Lord Lucan, a British peer who mysteriously vanished over 40 years ago following the murder of his children's nanny in his London home was officially declared dead by a UK court on Wednesday, after it was believed that he might have fled abroad.
39-year-old Lucan who is also thought to have escaped to India and lived as a "Jungle Barry" in Goa - among many conspiracy theories linked with his disappearance in 1974 - was finally granted a death certificate under the UK's Presumption of Death Act which came into effect in 2014.
The court application had been made by his son, George Bingham, so he could inherit his father's title as 8th Earl of Lucan. The title could not have passed on until a death certificate was issued.
Justice Asplin said in her ruling: "I consider it a straightforward matter that the court must make the declaration that is sought in this case. I am happy to make that order".
"I am very happy with the judgment of the court in this matter. It has been a very long time coming," George Bingham said outside the court.
Lucan had disappeared after Sandra Rivett, nanny to his three children, was found murdered on November 7, 1974.
Bingham's application for a death certificate had faced opposition from Rivett's son, Neil Berriman.
However, that opposition was withdrawn giving way to on Wednesday's decision, which Berriman described as "closure".