Lord Lucan, then 39, killed 29-year-old Sandra on the night of November 7, 1974, bludgeoning her with a lead pipe after mistaking her for his estranged wife Veronica
Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in 1974
Lord Lucan has been one of Britain’s most infamous murderers for 50 years but his victim, nanny Sandra Rivett, has often been overlooked by history.
Now, her little sister Charmaine says, it’s time that changed. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror ahead of an Amazon Prime Video documentary about her coming out, Charmaine says: “This is the first time in nearly 50 years that anyone else has cared about Sandra”. With The Murder of Sandra Rivett to go out on the streaming service on Monday, Charmaine adds: “Recognising her as a person, not just a victim, has given me my sister back.”
Lord Lucan, then 39, killed 29-year-old Sandra on the night of November 7, 1974, bludgeoning her with a lead pipe after mistaking her for his estranged wife Veronica. Lord and Lady Lucan had argued over money and custody of their children, Frances, George and Camilla. After a fight with Veronica, who came to the basement to see what was delaying Sandra, Lucan fled and has been missing ever since.
Sandra Rivett sat by a fireplace
With the focus on the elusive aristocrat, the world forgot the beloved sister, daughter and mother left in the basement in London’s swish Belgravia. Charmaine says: “Losing my big sister has haunted me for years. I still miss her. She was a wonderful sister. She enjoyed life and was kind, caring, and supportive to us all.”
Ironically given what happened to her sister, Charmaine, who wants to withhold her surname, adds: “Sandra loved her job and the Lucan children. Sandra was like Mum, fun-loving, with a great sense of humour. People were drawn to her, and she had lots of friends.”
Born on September 16, 1945, the third child of Albert and Eunice Hensby, Sandra spent the first decade of her life in Australia before coming over to the UK, where her family settled in South London. At the age of 17 she fell in love with a builder and they got engaged. However, her fiance got cold feet and called off the engagement.
Sandra Rivett was murdered by Lord Lucan over 50 years ago
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Heartbroken Sandra was pregnant at the time but her parents stepped in and brought up her son as their own. Sandra moved away from London to live in Portsmouth, Hants. She stayed in the seaside city with her older sister Theresa, after falling pregnant again at the age of 21. This time she gave the child up for adoption.
A letter to the adoptive parents said: “The baby’s father is a man she has known for quite a long time. Unfortunately, while his wife spent a period in hospital, she visited his house on a number of occasions to help in the house.” The letter added, bluntly and without further explanation of the relationship: “Intercourse occurred and she became pregnant. She did not want to break his marriage so came away from the area.” The baby, Neil, was adopted by Audrey and Ivan Berriman.
As an adult, Neil discovered who his birth mother was and vowed to bring Lucan to justice. Sandra went on to marry Roger Rivett in the hope of finding her happy ever after. But the marriage broke down in 1974 and that fateful year she returned to London. After signing up with a domestic agency, she got a job as a nanny to the Lucan children – Lady Frances, 10, Lord George Bingham, seven, and four-year-old Lady Camilla.
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan with his future wife, Veronica Duncan (1937 – 2017) after they announced their engagement, 14th October 1963
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John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan and Veronica Duncan (1963)
Sandra had walked straight into the crossfire of a toxic relationship – and 10 weeks later she was dead. The marriage of Veronica Duncan and John Bingham was a match made in hell. She battled mental health struggles and he was a gambling addict, racking up debts at the tables of London’s Mayfair casinos. The old Etonian was unsympathetic to his wife’s emotional issues, as reflected in a letter she wrote to a family friend during the marriage. She described her husband’s cruelty. There were also accusations of abuse. Pierrette Goletto, a Lucan nanny before Sandra, said she saw Lady Lucan dancing around with a bottle of vodka in her hand, adding: “When Lord Lucan visited I could hear them arguing about money, gambling and the children.”
But Pierette remembers Lucan as an affectionate father with no sign of a violent streak. The Lucans separated in 1973, and he rented a flat nearby. He wanted custody of the children and to prove Veronica was an unfit mother, resorting to stalking to do so. A bitter and costly court battle ensued, which Lucan lost. Amid this emotional turmoil, Veronica struck up a friendship with the nanny she employed.
Dr Tessa Dunlop – Social Historian
In her weekly calls to her mum, Sandra said she was happy. She had come to care for her boss, even calling to check in on her on days off. Historian Tessa Dunlop says: “Veronica felt able to share her vulnerability with Sandra. There was a kinship.” But Sandra’s life was doomed.
After calling her boyfriend John Hankins at around 8pm on the last evening of her life, Sandra put Camilla and George to bed before asking Veronica if she would like a cup of tea and going downstairs to make one. She did not know Lucan was lurking in the dark basement kitchen with murderous intent. After the killing and the fight with Veronica, Lucan drove to the home of some friends in East Sussex. He wrote a letter claiming he had seen an intruder struggling with his wife – but few doubt that this was a lie. He has not been seen since and in 2016 his death certificate was issued. And Sandra Rivett was not the only forgotten victim of the grisly episode.
Lady Lucan, Veronica, lost custody of her children to Lucan’s aristocratic relatives the Shand Kydds. When she died in 2017 aged 80, having taken a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, she had not spoken to her sister or children since the 1980s. She said in her last ever interview: “I am deeply sad that my marriage caused Sandra Rivett to die.”
The Murder of Sandra Rivett is on Amazon Prime Video today
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