CASE FILE OF A SERIAL KILLER
BIBLE JOHN
IN the late 1960s, Glasgow was haunted by the spectre of a serial killer. Patricia Docker, 25, Jemima McDonald, 32, and Helen Puttock, 29, were all murdered in a similar gruesome manner after nights out at the Barrowland Ballroom – spawning the legend of a single killer, nicknamed Bible John. The murders have chilling echoes of Tobin’s brutal crimes – although no evidence has ever conclusively proved or disproved his involvement.
THE TROPHIES
JEWELLERY found stashed in Tobin’s former homes could identify other victims. During their investigations, police found 32 items which had been in the killer’s possession between 1991 and 2006 yet were not claimed by any of his three ex-wives. Police believe they are trophy items Tobin kept from other unknown victims. David Swindle believes that advances in science could help reveal the identities of Tobin’s other victims.
THE PREDATOR
PETER Tobin was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in 1946 and was sent to reform school by the age of seven after displaying uncontrolled violence. His marriage to Margaret Mountney quickly descended into terrifying violence and she was frequently beaten and locked up by Tobin. The marriage ended in 1971 when Tobin was arrested. Two years later he married Sylvia Jeffries, with whom he had two children. It was another violent relationship that ended in divorce. A third marriage to Cathy Wilson ended in familiar violence and she told a similar tale to his previous wives of a well-dressed psychopath who became violent and sadistic.
THE DETECTIVE
DAVID Swindle was brought up in Ayrshire and never planned to be a police officer. He showed a flair for science, however, and was a senior technician at a school by the time he was 22. He began to show an interest in the police and joined the Paisley force as a beat bobby, rising quickly through the ranks to manage the Strathclyde Criminal Investigations Department. He also gained a degree in police studies at Strathclyde University and a postgraduate qualification in alcohol and drugs studies from Paisley University.
THE FALLEN PRIEST
FATHER Gerry Nugent was the parish priest of St Patrick’s Church in Anderston, Glasgow, where Angelika Kluk’s mutilated body was found. During Tobin’s murder trial, the Dublin-born priest admitted having had a sexual relationship with the Polish student while she was living at the church’s chapel house. He acknowledged he had abused his position and said he felt ‘shame and disgust’ over the affair. The self-confessed alcoholic was also found guilty of contempt of court after failing to give straight answers to questions while giving evidence. The disgraced priest was forced to retire and the Catholic Church issued an apology over his behaviour. Father Nugent died of a heart attack in 2010, aged 66.
THE VICTIMS
IN September 2006, Angelika Kluk was bludgeoned around the head, raped, gagged and tied up, then stabbed 16 times in the chest. Her body was buried beneath the floor of St Patrick’s Church in Anderston, Central Glasgow.