Weapon Lord Lucan used to kill family nanny seen in photo for first time

This remarkable photograph reveals for the first time the murder weapon wielded by Lord Lucan in the killing of his family's nanny. The image captures two pieces of lead piping resting on a blood-soaked mailbag, the grim hiding place for Sandra Rivett's body after the attack.

Snapped inside the foreboding confines of Scotland Yard's Black Museum, the photo was taken 41 years-ago and surfaces as we approach the half-century mark since the notorious crime that saw the nanny brutally killed and Lucan vanish, prompting a global sensation, reports the Mirror. The BBC is set to broadcast a trio of documentaries this week exploring the possibility that Lucan, now potentially aged 89, could have eluded capture and resettled in Australia with assistance from affluent allies.

Back in 1974, detectives theorised that Lucan had intended to murder his wife but fatally attacked Sandra instead by mistake. Television crime programme producer Sandy Kaye took the picture during her investigative work for a documentary series and comments made about the image highlight the apparent casual treatment afforded to such key pieces of evidence; notably, the handling officer wears no gloves, suggesting a startling disregard for preventing potential contamination.

Kaye got exclusive access to film inside Scotland Yard's secretive museum. Afterwards she said: "I've kept this photo safe for 41 years - but now it's time for the world to see it. It's such an important part of British crime history."

The slide created quite a stir when Kaye revealed it during an interview, noting she had taken the photo on Friday March 25, 1983. Locked away for years, this image holds historical significance.

Kaye recalled her regular visits to what was then called the Black Museum in connection with her work on 'Police 5'. She recalled: "I was always over at the Black Museum as it was called then. I was allowed frequent access, at that time I was working on Police 5 and we had a close relationship with the Department of Public Affairs so I was constantly in and out.

"I went over to meet police contacts who actually became very dear friends. I vividly remember one Friday afternoon when we finished work and they opened a bottle and I was asked if I would like to see something special, I had no idea what he was talking about.

"I couldn't believe it when he went to a cupboard and opened the door and brought out the artefacts concerning the Lord Lucan case. I was looking at a bloodstained USA mailbag and metal rods that were allegedly used by Lord Lucan.

"It was a shocking moment. I asked permission, and I was allowed to take a photo, but I was allowed to take one photo - one only. But even then, in my gut, I realised it could be an important and significant picture. In those days Scotland Yard had a photo processing unit and I asked them to develop the film.

"When I got the slides back there were several pictures of other artefacts connected with the museum. Then there was this Lucan one. Eventually I put the slide into a safe at my lawyer's office. For almost all of the last 41 years it has been kept in a safe."

Sandy revealed: "I've kept diaries every year since 1963. I wrote about events of each day and on this day on March 25, 1983 I noted that I had taken the Lucan photo (and also that my car was taken to the garage! ) It brings back incredible memories looking at that particular diary entry which read took photo of Lord Lucan USA Bag and Rod."

In the book Looking for Lucan: The Final Verdict, the author, ex chief superintendent Roy Ranson, confirmed there were two pieces of lead piping. He recalled his arrival at the seaside port of Newhaven where Lucan's car had been discovered.

He wrote: "The interior of the boot was a jumble of vital evidence. The centrepiece was a length of lead piping, covered in surgical tape, which appeared to me to be similar in almost every respect to the murder weapon I had seen just three nights before lying in the ground floor hallway where Lady Lucan had been attacked. The only apparent difference was that it was some three or four inches longer."

Neil Berriman, the son of Sandra Rivett who is central to the saga of Lord Lucan in the BBC series, sought information on the murder weapon and the mailbag, only to discover they had gone missing. Meanwhile, retired to Spain and volunteering for Age Concern at 80, former ITV Police 5 producer and Crimestoppers company MD Kaye looks back on the case and her career.

She recalled her key role in producing special documentaries about The Black Museum on network ITV, which garnered praise from Scotland Yard's upper echelons including Met Commissioner Sir Peter Imbert during a VIP screening on September 6, 1988. "I worked closely with the hierarchy of Scotland Yard. They were really pleased with the documentaries that I produced and delighted that it went out on the network. I had the exclusive rights from Scotland Yard to film within the museum."

The documentary series was titled New Scotland Yard's Museum of Crime, featuring episodes like 'Invitation to the Black Museum' and 'Inside the Black Museum.' In 1991, Kaye was photographed outside Scotland Yard presenting a cheque for £2,000 to senior officer Sir John Dellow.

She explained: "It was a donation to help the Met Police open a new museum which would have given the public access. I have no idea what they did with the money, they certainly haven't used it for what it was intended for. In fact I have recently asked for it back."

The Black Museum, established in 1874, was rebranded as the Crime Museum several years ago but remains closed to the public. Kaye, a highly respected crime TV producer, was later invited by Cunard to deliver lectures on the QEII. In a promotional flyer, Cunard invited passengers: "At 2.30pm in the theatre: "Museum of Crime: Inside the Black Museum" an informal lecture by Sandy Kaye, film producer."

In a remarkable twist, Kaye had actually met Lucan the year before his disappearance. She said: "Life is very strange. I did meet Lord Lucan once. It was back in 1973 and I was with the late chef Albert Roux who invited me to dinner at Annabel's. He was a personal friend and it was my first time in Annabel's."

Lucan greeted Albert with a 'hello', and it was then that Albert introduced Kaye to the imposing figure. She reminisced about her visits to the elite venue, saying: "I went to Annabel's perhaps half a dozen times.

"It was a restaurant and club with a small dance floor and a casino upstairs where Lucan used to gamble. It was a members only club. It was beautiful, a magnificent place full of elegant people."

Kaye believes that Lucan managed to evade capture, saying: "His friends were among the 'creme de la creme' of British society. They had all sorts of means to help him and I'm sure they helped him disappear. My gut feeling is that he escaped the UK after the murder of the nanny - but how it happened perhaps we will never know.

"The story was huge at the time. I've always been fascinated with the case. It's amazing we are still talking about it 50 years on."

A spokesperson for the Met commented: "The investigation into the death of Sandra Rivett remains open as is the case with all unsolved murders. Any significant new information or investigative opportunities that may progress the investigation, will accordingly be considered by the Met."