A pensioner, suspected of being the elusive Lord Lucan and residing in Australia, has finally broken his silence after being confronted by the son of the nanny whom Lucan is alleged to have murdered. The elderly man, who speaks with a refined English accent, denies he is Lucan but concedes that he has legally changed his name four times.
When Neil Berriman approached him, the senior citizen reportedly retorted off camera: “If I am Lord Lucan what the f**k you going to do? Put me in prison?” In 2020, it was initially reported Neil Berriman’s belief that he had located the infamous aristocrat living in Brisbane. Now, new gripping footage is featured in three fresh BBC documentaries airing tonight, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the sensational crime.
Should he still be alive, Lucan would be 89 years old. After their encounter, the enigmatic man consented to an on-camera interview without Berriman present.
(Image: Daily Record)
He claimed: “On the birth certificate it says Derek Bell Crowther. I think.”
Upon further questioning, he revealed he was raised in London, attended Eton, and had connections to the Royal Family. The gentleman added: “I grew up around London. Different places”, reports the Mirror.
Confirming his education at Eton, he said: “Yeah I was sent there. I went to school, but I was also thrown out.”
He remarked: “Part of the family was English aristocracy, Buckingham Palace.”
There have been whispers of connections to Princess Margaret, as he noted: “I haven’t been on the run for 40 years – I’ve been trying to find reasonable places to live, companions and friends.”
His frustration showed when he declared: “I do not know who the hell Lord Lucan is .. ok. Now if you’re finished I’m getting bored with this interview.”
(Image: TopFoto)
However, he maintained his innocence to Berriman saying: “Wherever you are Neil I can assure you I am not that man, never have been, never will be.”
An emotional Neil Berriman, labouring tirelessly through a 17-year search for his mother’s murderer, was visibly moved to tears discussing his quest. Berriman’s exhaustive probe took him down under, convinced Lucan had adopted the guise of a Buddhist monk at an Aussie retreat.
But the individual in question sharply retorted: “I’m not a f**king buddhist – I’m not anything.”
During an erratic conversation, he professed to have earlier styled windows at London’s swanky toy emporium Hamleys and made the peculiar assertion that his grandad helped launch the original Daily Mirror.
He even staked a claim to being the “western incarnation of the Dalai Lama”. In a dramatic scene, Berriman found an ally confronting the man in John Hankin, former beau of the murdered Sandra Rivett.
They were a duo united by tragedy in the capital.
In a twist that sounds like it’s straight out of a crime novel, the man who moved to Australia and settled near Brisbane has not publicly addressed Sandra’s death. However, in recent times, he’s grown close to Berriman as they both grieve their loss.
Upon spotting the chap in Queensland, Hankin didn’t hesitate to declare: “That’s Lord Lucan. I’d swear on my mother’s grave.”
He also praised Berriman’s dogged pursuit for answers, saying: “He certainly has got some of his mother’s guts. He’s a good man, he’s tenacious. I don’t think he should be a builder – he should be a bloody police officer. Sandra was a good person, a really good person. It’s important that somewhere down the track she gets a bit of justice.”
Hankin reflected, “I was thinking about it the other night and I realised that I’m the only one who actually knew her.”
Sandra Rivett’s life took a tragic turn when she was murdered 50 years ago tomorrow by the infamous Lord Lucan, who vanished without a trace. While some speculate he ended his life off a cross-channel ferry, others believe he made a great escape with the aid of his posh pals.
Despite being officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999, sightings of Lucan have popped up across the globe from Ireland to India, where he’s rumoured to have lived as a hippy named “Jungle Barry”.
Lucan’s motor was discovered blood-soaked and deserted in Newhaven, East Sussex, and just a year on, an inquest jury labelled him the murderer. Fast forward to 2016, his kid, Lord George Bingham, nabbed the Lucan title as the eighth Earl after he secured a death certificate for his MIA dad 42 years post-disappearance, all thanks to the Presumption of Death Act, kicked off in 2014.
Berriman is dead certain that “the man in Australia is Lord Lucan.”
He’s declared his sleuthing won’t stop, in honour of his late mum.
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