Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem.

Having heard so much about the fighting in Lybia and the whereabouts of colonel Gadaffi on almost every news bulettin of every day for weeks, l was surprised when suddenly the news became more concerned with World Economy.

Gadaffi had still not been found , which caused me to be rather flippant and ask,,,, Is gadaffi holed up with Lord Lucan?.

Very funny to some, till l realised you really need to be British and of a certain age to even know WHO Lord Lucan is or was.

Although the handsome, debonair, gambler, was accused of murder in 1974 and declared dead in 1999, there have been as many sightings of him around the world as there have of Elvis Presley since he died.

In the 1970s it was commonplace to see cartoons in newspapers, such as 2 men standing at a bar, drinking beer, and talking about where on earth could Lord Lucan be?. Closer inspection of the cartoon would reveal the huge white smile of Lucan behind the bar serving drinks, or wearing a chef´s hat walking out of the kitchen. very funny at the time, but not so funny were the incidents that caused him to disappear.

The evening of 7th November 1974 was one of Horror for anyone at 46, Lower Belgrave Street.

Known as ´Lucky Lord Lucan´ because of his winnings and narrow escapes withserious gambling, he had been having difficulties with his marriage to Veronica, the Lady Lucan

So , leaving the fabulous 5 story house in Belgravia. (One of the most expensive districts to live in London) He moved into his own apartment. His wife, 3 children and the childrens´nanny, remained at the big house., despite the fact that Lord Lucan was fighting for custody of his 3 children.

Lady Lucan had been suffering from post natal(post partum) depression, so Lucan used this to exaggerate her mental state as being one of complete inability to take care of their children.

This was obviously not going to be a divorce without serious battles.

On the evening of 7th November, 1974, a battered, bleeding, Lady Lucan, stumbled into a bar, begging for help, as she said she had escaped from her husband who was trying to murder her.

When the police arrived at the house, there was no sign of Lord Lucan, the children, thankfully had been 2 or 3 floors higher up in the house asleep. ....But.......

The police noticed a large sack left on the floor and on opening it they beheld the ghastly sight of the battered, bloody, dead body of the childrens´nanny..

Nearby , they found a large piece of lead pipe with tape wrapped around it. This piping matched the description that Lady Lucan had given of how the object felt as it reigned blows down on her head.

It had been dark, she said and the man came from behind but she swore that the words ´´shut up!´´ came from the voice of her husband.

Could there have been any reason for the murder of the nanny?. It certainly was dark, since the police had to use flashlights being unable to find a light in the room. Also, the childrens nanny was 5ft 2 ins exactly the same height as Lady Lucan and only one dress size different.

Lord Lucan could easily have mistaken the young woman for his wife, especially when you find out that Thursday was always the nannys´night off.

Lord Lucan was not expecting the nanny to be at home, just his wife........

Logic then implies that Lucan had intended to kill his wife. He must have been in shock when Veronica appeared after he´d bagged up what he thought was her dead body.!!!!!

The stories of what happened next, vary greatly, from rumours that he´d committed suicide, though no body or suicide note were ever found......to rumoursof friends helping him to get out of the country , where he has managed to live out his life in disguise.. Who Knows???

Only one good thing struck me about this case back in the 1970s, there were never any pictures of the children or interviews asking them what they saw or heard etc.,

The poor things would have been traumatised at the knowledge of their dad attemting to kill their mum , plus small British children of wealth and privelage always have a beautiful closeness and love for their nannies..

Therefore it seemed to me at the time, that far from being mentally ill, Lady Lucan was a good mother , who protected her children from unwanted publicity. They grew up with a loving extended family.

As for Lucan , himself, it is still a mystery. Where did he go?

If he is alive today he would be 77 years old. (born 18th December 1934)