40 years after disappearance, British judge to rule if Lord Lucan is dead

London: The infamous British aristocrat Lord Lucan could be declared dead on Wednesday, more than 40 years after he disappeared following the death of the family's nanny in a lurid tale that has gripped Britain.

Lucan's son, George Bingham, 48, launched a High Court bid to obtain a death certificate for his father last year, bringing to an end one chapter in a story still full of unanswered questions.

Mystery has shrouded the whereabouts of Richard John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, since he vanished after his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was bludgeoned to death in 1974 at the London home of Lucan's estranged wife.

An inquest into the murder raised the theory that Lucan may have mistaken the nanny for Lady Lucan, who said she fought with the attacker in the dark after she heard noises in the basement.

The case sparked worldwide interest after his blood-soaked car was found abandoned near the coast, and since then there have been dozens of supposed sightings of him from southern Africa to New Zealand.

Bizarre conspiracy theories abound, with one of Lucan's old gambling friends claiming last week that he committed suicide and was then fed to a tiger in a zoo to avoid leaving proof of death and handing his estate over to estranged wife Veronica.

Public interest in the story has been fed by tales of the playboy lifestyle, an inveterate gambler, in London high society at the time and the fact that several of his wealthy friends have kept silent on the story.

Police issued a warrant for Lucan's arrest a few days after the murder.

Bingham, who is set to inherit the title of Lord Bingham, Earl of Lucan, began the legal process last October by posting a public notice in a local newspaper. He has said the death certificate would "bring closure".

But Neil Berriman, the murdered nanny's biological son, told AFP he was "shocked" to hear of Bingham's application and initially lodged an objection, which he has since withdrawn.

Life-changing discovery

"I thought about objecting straight away," he said. "I think he was selfish saying he wanted closure but seemed to have forgotten about everybody else.

"Closure for us is when we can actually get closure for Sandra," he added. "To find out whether Lord Lucan did commit the murder or if he got somebody else to do it."

Berriman said he was "sure" that Bingham will earn the title when the judge delivers his ruling at London's High Court.

Bingham recently married Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard, the daughter of a wealthy Danish industrialist.

Berriman, who was put up for adoption at birth, only found out he was Rivett's son when his adoptive mother died and left him a brown envelope, which he opened eight years ago.

"It was full of all-sorts of things, birthday cards and cuttings of the Lucan case, which was very bizarre," he said.

"I sat there and it gradually registered. It was horrendous, things haven't been the same since."

The 48-year-old builder will deliver a statement during Wednesday's hearing that he claims will shed new light on the case.

"Some of the things I'm going to say are quite controversial," he said.

"He (Bingham) might be interested in some of it, but he probably doesn't want to hear something else I'm about to say."