We live in a world where something as small as an eyelash can nail a killer, so it seems incredible that we will most likely never know if Glasgow’s most infamous serial killer ever truly existed.
He is Bible John.
If you were a woman living in the dear green place in the late 60s or early 70s, it’s a name that probably struck fear straight into your heart.
He was the bogeyman. A charming, handsome, bible-quoting psycho who picked up women in dance halls and then slaughtered them. Or so legend would have us believe.
Somewhere along the line, the fascination and the headlines became all about him.
The victims of three brutal killings were somehow consigned to footnotes in the story as police and public became caught up in the mystery of a religious fanatic killer stalking the city’s night clubs of the time.
It’s a haunting story – between 1968 and 1969, three women on nights out were all horrifically murdered.
Patricia Docker, 25, Jemima McDonald, 32, and Helen Puttock, 29, had been raped and strangled after leaving one of the city’s most famous nightspots, the Barrowland Ballroom.
The similarities were indeed striking – they had all been menstruating at the time of their deaths, their handbags missing and all had been strangled and beaten.
It wasn’t until Helen’s death that police began to seriously think the deaths might be connected and it was her case that would see the legend of Bible John born.
Helen’s sister, Jean Langford, told police the man she was with quoted passages from the Bible.
She told officers that in the taxi they shared, he said: “I don’t drink at Hogmanay, I pray,” and he said his father told him dance halls are “dens of iniquity”.
Suddenly the newspapers had a hook for the murders. When Jean sat down with a renowned artist and described the man, suddenly police had a face to go with the name.
The public became fascinated and women became scared – they didn’t go out alone and they didn’t leave dance halls with men. Fear gripped Glasgow.
And then there was nothing. Despite thousands of statements and witnesses interviewed, the leads became fewer and fewer. The handsome man in the photo could not be traced. He was a ghost. The investigation was scaled down to nothing.
A few times over the years it would be looked at again but nothing would come of it. Until 1996. Semen samples taken from Helen’s stockings could finally be used in a DNA test, and police had a suspect.
John Irvine McInnes – a former Scots Guard squaddie who had committed suicide in 1980. Detectives believed they had their man. They exhumed his body for testing. Was the mystery about to be solved?
A few months later, McInnes was formally cleared of any involvement by the Crown Office when testing proved inconclusive.
Again, the murder boxes were put away in storage and there they would remain until 2006, when serial killer Peter Tobin was suspected of being Bible John.
Tobin, though, has denied being Bible John – and, while I usually take what serial killers say with a pinch of salt, in this case I believed it.
It’s easy on the surface to look at the three deaths and conclude one man was responsible but dig a little deeper and the discrepancies, twists and false leads rear their heads.
A white lie told by Patricia to her parents cost police the first vital three days in their investigation. Patricia told her parents she was going to the Majestic but she never appeared there.
Joe Beattie, the officer in charge, was brilliant and determined but not infallible. A couple of months ago, I interviewed George Puttock, Helen’s husband. More than anyone, he has lived through the pain and horror of being at the centre of one of Scotland’s most gripping mysteries.
He is haunted by Helen’s murder and was a suspect at one time. Their son, Michael, died last year, still devastated by his mum’s death.
We agreed that Joe placed too much faith in Jean’s testimony.
George said: “She’d been drinking heavily that night, too much stock was placed on her statements. Police should never have used that picture, it clouded things.”
I agree. And one fact almost always forgotten – there was never any evidence to firmly link one man to all three deaths.
The media creation that was Bible John overshadowed it all. And three much-loved women never got any justice.
Annie, 97, lost life cruelly to evil money grabber
The murder of Annie Temple in Kinglassie, Fife, in October 2019 was disturbing.
The 97-year-old was murdered by a man she knew and trusted.
Money was at the heart of evil Sandeep Patel’s shocking crime. The victim didn’t deserve such a cruel ending to a long and happy life.
Patel is still to be sentenced but let’s hope he never sees the light of day again.
High-value footie scores are jaw-dropping stuff
A press release dropped this week about thefts against celebrities. It was jaw-dropping stuff.
Footballer Memphis Depay ranks top of the table with the most stolen. The Dutch star had his home raided while he was in action away in Nice, with his losses reported at £1.3million.
Coming in second is Thiago Silva with £1million taken.
The Brazilian defender, who played for Paris Saint Germain at the time, returned home from a league game against Nantes to find his jewellery and luxury watches missing.
The growing list of footballers being targeted by thieves when they are playing matches or away on international duty is becoming a disturbing trend.
Criminals often use social media to figure out where professional footballers live, as many professional players show off their luxurious items on their social feeds.
I worry about revealing too much on social media but I don’t think anyone is going to be interested in my cheap costume jewellery or a 10-year-old telly, do you?
