The blood-stained murder weapon used by aristocratic murderer Lord Lucan to bludgeon his family’s nanny to death has been revealed for the first time.
Lord Lucan was on the run after nanny Sandra Rivett was beaten to death and his ex-wife Veronica suffered serious head injuries at their home.
Wednesday will mark 50 years since the murder in Belgravia, London, which scandalized Britain and shocked the world.
Photos of the gun have been released showing two pieces of lead pipe inside a blood-stained mail bag in which Rivett’s body was hidden.
TV crime show producer Sandy Kaye took the photos in 1983 while visiting a museum, and the BBC is now showing three documentaries this week examining whether Lucan managed to escape the UK, the BBC reported. daily mirror.
For the first time, photographs of the weapon used in the murder (pictured) have been made public.
Television crime show producer Sandy Kaye took the photos in 1983 after visiting the Black Museum.
It has been almost 50 years since British aristocrat Lord Lucan (pictured), 39, disappeared without a trace.
She disappeared after nanny Sandra Rivett (pictured) was beaten to death in the family home.
Kaye said: “I’ve kept this photo safe for 41 years, but now it’s time for the world to see it.” It is a very important part of British crime history.
The photographs have been stored in a safe since Kaye took them on Friday, March 25, 1983.
He said that after visiting the Black Museum, which houses Scotland Yard’s infamous collection of crime memorabilia, his police contacts asked him if he would like to see “something special”.
Speaking of the experience, he said: “I couldn’t believe it when he went to a cupboard, opened the door and took out the artefacts relating to Lord Lucan’s case.
‘I was looking at an American mail bag stained with blood and metal rods that were supposedly used by Lord Lucan.
The Plumbers Arms, where Lady Lucan ran after finding Sandra dead in her house.
Lord Lucan’s wife Veronica Mary Duncan (pictured with him) suffered a near-fatal assault that same night.
‘It was a shocking moment. I asked permission and they allowed me to take a photo. But they allowed me to take a photo, just one.”
However, the murder weapon and mail bag disappeared a few years ago. Neil Berriman, Rivett’s son, asked about their whereabouts, but was told they were unknown.
Lucan’s story is one of the most enduring criminal cases in British legal history.
There have been no confirmed sightings of Lucan since a few hours after Rivett’s murder on November 7, 1974.
On the fateful night, he allegedly planned to kill his wife Veronica (she had won custody of their three young children after a bitter High Court battle) by waiting for her in the basement of the family home at 46 Lower. Belgrave Street.
Neil Berriman, Rivett’s son, asked about the whereabouts of the murder weapon, but was told it had disappeared.
Police dog handlers search for Lord Lucan in the hills above Newhaven Harbor
He beat her with lead pipes before stuffing the body into a US mail bag. But the woman he killed was the couple’s babysitter, Sandra Rivett, 29, who had to be off for the day.
I had swapped days at the last minute. Lady Lucan was also attacked, but managed to escape and ran screaming for help to a nearby pub, covered in blood.
Lord Lucan, then 39, drove to a friend’s house in a quiet Sussex village, where he claimed that Veronica had been attacked by a stranger and that he needed to remain hidden because she had previously accused him of hiring a hitman. and I would blame him.
Rumors have suggested that Lucan managed to escape to Australia with the help of wealthy friends and, if he were still alive, he would be 89 years old.
In 1974, Sandra enrolled in a domestic agency and got a job at the Lucan house (pictured). But 10 weeks later, she was dead.
Lord Lucan was looking for his ex-wife Veronica after a bitter argument, entered a dark cellar and hit her with a lead pipe, but it was Sandra, not Veronica.
Kaye believed Lucan had managed to escape, adding: “His friends were among the ‘creme de la creme’ of British society.
“My hunch is that he escaped the UK after the nanny’s murder, but we may never know how it happened.”
‘The story was huge at that time. I have always been fascinated by the case. “It’s amazing that we’re still talking about it 50 years later.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “The investigation into the death of Sandra Rivett remains open as with all unsolved murders.
“Any significant new information or investigative opportunities that may advance the investigation will be considered accordingly by the Met.”
Lucan starts on BBC Two this Wednesday at 9pm