What did Lord Lucan do, when did he disappear and is he still alive?

A brand new BBC documentary delves in the mystery surrounding Lord Lucan's mysterious disappearance and the crime it was thought he commit.

True crime documentaries are always intriguing, and when they involve an ongoing 50-year-old unsolved mystery involving aristocracy, fascination levels rise through the roof. On November 6, BBC Two releases the first of a three-part documentary looking at the unsolved case of the missing Lord Lucan. John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, was known as Lord Lucan - he vanished without trace after apparently carrying out a terrible crime.

He's never been found, and on the 50th anniversary of the case, BBC Two's Lucan, aims to shed new light on what really happened the day he vanished, and what could've potentially happened in the intervening years. Recent true crime documentaries This is The Zodiac Speaking and Sweet Bobby, saw interest in their subjects rise dramatically when they aired, and unsurprisingly, the hunt for more information about Lucan's case is on. We take a look at what he did, and theories surrounding whether or not he's still alive.

What did Lord Lucan do?

Born Richard John Bingham but known by the title Lord Lucan, Lucan was the seventh Earl of Lucan, Eton educated, and worked for a short time as a merchant banker. A windfall during a game of cards convinced him to become a professional gambler, but this did not work out for him. 

In 1963 he married Veronica Duncan, the sister-in-law of his friend Bill Shand-Kydd. The couple had three children, but Lady Lucan's psychiatric issues caused the marriage to become unstable, and they separated a decade later. A legal battle for the children ensued, with Lady Lucan ultimately winning custody.

On October 7, 1974, Lady Lucan was seen running from her home on Lower Belgrave Street covered in blood, shouting that someone had tried to murder her and that her nanny, Sandra Rivett, 29, had been killed. Sandra had been in the cellar, and Lady Lucan became concerned when she took awhile to return to the main house. Going to check Sandra, she said she'd been attacked by a man whose voice she insisted was Lucan's. 

She recalled getting into a fight with the man she said was Lucan, and that he'd admitted to killing Sandra. Lady Lucan managed to escape and call the police, who arrived to Sandra's body in a sack. A lead pipe lay near the body, and it's believed this had been used to beat Sandra to death. 

When did Lord Lucan disappear?

Lord Lucan disappeared the following day, on November 8, 1974. According to LBC, after the alleged crime he arrived at a friend's house in Sussex at 11:30pm on November 7. He's said to have said to his friend, Ian Maxwell-Scott that he happened to be walking by his family home when he'd seen his wife being attacked in the cellar and had run in to help. 

He suggested that because his wife would accuse him of being the attacker and because the evidence against him looked bleak, he intended to lie low for a while. He left Uckfield in the early hours of Friday, November 8, and his abandoned car was found 16 miles away at Newhaven Harbour. 

Unofficial sightings of him have been reported since, but he was declared officially dead on October 27, 1999, when he would've been aged 64. A death certificate was later issued on February 3, 2016, when he would've been 81. It's thought he took his own life by throwing himself in the water, although this of course has not been proven.

An inquest in June 1975 found Lucan guilty of murdering Sandra Rivett. His abandoned car was found to have traces of her blood inside. Sandra normally had Thursday nights off, but had changed her day on the week she was murdered. Lucan was in some financial debt, and it's believed he accidentally killed Sandra believing she was Lady Lucan - he'd allegedly confided in a friend that he needed to sell the house to save himself from bankruptcy, and with Veronica Lucan gone, he would get to keep all the profits from the sale. 

Is Lord Lucan still alive and living in Australia?

Although he's been declared officially dead, some believe Lucan to still be alive. Sandra Rivett had a son she put up for adoption shortly after he was born. When her son, Neil Berriman, found out his real mother had been murdered, he set out to find the truth about her death.

According to the BBC, a Scotland Yard officer passed on a confidential police intelligence report with apparent leads on the case. Written in 2002, the report is said to contain evidence suggesting Lucan made his way to Mozambique and was living under the name John Crawford - the officer said it referenced plans for covert operations in relation to the missing man that were later shut down.

Neil Berriman also believes he tracked down the real Lucan when he identified an old man living in Brisbane he thought was the missing fugitive. According to Edinburgh Live, the mystery man in Australia is interviewed for the documentary, but didn't want Berriman present when he spoke. 

Said to speak with an upper class accent, the man admitted to changing his name four times over the course of his life. His statement also appears conflicting. He apparently suggests the name on his birth certificate to be Derek Bell Crowther, but appears unsure of this. He goes on to confirm he grew up in London, attended Eton, and had connections to the Royal Family. 

He says he was "part of the family was English aristocracy, Buckingham Palace", before saying, "I haven't been on the run for 40 years - I've been trying to find reasonable places to live, companions and friends," concluding with "I do not know who the hell Lord Lucan is .. OK. Now if you're finished I'm getting bored with this interview."

When he consented to speak to Berriman face-to-face, this wasn't caught on camera, but Berriman reports the unnamed elderly man says, "If I am Lord Lucan what the f**k you going to do? Put me in prison?"