John Bingham, Earl of Lucan was an incredibly wealthy British aristocrat who lived a privileged life as a peer. He spent much of his time gambling and indulging in activities you might expect of a member of the British aristocracy, and he was notable for his suave personality and conventionally good looks. Remarkably, he was even considered for the role of James Bond!
After a divorce settlement resulted in Lucan losing custody of his children in 1972, he was noted to have became bitter and obsessive. Fixated on righting the injustice he believed had been wrought upon him by the British political system, Lucan was driven to near-madness and, in 1974, was reported to have bludgeoned the nanny of his children to death in the kitchen of their family home. As his wife investigated the attack, she too was assaulted by a man she claimed was Lucan, quickly escaping the scene. Lucan’s mother reported receiving a phonecall from him, requesting that she take care of his children before he cut off contact. After this, Lucan quickly disappeared from the face of the earth, with many theories suspecting that he either killed himself or vanished, effectively faking his death. Since his disappearance, there have been numerous claims by certain individuals who reported sighting him in places from New Zealand to India. As an inquest in 1975 named Lucan to undoubtedly be Rivett’s killer, widespread media coverage across the globe and a huge police investigation began in order to find him and bring him to justice. However, Lucan was never discovered and on February 3rd 2016, he was officially declared dead by the courts.
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