at night. It is not known whether Lucan knew that or not, but if it had been in place, it is likely that Sandra Rivett would be alive today. Had she or Veronica simply forgotten to use it that night?
5. If we believe Veronica, John Lucan entered the house, removed the light bulb in the basement, and waited. He did not know that Sandra had changed her night off at the last minute, but did know that Veronica was in the habit of making herself a cup of tea at 9 PM. This habit of Veronica’s would be perfect, because she would be on her own, two floors below where the nearest child would be, so the children would not be involved in any way. Veronica told the police that Lucan had killed Sandra by mistake, hitting the wrong woman in the darkness of the basement. True, Veronica and Sandra were the same height, but Sandra was dark-haired, whereas Veronica was blond, and there was
some
light coming in through the basement window from the street lamp. Sandra had a much fuller figure than Veronica, and Keith Simpson’s inquest evidence made it very clear that she had been hit in the face with a fist or an open-handed slap. In other words, her attacker was facing her rather than bludgeoning her from behind. John Lucan had been married to Veronica for 10 years; they had had three children together. Was it likely that a man, however psyched up to commit murder, could have made a mistake like that?
6. What about the murder weapon? There is little doubt that the lead pipe found in the hall was used on both Sandra and Veronica, and the surgical tape was probably wound around it to give a better grip. But why
two
pipes? The second one, found in the trunk of the Corsair, was damning evidence of Lucan’s guilt, albeit circumstantial. Why would he need two, and if he did, why not take them both to the crime scene? Perhaps he did, but why then take one (unused) pipe away and leave the damning one (used) for the police to find?
7. What about the US mailbag? If you’re British, have a rummage around your house and find an item like this. If you’re American, dig out that old British Post Office sack you’ve got lying around. It is a very odd item to find 3,000 miles from where you’d expect it to be, and no one at the inquest found this in any way odd. If it was there, handy, in the basement already, we must ask why. If Lucan brought it to carry out Veronica’s body, could he really have assumed that it would do the job? Surely he would have realized that smashing someone’s skull in with a heavy blunt object is going to cause a
lot
of blood, and carrying a sack dripping blood out of a Belgravia house, even at night, would be a rather giveaway thing to do. Sturdier polyethylene ones were available. Why didn’t Lucan use one of those?
8. If Veronica’s contention that Lucan attacked her is true, why didn’t he finish her off? John Lucan was a foot taller than Veronica and
very
much stronger. Having realized his mistake in killing Sandra Rivett, why not put that right to the only extent he could by killing Veronica too? The account of her fighting back, even by grabbing his testicles, does not actually make sense. Why, then, having tried to kill her, did he help her upstairs, in full view of Frances, and tend to her wounds?
9. Can we explain Lucan’s behavior after he left Number 46? According to the perceived wisdom, he dashed out of the house almost immediately after Veronica did, leaving Sandra’s body in the mailbag and evidence of the crime(s) all over the place. He then went to Madeleine Floorman’s. Why? Presumably he would have told her the same garbled, semi-coherent story he later told to his mother and Susan Maxwell-Scott, about interrupting a fight in the basement. But why her? She was the mother of one of his children’s friends, and nothing suggests they were any closer than that. Would he trust his children to an acquaintance?
There was no reply at her door, so he called her. Where from? Not from a
5. If we believe Veronica, John Lucan entered the house, removed the light bulb in the basement, and waited. He did not know that Sandra had changed her night off at the last minute, but did know that Veronica was in the habit of making herself a cup of tea at 9 PM. This habit of Veronica’s would be perfect, because she would be on her own, two floors below where the nearest child would be, so the children would not be involved in any way. Veronica told the police that Lucan had killed Sandra by mistake, hitting the wrong woman in the darkness of the basement. True, Veronica and Sandra were the same height, but Sandra was dark-haired, whereas Veronica was blond, and there was
some
light coming in through the basement window from the street lamp. Sandra had a much fuller figure than Veronica, and Keith Simpson’s inquest evidence made it very clear that she had been hit in the face with a fist or an open-handed slap. In other words, her attacker was facing her rather than bludgeoning her from behind. John Lucan had been married to Veronica for 10 years; they had had three children together. Was it likely that a man, however psyched up to commit murder, could have made a mistake like that?
6. What about the murder weapon? There is little doubt that the lead pipe found in the hall was used on both Sandra and Veronica, and the surgical tape was probably wound around it to give a better grip. But why
two
pipes? The second one, found in the trunk of the Corsair, was damning evidence of Lucan’s guilt, albeit circumstantial. Why would he need two, and if he did, why not take them both to the crime scene? Perhaps he did, but why then take one (unused) pipe away and leave the damning one (used) for the police to find?
7. What about the US mailbag? If you’re British, have a rummage around your house and find an item like this. If you’re American, dig out that old British Post Office sack you’ve got lying around. It is a very odd item to find 3,000 miles from where you’d expect it to be, and no one at the inquest found this in any way odd. If it was there, handy, in the basement already, we must ask why. If Lucan brought it to carry out Veronica’s body, could he really have assumed that it would do the job? Surely he would have realized that smashing someone’s skull in with a heavy blunt object is going to cause a
lot
of blood, and carrying a sack dripping blood out of a Belgravia house, even at night, would be a rather giveaway thing to do. Sturdier polyethylene ones were available. Why didn’t Lucan use one of those?
8. If Veronica’s contention that Lucan attacked her is true, why didn’t he finish her off? John Lucan was a foot taller than Veronica and
very
much stronger. Having realized his mistake in killing Sandra Rivett, why not put that right to the only extent he could by killing Veronica too? The account of her fighting back, even by grabbing his testicles, does not actually make sense. Why, then, having tried to kill her, did he help her upstairs, in full view of Frances, and tend to her wounds?
9. Can we explain Lucan’s behavior after he left Number 46? According to the perceived wisdom, he dashed out of the house almost immediately after Veronica did, leaving Sandra’s body in the mailbag and evidence of the crime(s) all over the place. He then went to Madeleine Floorman’s. Why? Presumably he would have told her the same garbled, semi-coherent story he later told to his mother and Susan Maxwell-Scott, about interrupting a fight in the basement. But why her? She was the mother of one of his children’s friends, and nothing suggests they were any closer than that. Would he trust his children to an acquaintance?
There was no reply at her door, so he called her. Where from? Not from a
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