lucan

[miss marple]

Ah well, The Lucan mystery has reared its ugly head head again with the claim by a supposed employee of John Aspinall[ now dead] saying that Lucan was hiding in Africa and she had procured tickets for his children to go on an African trip so he could 'observe them unseen' in the late seventies.
Inside out tonight BBC 1 7.30
I think he committed suicide, but not in the way Lady Lucan suggests, see Daily Telegraph today. Sad interview, the stupid cow actually said that after he beat Sandra Rivett to death,[ thinking she was Lady Lucan] then starting to beat her to death that she would have covered up for him over Rivett had she not been so badly injured!!
After all he only killed the nanny.[ thats my irony]
The Lucan, Aspinall crowd were a nasty bunch of racist, snobbish, elitist pricks who were quite capable of whisking Lucan away, but I do think he killed himself, not capable of living outside his gambling set.
Lady Lucan makes the point that he was not declared dead for several years because the death duties would have been impossible while the children were still at school and their education had to be paid for.
What do others think about the Lucan case?

Miss Marple

[Limehouse]

I think you have summed up Lucan and his friends really well.

I think it's entirely possible he did do away with himself because I think he was a coward, and as has been stated, he was not going to be a good surviver outside his own set. On the other hand, I would not put it past that lost to whisk him away somewhere to escape justice.

I suppose we can't expect his children to suffer for the sins of their father, but how many other criminal's children get to go to top boarding schools? If the children's schooling money had been kept in trust, death duties should not have affected their education.

I heard he was heavily in dept so I am surprised there was any money left to pay death duties on.

[Robert]

She thinks he would have thrown himself into the ferry propellers. A last game of roulette?

[Lord Lucan]

She thinks he would have thrown himself into the ferry propellers. A last game of roulette?

I didn't do it, I swear!
Humour aside, I feel that he briefly was on the run, a matter of weeks maybe, though the guilt will have driven him to take his life. How (and how he remains undiscovered) I can't say.

[DrummondStreet]

Didn't the police suspect for a long time that Lucan was living in South Africa? Apparently his children made many, many trips to S. Africa arousing police suspicion. They even sent people there to investigate but came up empty handed.

Off-topic but has anyone else noticed the strong physical resemblance between Lord Lucan and Hemingway?

[miss marple]

I don't think he chucked himself into a propeller,somebody would have noticed, the propeller might have been damaged. If he didnt throw himself into the sea,he may have shot himself. His friends could easily have disposed of the body.

Miss Marple

[jason_c]

Didn't the police suspect for a long time that Lucan was living in South Africa? Apparently his children made many, many trips to S. Africa arousing police suspicion. They even sent people there to investigate but came up empty handed.

Off-topic but has anyone else noticed the strong physical resemblance between Lord Lucan and Hemingway?

This is likely a myth. If the police had serious suspicions his children were visiting Lucan then he probably would have been captured. And I cant see the kids visiting someone who had attempted to murder their mother.

[DrummondStreet]

OK Jason, but what about the resemblance to Hemingway? Just kidding .

Apparently the Lucan children are now estranged from their mother and when they were teenagers requested to be removed from her custody to live with family friends. I was sad to read this and also disappointed to learn that they might have been willfully visiting their murderous father in S. Africa. The secretary's account makes much more sense --Lucan wanted to observe his children from a distance.

I'll try to find the article about the police sending investigators to S. Africa in search of Lucan.

[DrummondStreet]

Here is the article in which I read that Scotland Yard became suspicious that Lucan was living in South Africa.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/n...d_lucan/7.html

It references a September 1995 article from the Observer as its source.

[Carol]

It's strange, isn't it, that John Aspinall founded both the Howlett's and the Port Lympne Zoos in Kent and funded them originally with his gambling winnings. Both zoos do excellent work with regard to saving species close to extinction and 'returning' them to their natural environments where possible. Port Lympne, especially, is a very beautiful place to visit.
Carol

[DrummondStreet]

Carol: I think Apinall's love of animals was one of his only redeeming qualities. People are very very complex and full of contradictions. However, the more that I learn of the Nazi-leaning politics (Lucan in particular) of that group the more disgusted with them I become. I always assumed that Goldsmith was Jewish so it really surprises me. Perhaps Lucan was the only member of that crowd who truly embraced Hitler.

[Magpie]

I'm probably alone on this, but I'm not convinced Lucan killed anyone.

[miss marple]

And your reasons, Magpie?
Incidently the murder weapon, a piece of pipe was found in the boot of Lucan's abandoned car.

Aspinall may have loved animals,but had no regard for humans, several of his keepers were killed due to close proximity to wild beasts.

The casual attitude towards death and indifference to the death of the 'lower orders' certainly shows in the set's arrogance and indifference to the death of Sandra Rivett, everyone was more interested in covering their backs and protecting their own.

Miss Marple

[Magpie]

And your reasons, Magpie?
Incidently the murder weapon, a piece of pipe was found in the boot of Lucan's abandoned car.

There's just something vaguely hinky about the accepted description of events.
Maybe he did it--probably he did--but I think that the cops just took the path of least resistance and overlooked some of the piscine odor so they could close the books in the case.

[miss marple]

Magpie, so Lady Lucan was attacked by her husband , she recognised him, he calmed down and when he went to get a towel, she ran into the Plumbers Arms to escape him screaming that he had murdered the nanny and attacked her. Meanwhile Lucan escaped.
Are you suggesting that an unknown assailant attacked Sandra Rivett, then by coincidence Lucan turned up at that moment and started attacking his wife,,
The Lucan 's had had a bitter divorce. Lucan hated his wife and was worried about debts and hated the fact his wife had custody of the children.He had the key to the house,Sandra Rivett usually had the day off that day, but she had changed it so was working that night, the light bulb had been removed from the hall.Sandra Rivett and lady Lucan were small,of a similar size, if he had planned to attack her, he would have thought it was Sandra's day off. Hides in the basement and removing lightbulb,when Sandra comes down,he batters her, with a fabric covered bit of pipe ,[ another piece was found in his car] realises his mistake, places body in sack.
When Lady Lucan comes looking for Sandra, at the top of the basement stairs,[ at no time did she enter the basement [forensics confirms this] Lucan starts to batter her with the same bit of pipe, not succeeding in killing her, she squeezes his balls and because She realises its him he changes tack, calms down and pretends that he was saving her, and according to her, admits the murder of Sandra.He apologises and go's to get a towel to mop her up, she escapes to Plummers Arms screaming blue murder.

Lucan had motive, opportunity, and method.Also in his youth had been given to rages. As a gambler he probably took a risk,which if he had succeeded, in killing his wife instead of Sandra, might have worked. Lady Lucan battered to death by unknown assailant in course of attempted robbery.

Magpie what's hinky mean?

Miss Marple