Man with a mission
IN PLAIN SIGHT ITV, Wednesday, 9pm
IN Plain Sight is a new three-part mini-series based on the true story of Lanarkshire detective William Muncie’s quest to bring notorious Scottish killer Peter Manuel to justice.
Douglas Henshall (Collision, Shetland) takes the role of William Muncie, while Peter Manuel is played by Martin Compston (Line of Duty).
Muncie first arrested Manuel in 1946 for housebreaking, but also successfully convicted him for a string of sexual assaults. Manuel vowed revenge.
Released from prison in 1955, Manuel embarked on a two-year killing spree, claiming eight lives in the close-knit communities of South Lanarkshire.
Manuel evaded capture for so long because he was unlike anything the local police had ever encountered – a murderer without any discernible motive whose victims were chosen at random.
Muncie was the one man who had Manuel’s measure and doggedly refused to give up until the murderer was brought to justice.
The first episode opens as Detective William Muncie is celebrating his 40th birthday at home with his friends and family. When a birthday card signed “Peter Thomas Manuel” is delivered by hand, it takes Muncie back to 1946 when he saw Manuel arrested and imprisoned for the sexual assault of three women.
Nine years later Manuel is out of prison and back on Muncie’s patch with revenge on his mind.
He attacks a young woman, Mary McLauchlan, and keeps her with him in an open field for most of the night before returning to his home.
Mary reports the attack and says she thinks she knows who did it. Manuel is brought to the station where Mary identifies him in a line-up. Under questioning by Muncie, Manuel does not deny being in the field, but says he was not with Mary – he was poaching.
Muncie warns his team that Manuel is a real threat to the woman of the community and they must do all they can to make sure they obtain a conviction.
He is concerned about the length of time Mary was held in the field, unsure what Manuel was up to. Then he hears that he is going to mount his own defence.
Manuel manages to secure a ‘not proven’ verdict on the attack, claiming he had been romantically involved with Mary and had been trying to tactfully end their affair that night, which was why they had been together so long.
Muncie promises a distraught Mary that he will not rest until Manuel is behind bars.
It is Christmastime and Muncie arrives home to another personal delivery – a Christmas card from Manuel. He confides to his wife Agnes that he is afraid that Manuel won’t leave a witness next time.
Then, on January 4, the brutally beaten body of a young woman, Anne Kneilands, is found on a local golf course.