Bible John - Murders

Murders

On 23 February 1968, the body of 25-year-old Patricia Docker was found in Carmichael Place in Glasgow. She had been strangled. The previous night, she had told her parents that she was going out dancing at a nearby club, the Majestic Ballroom in Hope Street, Glasgow. Patricia had, in fact, gone to the Barrowland Ballroom for the over-25s night. It was not until about eight weeks after Docker's killing that the police found out that she had actually gone to the Barrowlands. By that time, memories had faded. Pat's handbag was missing from the murder scene, although it was later found dumped in the River Clyde, suggesting that the killer may have been from that area of the city.

On 15 August 1969, mother of three, Jemima McDonald, 32, also went for a night out at the Barrowland Ballroom. The next day, Jemima's sister, Margaret, heard rumors in the area that young children playing in an old tenement building in MacKeith Street had seen the body of a woman but the claims were dismissed by most people. By the Monday morning, Margaret was so concerned that she herself went to the old building where she found Jemima's battered body. She had been strangled, raped and beaten to death. Witnesses said that they had seen her leaving the club at midnight with a tall, slim young man with red hair. Police conducted door-to-door enquiries at the time and found a woman who remembered hearing screams coming from the same building in MacKeith Street, although she could not vouch for the time. Police considered the information of little use and the investigation was later wound down.

On 31 October 1969, 29-year-old Helen Puttock was found murdered in Earl Street in Scotstoun. She had also been to the Barrowland Ballroom on the night she was murdered; she had gone there with her sister, Jean, and had met two men called John. One said he was from Castlemilk while the other did not disclose where he was from. After being in their company for well over an hour, they left to head home. Castlemilk John walked to George Square to get a bus, while Helen, Jean and "Bible John" hailed a taxi. They crossed the city to Knightswood where Jean got out. The taxi then continued to Earl Street in Scotstoun where Helen lived. The next morning, Helen's battered body was found in the back garden of her flat in Earl Street. She had been raped and strangled. The contents of her handbag had been scattered nearby but the actual bag was missing. It has been suggested that the killer took the bag as a trophy. Grass stains on Helen's feet indicated that there had been a struggle in which Helen probably tried to escape her killer but he had overpowered her easily. She had a deep bite mark on her leg, suggesting that the killer had bitten Helen when she'd refused to have sex with him because she was menstruating. This provides another link to Tobin, because the menstruation cycle has always been known to drive Tobin to violence.