Son of Lord Lucan nanny searches for her killer

Neil Berriman's mother was at the centre of an infamous murder case

The son of the woman thought to have been murdered by Lord Lucan believes the peer "could still be alive" following his disappearance 50 years ago.

Neil Berriman discovered he was the son of Sandra Rivett, who worked as the Lucan family's nanny, more than a decade ago when he was 40.

The British aristocrat became the chief suspect in the murder case when he disappeared the night Ms Rivett was killed in November 1974.

Her body was found in the basement of Lucan's house in Lower Belgrave Street, central London, sparking a widespread but fruitless manhunt that lasted decades.

With the support of former BBC investigative journalist Glen Campbell, Mr Berriman, who was adopted as a baby, has mapped out Lucan’s likely escape to a life of exile in Africa in a new, three-part BBC series.

This article contains details that some may find distressing.

No body has ever been found in the search for Lord Lucan, who vanished in 1974 after Sandra Rivett was murdered

Mr Berriman's quest to trace Lucan began with the discovery of a brown envelope in a chest of drawers belonging to his adoptive mother.

Three years after she died of cancer, he plucked up the courage to open it.

It was stuffed with photos, documents and newspaper clippings, revealing the identity of his birth mother.

On making the devastating discovery, Mr Berriman said he was "desperate" to find out as much information as he could about Ms Rivett's murder, and as quickly as possible.

"The chances of you being adopted and finding out your mother is one of the biggest murder mysteries of all time is just unbelievable," the builder from Hampshire said.

"She's the mother I never knew, but that makes no difference.

"Sandra is still my mum and I will do the best I can for her."

Graham Forsyth was a detective sergeant with the Met Police when he found Ms Rivett's body in the basement of Lucan's house.

"In the dark, you could see there was a sack... there appeared to be an arm hanging out of it," he said.

The seventh Earl of Lucan's blood-soaked car was later found abandoned in Newhaven, East Sussex.

Despite never being tracked down, an inquest jury declared him to be the nanny's killer in 1975.

Lucan was born Richard John Bingham in 1934 and was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999.

While most of Lucan’s friends and family insisted he had taken his own life, Mr Berriman was adamant he was still very much alive - and on the run.

"There is also no actual proof that Lucan was dead so he could still be alive," he said.

Mr Berriman wants justice for his birth mother

Since the night he vanished, there have been a number of unverified sightings of Lucan across the world.

There were even claims he lived in India as a hippy called "Jungly Barry".

"As time went on, people seemed to give up on it being a serious investigation," Mr Berriman said.

"He seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth, I didn't know what to do."

But a confidential police intelligence report passed on by an unnamed serving Scotland Yard officer sparked new leads in his quest to find the fugitive.

Written in 2002, he said it contained evidence suggesting Lucan had fled to Mozambique in Africa, and changed his name to John Crawford.

He said it referenced plans for "covert operations" that were later shut down.

To protect the police officer, he refused to share the report, leading to a High Court judge issuing an official death certificate for Lucan in 2016.

"If he was alive, I was going to find him," Mr Berriman said.

"I'm no detective - but you don't really have to be," he said.

"I've got the mentality of being so tenacious that I won't let anything lie."

A Met Police spokesperson said the investigation into the death of Sandra Rivett remained open.

"Any significant new information or investigative opportunities that may be progress the investigation, will accordingly be considered by the Met," they added.

The first episode of Lucan airs on Wednesday at 21:00 GMT on BBC2.