Lord Lucan investigation reopened

From the BBC, this article on the murder investigation of Lord Lucan:

Lord Lucan murder case reopened

The investigation into the Lord Lucan murder case has reopened - almost 30 years after his
disappearance.

Detectives are examining existing police evidence and will use DNA profiling to try to solve the case.

The 7th Earl of Lucan vanished in November 1974, a day after the murdered body of his children's nanny Sandra Rivett was found at his London home.

Over the years numerous people have claimed sightings of the aristocrat, whose body has never been found.

There's still information coming into the police every year and each call is assessed and lines pursued where appropriate Police spokesman

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "As with any unsolved murder the investigation is subject to review to examine any possible new lines of inquiry.

"There's still information coming into the police every year and each call is assessed and lines pursued where appropriate."

Declared dead

Lord Lucan's blood-soaked car was found abandoned in the port town of Newhaven, East Sussex, leading some, including his wife Lady Veronica Lucan, to believe he had drowned himself in the English Channel.

He was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999.

A photograph of an elderly man - claimed to be Lord Lucan - was dismissed last year when it turned out to be that of a banjo player from Merseyside.

Former Scotland Yard detective Duncan MacLaughlin claimed in a newspaper that the missing Earl had died in Goa, India, in 1996.

He said the 1991 photograph of a dishevelled man with a long beard bore a resemblance to the 7th Earl of Lucan and claimed he had lived under the assumed name Barry Halpin, or Jungle Barry.

But BBC Radio 2 presenter Mike Harding poured cold water on the claim, saying that Barry Halpin, or Mountain Barry as he was known, was actually a well-known figure on the 1960s UK folk music scene.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/3748892.stm
Published: 2004/10/16 10:54:22 GMT© BBC MMIV