Behind the Crimes
Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy
Lord Lucan, his nannies and a fifty-year mystery. A three-part podcast.
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Lord Lucan, his nannies and a fifty-year mystery. A three-part podcast.

Sandra Rivett was murdered by Lord Lucan fifty years ago today. Christabel Boyce was the nanny who could have been on-shift that night. She met an appalling end ten years on. But her diary survived...
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On November 7th 1974, a children’s nanny Sandra Rivett was murdered at the home of the family in which she was in service.

It was the Lucan family.

Lord Lucan - her suspected killer - may have been targeting his estranged wife.

But a man who had squandered his family fortune at Belgravia’s gaming tables proved to be as inept at murder as he was at gambling.

And he killed poor Sandra.

This is the perceived wisdom - and the finding of an inquest.

But with so little known for sure, conjecture fills the gaps facts leave behind.

What really happened on November 7th 1974?

This is a compendium episode - a trilogy re-released to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Sandra’s murder.

In the first two episodes, I’ve interviewed the brilliant author Laura Thompson - who has written a wonderful book A Different Class of Murder about the run up and aftermath of the killing.

And in episode three, I speak with screenwriter George Kay about the nanny who could have been on-rota that night, managed to swap shifts - and cheated death.

Yet Christabel Boyce met a dreadful end a decade later - leading some to believe there was a curse of the Lucan nannies. George has a personal connection with this second tragedy.

You can find out more about Laura, her writing and her books here:

http://www.laurathompson.co.uk/

Discussion about this podcast

Behind the Crimes
Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy
### WINNER 'Outstanding Indie Podcast at the True Crime Awards 2024. ###
What makes a criminal? What makes a truly great detective?
Award-winning TV crime correspondent Robert Murphy speaks with people involved with some of the most fascinating true crime cases of recent years: detectives, victims, experts and sometimes even the criminals themselves.
What drives a person to ignore the morals, laws and conventions of normal society and pushes them to perform the darkest acts?
Sex? Money? Revenge? Love? Humiliation?
Are criminals born bad or are they a creation of their circumstances?
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This podcast and newsletter explores some of our biggest crime stories - and some of the lesser-known, compelling cases which deserve a better understanding.
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