The Lucan Obsession: 9. A Race Across the World

Summary

The History Podcast: The Lucan Obsession – Episode 9: A Race Across the World

Release Date: October 28, 2024

Introduction

In Episode 9 of The Lucan Obsession, titled "A Race Across the World," host Alex Von Tunzelman delves deep into the enigmatic disappearance of Lord Lucan, a British peer who vanished in 1974 following the infamous murder of Sandra Rivett. This episode explores the myriad theories, sensational media coverage, and persistent public fascination that have kept Lord Lucan's story alive for decades.

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1. The Mysterious Death of David Hardy and the Clue

The episode opens with the tragic death of David Hardy, a regular at the Claremont Club and a friend of Lord Lucan, who died in a car crash in Essex in 1980, six years after Lucan's disappearance.

• Alex Von Tunzelman [00:43]: "In 1980, six years after Lord Lucan had disappeared, a Claremont Club regular called David Hardy was killed in a car crash in Essex. Among the belongings police found in the wreckage was an extraordinary clue."

• Jackie Moulton [00:58]: "One of Lucan's drinking buddies got wiped out by a car and a PC got an address book out of his pocket which said Lord Lucan. Hotel Ambassadors Bera, Mozambique."

This unexpected clue reignited speculation about Lucan's fate, with his address book referencing Hotel Ambassadors in Beira, Mozambique, prompting journalists to search for him there. However, the search yielded nothing, leaving questions about whether Lucan had indeed fled or if the address was a mere prank.

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2. The Media's Insatiable Appetite for the Lucan Story

The murder of Sandra Rivett captured the nation's attention, and the media's relentless pursuit of Lord Lucan transformed the case into a prolonged saga that extended well beyond the 1970s.

• Alex Von Tunzelman [01:08]: "The murder of Sandra Rivett gripped the nation... The press needed a sequel. So their focus shifted to the question that would propel this crime story out of the 70s and keep it going through the 80s, 90s, even into the 21st century, still looking for Lucan all over the world."

This persistent media coverage kept Lord Lucan in the public consciousness, fostering numerous sightings and rumors about his whereabouts across the globe.

• James Fox [01:56]: "And until these sightings run out, we'll continue to follow everyone up."

• Bob Strange [02:00]: "Where is he now? And that's partly, I think, why it has stayed in the public consciousness for so long..."

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3. The Elusiveness of Lord Lucan

Despite extensive searches, including underwater dives in New Haven Harbor where Lucan's abandoned car was found, no definitive evidence of his fate emerged.

• Alex Von Tunzelman [02:31]: "When the borrowed car Lord Lucan drove on the night of the murder was found abandoned at the south coast port of New Haven. Divers searched the sea for a body."

• James Fox [02:31]: "Tomorrow, weather permitting, the police divers are due to carry out an underwater search of the harbor."

Even the discovery of what seemed like a suicide note raised doubts:

• Alex Von Tunzelman [02:46]: "The last letters we know he wrote... Perhaps he'd thrown himself off the harbour, a cliff, the side of a ferry. The divers found nothing. Does that mean he got away?"

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4. The Grim Realities of Missing Persons at Sea

Louise Newell, Operations Manager for the National Crime Agency's Missing Persons Unit, provides insights into why bodies might not be recovered from the ocean.

• Louise Newell [03:23]: "There are so many factors... your body size, your body composition, what you're wearing, the weather, even your body parts can be eaten."

She elaborates on the challenges:

• Louise Newell [03:41]: "Skeletons will come apart and body parts can be washed along... Your bones can be sort of on the bottom of the ocean... shifting tectonic plates."

This grim explanation underscores the possibility that Lord Lucan's body could have indeed vanished without a trace, leaving the door open for his escape theories.

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5. Media-Driven Hoaxes and Fake Sightings

The public's fascination with Lord Lucan led to numerous hoaxes and fabricated stories, making it increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction.

• James Fox [04:15]: "Journalist James Fox... there was a certain crab in the New Haven harbour that would actually feed on human bones..."

• James Fox [05:03]: "Aspinall's tigers would have found Lord Lucan slightly distasteful... or so full of alcohol they would have spat him out."

Notable hoaxes included:

• An ITN camera crew was tricked into visiting a fake location where staged events were presented as evidence of Lucan's whereabouts.

• Bob Strange recounted receiving a forged death certificate and a photograph of a grave:

  • Bob Strange [10:04]: "I thought any newspaper I went to and said... would you like to stand on this grave and say, this is where aristocratic, wealthy Lord Lucan ended up?"

Eventually, the hoax was exposed as a fabrication from a pet shop.

• Claire McGowan [10:28]: "But the hoaxer eventually admitted he'd made it all up from his Welsh pet shop."

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6. The Possibility of Lord Lucan's Escape

Despite numerous false leads, some evidence suggested that Lord Lucan might have successfully escaped and assumed a new identity.

• Alex Von Tunzelman [10:37]: "But there are reasons to think he really might have got away."

Key points include:

• Lord Lucan's Second Letter: Differing from a suicide note, it directed his friend Michael Stoop to burn the envelope, indicating an attempt to cover his tracks.

  • Alex Von Tunzelman [10:48]: "But there are reasons to think he really might have got away..."

• Financial Resources: Lucan had access to bank accounts in Switzerland and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), facilitating potential movement.

• Louise Newell [11:27]: "It's a difficult question because if someone does this successfully, we don't ever find them... I suspect it's probably happened more frequently than we're aware of."

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7. Intriguing Evidence from Police Files

Jackie Moulton revisits old documents revealing potential clues that could support the escape theory.

• Jackie Moulton [12:10]: "A very, very senior officer, Chief Officer of Police, thought that he saw a man with the same description as Lucan buying cigarettes... the credit card used was owned by one of Lord Lucan's friends."

Additionally, discrepancies in Lucan's travel plans suggest possible deception:

• Jackie Moulton [12:30]: "A light aircraft had been booked... but it was seen on radar going to Southern Air, where Lucan had his country estate."

These pieces of evidence hint at sophisticated methods Lord Lucan might have employed to evade capture.

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8. The Psychological and Social Implications

The enduring belief in Lord Lucan's survival reflects broader societal themes.

• Claire McGowan [10:37]: "We like to believe that there is a different world for the rich..."

This belief caters to the notion that the affluent can escape dire circumstances effortlessly, adding a layer of psychological intrigue to the case.

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9. Personal Accounts and Family Perspectives

Familial opinions and testimonies add depth to the narrative.

• Susan Maxwell Scott: "Far as I'm concerned, my husband is still alive and I have no reason to believe otherwise."

• Alex Von Tunzelman [13:36]: "Perhaps psychologically, his friends and family needed to believe Lord Lucan was alive. Or perhaps he just was alive and they knew it."

These perspectives highlight the personal toll and hope that persists among those close to Lucan.

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Conclusion

"A Race Across the World" intricately weaves the complex tapestry of Lord Lucan's disappearance, examining the interplay between media sensationalism, public obsession, and the elusive truth. While numerous theories exist, the episode underscores the enduring mystery that continues to captivate and baffle investigators, journalists, and the general public alike.

Alex Von Tunzelman closes the episode by hinting at new developments that may shed further light on the case in future installments, ensuring that the quest to uncover the truth about Lord Lucan's fate remains ongoing.

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Notable Quotes:

• James Fox [04:15]: "It reached its peak at the end of this trip on a night that was legendary night of drinking."

• Bob Strange [10:04]: "I thought any newspaper I went to and said, would you like to stand on this grave and say..."

• Louise Newell [10:37]: "We like to believe that there is a different world for the rich..."

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Further Listening

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes of The Lucan Obsession as Alex Von Tunzelman continues to explore the myriad facets of this enduring mystery.

Transcript

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

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[Paul McGann]

Titanic Ship of Dreams, the new podcast from the award winning Noiser Network. Join me, Paul McGann, as we explore life and death on Titanic. I'll delve into my own family story following my great Uncle Jimmy as he tries to escape the engine room. We'll hear the harrowing tales of the victims and the testimonies of the lucky survivors.

[Jackie Moulton]

I saw that ship sink and I saw that ship break in half.

[Paul McGann]

Titanic Ship of Dreams. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Louise Newell]

BBC Sounds music radio podcasts.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

In 1980, six years after Lord Lucan had disappeared, a Claremont Club regular called David Hardy was killed in a car crash in Essex. Among the belongings police found in the wreckage was an extraordinary clue.

[Jackie Moulton]

One of Lucan's drinking buddies got wiped out by a car and a PC got an address book out of his pocket which said Lord Lucan. Hotel Ambassadors Bera, Mozambique.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Many sightings of Lord Lucan after his disappearance were fake, but Hardy can't have intentionally planted that information because you don't know that you're going to be killed in a car crash. Just journalists rushed to Mozambique, but found nothing. Maybe Lord Lucan had moved on, or maybe Hardy just wrote the address as a joke. The murder of Sandra Rivett gripped the nation. The press didn't want to let go of this sensational tale of aristocracy, glamour, violence and a spectacular fall from grace. They needed a sequel. So their focus shifted to the question that would propel this crime story out of the 70s and keep it going through the 80s, 90s, even into the 20tw 21st century, still looking for Lucan all over the world.

[James Fox]

And until these sightings run out, we'll continue to follow everyone up.

[Bob Strange]

Where is he now? And that's partly, I think, why it has stayed in the public consciousness for so long. It's the idea that he might be out there somewhere in the wide world and everybody wants to find him.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Had Lord Lucan really escaped? Or did the world's media just need to believe that? I'm Alex Von tunzelman and for BBC Radio 4, this is the Lucan obsession. Episode 9 A Race across the World.

[James Fox]

Tomorrow, weather permitting, the police divers are due to carry out an underwater search of the harbor. They'll be concentrating on a deep hole.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

When the borrowed car Lord Lucan drove on the night of the murder was found abandoned at the south coast port of New Haven. Divers searched the sea for a body.

[James Fox]

Where a number of bodies have been found in the past.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

The last letters we know he wrote were to Michael Stoop, the friend he'd borrowed the car from one of his sentences. Could sound like a suicide note. When you come across my children, which I hope you will, please tell them that you knew me and that all I cared about was them. Perhaps he'd thrown himself off the harbour, a cliff, the side of a ferry. The divers found nothing. Does that mean he got away?

[Louise Newell]

I think we all have the sort of belief that bodies would turn up, but when you jump into a body of water, there are so many factors that can impact whether your body is found.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Louise Newell, operations manager for the National Crime Agency's Missing Persons Unit.

[Louise Newell]

So we're not just talking about where you are when you jump into that body of water. It comes down to your body size, your body composition, what you're wearing, the weather, even your body parts can be eaten.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Now this is getting grim and then.

[Louise Newell]

You'Re just left with a skeleton and skeletons will come apart and body parts can be washed along or they can be. Your bones can be sort of on the bottom of the ocean. You're at sort of the mercy of currents, storms, you know, shifting tectonic plates. All these things can impact whether or whether or not you'll be found.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

So Lord Lucan's body could have disappeared at sea. And what a simple ending that would be. And how dull this is. The Lucan story. The press wanted drama and perhaps so do we.

[James Fox]

Journalist James Fox, the Home Office pathologist, told me that there was a certain crab in the New Haven harbour that would actually feed on human bones and clean them in a space of 48 hours. And I thought, this is fabulous. That's obviously where he was dropped into New Haven harbour and was then served up as potted shrimps in the Claremont Club. So they were actually eating their friend the next day.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Flesh eating crabs. This story really does of everything. Some imagined he was assassinated by the ira, others said he was murdered by the hitman he hired. It was suggested that his remains had been disposed of with fabulous exoticism.

[James Fox]

He was eaten by Aspinall's tiger. I think Aspinall's tigers would have found Lord Lucanro slightly distasteful, actually, or so full of alcohol they would have spat him out.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

If Lucan were dead, that would be the end of the story and the papers were more interested in keeping him alive. Many assumed that the abandoned car at Newhaven meant he must have taken a ferry to France. Though for such a striking looking man, well over 6ft tall, with a face that would soon be in every newspaper, to have not been spotted at the ticket desk on board coming off. That would have been quite a feat. What's more, he'd left his passport at home. Soon he was being seen everywhere and the police phones didn't stop ringing in.

[Jackie Moulton]

Any major inquiry where you get cases such as this, like the murder of.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Gill Dando, former Met Police detective Jackie Moulton.

[Jackie Moulton]

Thousands and thousands of people kind of ring in and give information. I saw them, or he was seen, you know, on a flight from Nairobi to somewhere else. It's just impossible, absolutely impossible, to follow those kind of leads where there isn't much kind of substance to them.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

The stories piled up far more than the police could ever investigate.

[James Fox]

Sightings all over the world for years. They were always outlandish because they were always impossible.

[Jackie Moulton]

Lucan was supposed to be disguised as.

[James Fox]

A hippie called Jungle Barry, who used to play the banjo on the beach at Gur. They were always to do with sort of distant places.

[Paul McGann]

There's a new witness who's come forward and says that Lucan was alive and.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Well and in Africa. Some suspected Lord Lucan had been picked up at Chawham Airport by his friend, the billionaire financier James Goldsmith, who had a private jet. Back in the 70s, regulations were more relaxed. Flying privately to a small airfield could have allowed Lord Lucan to leave Britain and enter another country without his passport. People couldn't let it go and kept reporting sightings.

[Louise Newell]

It's incredibly difficult because the public have a desire to help, and I think we all have that sort of desire. When you hear of a story, any kind of missing person or any kind of traumatic incident, we all have this desire to be able to solve, to be able to provide some comfort. Now, that's not to say that anybody is ever untruthful when they recant a story that's happened to them. It just means that what is my truth or your truth of what's happened will be very different. Even though we could have experienced exactly the same thing at the same time.

[James Fox]

If somebody was seen in a bar in, let's say, Cairo or something, you know, with a moustache, having a whiskey, you'd get some coffee out of it, no question.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

It's even harder to sort fact from fiction when some were deliberately planting lies.

[James Fox]

It was entirely fueled by Fleet Street. I mean, they set up sightings all over the place. You know, if there was a lull, like the Cherbourg sighting, an adventurous Daily Express reporter went over to Cherbourg, found a hotel with a proprietress called Madame Guilpin and said, have you seen a gentleman with a moustache, rather tall, speaking English in the bar recently? Oh, yes, monsieur. He was here only last week. So the entire press corps, plus the police, got on a boat and went to Cherbourg. After several drinks were received by the French police, who laid on another party for them.

[Bob Strange]

It reached its peak at the end of this trip on a night that was legendary night of drinking. Journalist Bob Strange and Dave Goering suddenly announced he wanted to go to the casino in Saint Marlow, and we all trooped along with him. And as we walked up the steps, the security man on the door quite wisely told us to shove off. And Dave became furious, shouting at everyone, saying, you lot, I want you to write a story that we raided the casino at Saint Marlow in the search of Lord Luke, and that'll teach them. And of course, we all laughed it off. And the next morning, I wake up with my awful hangover in this hotel in France, and the phone's ringing at the bedside. It's my boss and he says, where's the story? And I said, well, there isn't a story. And he said, it's on the radio. They raided the casino in Saint Marlow for the search for Lord Lucan, and one of the radio reporters on this trip had filed the story as fact, and because he did, I had to write it.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Although it was complete fiction, some hoaxes were elaborate. An ITN camera crew was lured to an island in the Florida Keys where a fixer told them Lucan was hiding. As they arrived, Lucan's supposed bodyguards pretended to shoot the fixer. The scene played on British television, but it was later revealed that the explosions popping out of the fixer's chest were Chinese firecrackers. Journalist Bob Strange thought he might have solved the case when someone came to him with a Portuguese death certificate for Lord Lucan and a photograph of his grave.

[Bob Strange]

The headstones were falling down. You expected vampires to be rising from the graves. There was even human remains sticking out of a shattered coffin. I thought any newspaper I went to and said, would you like to stand on this grave and say, this is where aristocratic, wealthy Lord Lucan ended up? I'll be completely honest, I had pound signs going round and round in my eyes.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

But the hoaxer eventually admitted he'd made it all up from his Welsh pet shop. Why do we fall for these stories, crime writer Claire McGowan.

[Louise Newell]

We like to believe that there is a different world for the rich, that they can be spirited away quite happily and live out the rest of their days and not be just a kind of desperate man with no options, covered in blood.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

But there are reasons to think he really might have got away. I mentioned Lord Lucan's letter to his friend Michael Stoop, which sounded like a suicide note. But Stoop received a second letter from Lucan, which he withheld from the police. That letter told Stoop where he'd left his car and told him to burn the envelope, presumably to hide the postmark. That's no suicide note. It sounds like Lucan was trying to cover his tracks. Lucan had friends with money all over the world and his own bank accounts in Switzerland and Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. But how easy is it to create a new identity?

[Louise Newell]

It's a difficult question because if someone does this successfully, we don't ever find them, of course. But certainly in the last four years or so, I know of one case where my team has managed to find somebody who disappeared 20 years ago, and I suspect it's probably happened more frequently than we're aware of.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Lucan might have struggled without his daily lamb cutlets at the Clermont Club, but he could have done it. Among the many absurd sightings of Lord Lucan, there are a few I can't dismiss.

[Jackie Moulton]

There was also evidence of a plane.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Jackie Moulton goes back through old documents and sees that some police thought the car left at Newhaven could have been a deliberate red herring.

[Jackie Moulton]

The day after the murder, a light aircraft had been booked from the northwest to go to the west country, when in fact it was seen on radar going to Southern Air, where Lucan had his country estate, although he didn't own a property. That was obtained from the air traffic control in Liverpool, who confirmed those flight details.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

And there's this story which has escaped from the police files somehow, which I find the most intriguing of all.

[Jackie Moulton]

A very, very senior officer, chief Officer of Police, thought that he saw a man with the same description as Lucan buying cigarettes from Santander to Plymouth and he contacted the police. The police checked the receipts and found that the credit card used to buy those cigarettes was owned by one of Lord Lucan's friends.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

The witness was a senior police officer. He didn't sell his story to the papers, so he wasn't trying to make a few quid or get famous. So did Lord Lucan not only leave the country, but return? Many of Lord Lucan's friends and family thought he was still alive, even years later. His brother, Hugh Bingham, I don't believe.

[James Fox]

He would have committed suicide. He was a man of considerable resourcefulness.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

His friend, Susan Maxwell Scott.

[Jackie Moulton]

I would think that the probability is that he is alive, but I have no knowledge, no foundation for that.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

And his wife, Veronica, Lady Lucan, as.

[James Fox]

Far as I'm concerned, my husband is.

[Alex Von Tunzelman]

Still alive and I have no reason to believe otherwise. Perhaps psychologically, his friends and family needed to believe Lord Lucan was alive. Or perhaps he just was alive and they knew it. I always thought it was ridiculous to imagine he got away. Now I think it's at least possible. And I do have something else thrilling and genuine that has changed my view of this case. That's in the next episode.

[Paul McGann]

Titanic Ship of Dreams, the new podcast from the award winning Noiser Network. Join me, Paul McGann, as we explore life and death on Titanic. I'll delve into my own family story following my great Uncle Jimmy as he tries to escape the engine room. We'll hear the harrowing tales of the victims and the testimonies of the lucky survivors.

[Jackie Moulton]

I saw that ship sink and I saw that ship break in half.

[Paul McGann]

Titanic ship of Dreams. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.