‘It’s him’: Hunt for Lord Lucan continues 48 years after nanny’s murder | Criminal

The late Daily Mirror journalist Garth Gibbs, who died in 2011, claimed his “most impressive achievement” in journalism was not finding Lord Lucan.

“I didn’t find him in any more exotic places than anyone else,” he said. “I spent three glorious weeks without finding him in Cape Town, magical days and nights without finding him in the Black Mountains of Wales, and wonderful and successful short breaks without finding him in Macau, Hong Kong or even the Green Turtle – Kay. in the Bahamas, where you can find anyone.’

The manhunt is now on again for the man who murdered his family’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, in Belgravia, London, on November 7, 1974, and then went missing. It is now claimed that it could be an 87-year-old man who lives in a Buddhist community in Australia.

The evidence comes from facial recognition expert Professor Hassan Ughail of the University of Bradford. “It’s him” he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror. “That’s not opinion, that’s fact.”

Neil Berryman, Rivet’s son, asked Ugail to analyze the man’s photos in Australia, along with those of Lucan or John Bingham, using an artificial intelligence algorithm. An 87-year-old man contacted by the newspaper denied through his guardians that he was a Lucan.

Berryman publishes search details at his websitewhere Ugail’s report is now presented.

“My mission is to preserve the memory of my mother and seek justice,” he says on the website. “She’s not ‘just a babysitter’, she’s the victim of a violent crime secondary to her killer being a lord, a lord who was protected and who disappeared abroad with the help of his rich and powerful friends rather than stand trial. »

Contacted by the Guardian, Ughail said: “I cannot confirm 100% that it is Lord Lucan. It’s very similar to him – it’s worth investigating further.”

He said he did not know when he did the research that it was related to the Lucan case. The Silicon Valley firm achieved results similar to Ugail’s.

In response to a Guardian inquiry, the Metropolitan Police said it became aware of information relating to an Australian citizen in connection with the case in December 2020. “In April 2021, following extensive inquiries and investigations by the Australian Federal Police on behalf of the Metropolitan Police, this individual was finally removed from the investigation.”

They said the investigation into Rivette’s death remains open, “as is the case with all unsolved homicides. Any significant new information will be considered.”

In 2004, the Met carried out an unpublished review of the case without reaching a conclusion as to what happened to Lucan.

The new claims, published on Monday, the 48th anniversary of the murder, came as This is reported by the Daily Mail that “mysterious new clues to the mystery of Lord Lucan may be revealed … in the form of the Cloed maps found by detectives at the time: Colonel Mustard, the lead pipe and the hall”.

The Mail added: “Nearly 50 years after his family’s nanny was found bludgeoned to death by a lead pipe, it has emerged that these three cards from the aristocrat’s board game were found in his abandoned car. A trio of Cluedo cards appear to depict the gruesome murder of Sandra Rivett – raising the question of whether her death was planned.’

Officially, Lucan has been dead for more than five years. In 2016, a death certificate was issued in the High Court, allowing his son George Bingham to finally inherit the family title. At the time, Bingham said, “I’m very pleased with the court’s decision in this case … It’s been a long time coming.”

The latest story is one of thousands over the years about the case. The Lucan sighting was one of the regular stories that the late hoaxer Rocky Ryan relayed to the media. This was appreciated by reporters when Fleet Street newsrooms were more relaxed about sending staff out on speculative tips, especially during the winter months when he was “spotted” somewhere warm. Reports placed him everywhere from Botswana to Guam and Mozambique to Melbourne.

In 2003, he was allegedly tracked down in Goa, India. The person identified was actually a folk singer from St Helens. In a letter to the Guardian, fellow singer and comedian Mike Harding told how he laughed until he cried when he saw a picture of the “missing Lord Lucan” in the Sunday Telegraph.

“Come to think of it, anyone could mistake my old pal Barry Halpin for Lord Lucan,” he said. Lucan’s wife, Victoria, told Sky News at the time: “It’s incredibly sad. I could never imagine my husband looking so miserable.’ Lady Lucan took her own life in 2017.

Garth Gibbs, recounting his career in Lucan’s absence, noted: “As that brilliant bigoted and cruel old columnist John Junor once slyly observed, ‘You never want to shoot a fox, kid. When the fox is dead, there is nothing to chase.”

The fox, unlike Lucan, has yet to show signs of death, and with the 50th anniversary of the killing approaching, there may be many more such sightings.