lucan

[The Grave Maurice]

Hi MM,

The 'Pie is probably having supper now, so I'll add this:

Hinky: Adjective:
(of a person) Dishonest or suspect: "he knew the guy was hinky".
(of an object) Unreliable: "my brakes are a little hinky".

[Magpie]

Hi MM,

The 'Pie is probably having supper now, so I'll add this:

Hinky: Adjective:
(of a person) Dishonest or suspect: "he knew the guy was hinky".
(of an object) Unreliable: "my brakes are a little hinky".

Thanks

Pretty much it--the sense if it not sounding quite right but without anything specific that you can point to and say "this is b.s.".

[louisa]

John Aspinall was a bit of a hero of mine - mainly because of his love of animals and his conservation work. I saw him once at Howletts Zoo. My friend and I were walking along a deserted path near the tennis courts, long after most other visitors had gone. Aspinall was coming down towards us, wearing his tennis gear and carrying a racket. He smiled and said 'good evening' to us.

The keepers that died knew the risks of going into the cages with the big cats. When it became law (after Aspinall Snr died) that keepers could not longer take this risk, the head keeper (Mark or Marcus somebody or other) resigned because he knew he wouldn't be able to just look at his beloved big cats from outside of the enclosure - he needed to be in there with them.

Back to Lucan - I'd say that without doubt he was guilty of murdering Sandra Rivett. Everything points to it. As to what happened to him afterwards is anyone's guess but I suspect he didn't live long.

One of the questions put to his upper crust gaming partners (by detectives) was 'Could Lord Lucan have been having an affair with Sandra Rivett?' They were horrified! Of course he wasn't having an affair with her. She was a nanny!

[miss marple]

Now Lucan's brother has popped up to to say he was whisked to Africa by Aspinall and Co. The pieces are coming together, the police were convinced he was there but were told to' ease off'
The establishment protecting itself.I had thought he killed himself, but there is too much evidence from different people that seems to prove otherwise.

His engraved watch[ from pre dissappearence] has recently surfaced in Africa.

Miss Marple

[Ally]

This is an interesting case, I had never heard of it before. What I don't get is, if he hated his wife and the aim was to kill her, why'd he stop after killing the nanny? I mean, I know he hit the wife, but it makes no sense that after killing the nanny, he just..what? gives up on killing the wife? I mean what was the business with even getting the towel? Why didn't he just kill her?

[Magpie]

This is an interesting case, I had never heard of it before. What I don't get is, if he hated his wife and the aim was to kill her, why'd he stop after killing the nanny? I mean, I know he hit the wife, but it makes no sense that after killing the nanny, he just..what? gives up on killing the wife? I mean what was the business with even getting the towel? Why didn't he just kill her?

That's a biggie.

Especially since he supposedly killed the nanny, realized his mistake, then went from the basement to main floor and waited in hiding for his wife to come looking for her (which giving the already discussed "established routine" might have been never), then when she does come looking for the nanny, instead of simply pushing her down the stairs he proceeds to make a right dog's breakfast of his ambush.

[louisa]

He didn't intend to kill the nanny. His intended victim was his wife.

The night of the killing was normally the nanny's night off. The procedure then (always the same) was for the wife to go down to the kitchen and make tea. She and the nanny (Sandra Rivett) were about the same height and build.

Lord Lucan was heavily in debt. He was separated from his wife who had custody of the two children. His life was going pear shaped. Any money he had was going towards the court case and he was in danger of losing it all.

[DrummondStreet]

Especially since he supposedly killed the nanny, realized his mistake, then went from the basement to main floor and waited in hiding for his wife to come looking for her (which giving the already discussed "established routine" might have been never), then when she does come looking for the nanny, instead of simply pushing her down the stairs he proceeds to make a right dog's breakfast of his ambush.

In reality, he didn't have to wait that long as his wife came looking for the nanny after about 20 minutes. After accidentally murdering the nanny, it is possible that he was just biding his time downstairs until everyone went to bed, so he wouldn't have to kill Lady Lucan in front of their children. The fact that she wandered down to the kitchen looking for Sandra meant that Plan B needed to be executed (pardon the pun) sooner than intended. Does it really make a difference whether he pushed her down the stairs or bludgeoned her???? He obviously wasn't a professional killer and certainly wasn't at the top of his game having botched his first attempt.

I believe Lady Lucan's account of events. Lord Lucifer's story just does not add up and wasn't backed by forensics either. Not to mention he didn't exactly behave like an innocent man. If he were innocent, why would he flee the house after his wife left? His children were still inside and wouldn't he be worried about their safety should the intruder return? He knew the kids weren't targets because HE was the killer.

[Ally]

I believe Lady Lucan's account of events. Lord Lucifer's story just does not add up and wasn't backed by forensics either. Not to mention he didn't exactly behave like an innocent man. If he were innocent, why would he flee the house after his wife left? His children were still inside and wouldn't he be worried about their safety should the intruder return? He knew the kids weren't targets because HE was the killer.

Yes but this still doesn't explain why exactly he didn't go through with killing his wife. I mean he'd already killed the nanny. If he was overcome with remorse, then he could have just left. If he wasn't still determined to kill the wife, why wait and assault her. After assaulting her, why not FINISH it, rather than just kind of half-heartedly whacking her a bit and then giving her a chance to escape. I mean it really does not make any kind of sense, whatsoever.

[Magpie]

In reality, he didn't have to wait that long as his wife came looking for the nanny after about 20 minutes. .

But the question remains: why did he wait at all? And having waited, why didn't he follow through?

[louisa]

I think that when Lady Lucan came down to look for Sandra Rivett, Lord Lucan became shocked and confused. He thought he'd killed her, but clearly she was still alive. He was psyched up to kill his wife that night and I think that was why he attacked her when he saw her.

His behaviour that night during and after the killing was very bizarre and I would say was not that of an innocent man.

[kidtwist]

I believe he'd probably had difficulty working up the nerve to kill and having done so when the opportunity came to kill his actual intended victim, he couldn't bring himself to kill again. It seems psychologically plausible to me. We're not talking about a hardened killer.

[louisa]

Yes I agree. When he saw his injured wife and remembered about the woman he'd already murdered, his nerve deserted him.

[DrummondStreet]

I believe he'd probably had difficulty working up the nerve to kill and having done so when the opportunity came to kill his actual intended victim, he couldn't bring himself to kill again. It seems psychologically plausible to me. We're not talking about a hardened killer.

I agree with both kidtwist and Louisa. He must have been physically and emotionally incapacitated by the murder of Sandra and the attempted murder /physical fight with his wife (Lady Lucan was impressively scrappy). He wasn't a professional hitman.

But the question remains: why did he wait at all? And having waited, why didn't he follow through?

Magpie: I addressed that in my post. See below.

After accidentally murdering the nanny, it is possible that he was just biding his time downstairs until everyone went to bed, so he wouldn't have to kill Lady Lucan in front of their children.

It is also possible that the murder of Sandra had finished just moments before Lady Lucan stumbled across the scene. If that was the case, Lucan hadn't been waiting for his wife at all.

[DrummondStreet]

A number of people are questioning why Lucan didn't finish the plan to murder his wife. Well, it wasn't for a lack of trying. He first hit her on the head and then tried to choke her and gouge her eyes out. Lady Lucan was able to escape by squeezing his testicles until he collapsed (and good for her, I'll bet he never anticipated that she was such a fighter.)

If it must be asked why didn't Lucan finish the job then it is also a fair question to ask why didn't the alternative-theory-killer finish the job either. The fact that the killer (Lucan or someone else) failed to accomplish their goal simply points to inexperience, IMO.
In answer to my own question, one could say that the alternative-theory-killer didn't finish the job because Lord Lucan heroically (cough, cough) interrupted him. That being said...

I still believe that Lucan just lost his nerve after his wife won the first round.