Glen Campbell, Lucan is Neil’s quest to learn the truth about his birth mother’s death and to answer once and for all the question: what really happened to Lord Lucan?

Dead or hidden, here’s what happened to Bingham following the tragic murder of Sandra Rivett.

What happened to Sandra Rivett?

On 7 November 1974, a distraught Lady Veronica Lucan stumbled from home and into the Plumbers Arms pub screaming that she had got away with murder. Covered in blood, she stated that her husband was in the house and killed the nanny.

Sandra had been killed while making a cup of tea for Lady Lucan in the basement. When he didn’t reappear, Veronica went downstairs to see why and was attacked by her husband.

Lady Lucan was able to reason with the Lord and during their interaction, he admitted that he had accidentally killed Sandra. Veronica managed to escape, and when the police arrived some time later, Sandra’s battered body was discovered in a mail bag in the basement of their Belgravia home. There was also the bloody lead pipe used to bludgeon her to death.

Shortly thereafter, Richard John Bingham disappeared.

What happened to Lord Lucan?

After committing the murder, Lord Lucan went to the home of his friend Ian Maxwell-Scott, who lived in Uckfield in Sussex. There, he told Ian’s wife, Susan, that the events that had transpired had been a misunderstanding.

He claimed he saw an intruder struggling with his wife in the basement and intervened, at which point the intruder fled. Fearing that he would be accused of assaulting his wife, he fled.

Lucan was last seen in the early hours of the following morning, leaving Uckfield.

Why did Lord Lucan kill the nanny?

In June 1975, an important inquiry took place. Based on the evidence, the jury took 31 minutes to convict Lucan of Sandra Rivett’s murder.

This included the discovery of the car Lucan was driving, which contained spatters of blood that matched both his wife and Sandra’s blood type, along with another pipe similar to the murder weapon.

The harrowing inquest also said Richard’s intended victim was his estranged wife Veronica, with whom he was involved in a tense custody battle for their three children.

Lucan knew that his wife made a cup of tea at 9pm and, thinking the nanny would be off work that night, he tried to kill Lady Lucan.

A friend of Lord Lucan’s, Greville Howard, revealed to the police that Lucan had talked about how killing his wife would save him from bankruptcy because he would be able to get his house back. He even went so far as to claim that he might dump her body in the Solent.

Has Lord Lucan ever been found?

In the early days of the investigation, police believed Lucan had fled to Africa. Some have speculated that wealthy friends in his gambling club, known as The Clermont Set, helped him escape or even went as far as to kill him or encourage him to commit suicide due to the embarrassment he he had challenged her.

Both his friends and family remained adamant that he had committed suicide and he was eventually declared officially dead in February 2016 by the UK High Court, despite numerous claims of sightings of him over the years . Neil, however, believes he is still living at 90.

documentary states that both he and Glen Campbell believed Lucan was living in Australia after impersonating a man named Derek Crowther (now Christopher Newan). However, this was ignored by the police.

Neil and Christopher had a videotaped FaceTime conversation in which Neil tried but failed to get a confession from Christopher.

Christopher appeared in documentary and admitted that he went to Eton and had connections with the royal family – like Lord Lucan – but denied being or knowing Lord Lucan.

Lucan later confirmed that Christopher starred in the production of the show Facade in Canada as Peter Jason/Jenny Romain in July 1969, five years before the murder, questioning their belief that he was Lord Lucan.

Neil, however, remains convinced that Christopher is Lord Lucan. The title card at the end of the documentary reads as follows: “Elder Christopher has since chosen to share more details about his life.

“At the age of 20, he was also called Pierre Johannsen. It was conceived on Halloween 1935, at a magical ritual at Stonehenge. His father named on his birth certificate is not his real father. His biological father was a puppeteer who performed for the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at Buckingham Palace, Christopher admits that Neil still thinks he could be Lord Lucan.

All episodes from Lucan are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. The documentary is also broadcast on Wednesday 6, Thursday 7 and Friday 8 at 21.00.

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TV Writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her MA in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has since continued to grow professionally in the industry. For six years he honed his analytical review skills at Good housekeeping institute eventually becoming acting head of food testing. She also freelanced in film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 he joined The digital spy as a TV writer, where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching a lot of TV in the name of work. Since taking on the role, she has conducted red carpet interviews with the Bridgerton cast, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time, she also moonlights as a published book author Gothic angel.