Known as the “Beast from Birkneshaw” Peter Manuel’s crimes burnt into the minds of Glaswegians who lived in fear when his notorious murder spree took place back in the 1950s.
Nearly 70 years after his execution, Manuel remains one of Scotland’s most evil serial killers.
Manuel had a long history of crimes to his name from a young age. But it was between 1956 and 1958 that he would commit his ultimate rampage, sparking one of Scotland’s most well-known police investigations. He was eventually convicted of killing seven people, but experts believe he could be responsible for up to 18 murders.
It wasn’t just Manuel’s crimes that shocked the nation, but the disturbing ways in how they were carried out. From displaying no particular motive for his killings, to making himself at home among bodies of a slain family, he is a dark stain on Scottish history, report The Daily Record.
Peter Manuel was born in New York on March 15, 1927, after his Scottish parents emigrated to the United States for a better life, but returned to the Scotland in 1932. Manuel and his family later moved to England, but it was the people of Lanarkshire and East Glasgow that suffered his reign of terror.
His first foray into crime was in 1938 when he stole an offertory box from a chapel at age 11. His first violent act occurred when he was just 15, when he attacked a sleeping woman with a hammer during one of his many home invasions. And his criminal behaviour was to get far worse.
On January 4, 1956, 17 year-old Anne Kneilands’ body was discovered on a golf course in East Kilbride. Anne had gone out on January 2 following Hogmanay celebrations but did not return. Her parents did not report her missing until January 4 as they thought she had stayed at a friends.
Police found the teen had been badly beaten and sexually assaulted. A large scale investigation began in which Manuel’s name was brought up several times. However it would be years before he was officially brought to justice.
Before his next murder, a number of break-ins where reported which suggested Manuel as the culprit. Manuel often left tell tile signs behind, like throwing tins of open food onto floors.
On September 17, 1956, Manuel broke into the home of the Watt family. Here Marian Watt, her 16-year-old daughter Vivienne and Marian’s sister Margret Brown were shot dead in their beds. Police immediately suspected Manuel and obtained a search warrant for his home in Uddingston, which was unsuccessful.
As police continued their efforts, Manuel was convicting for breaking into a separate home and sent to Barlinee Prison. His spree soon resumed after he was released in November 1957.
On December 29, 1957, teenager Isabelle Cooke was reported missing by her father. The 17 year-old left her home to goto a dance the night before but never arrived. Police found only pieces of her clothing, suggesting she had been attacked. Her body would not be recovered until the following year.
The final known instalment of Manuel’s gruesome catalogue of violence came on January 6, 1958, when police were made aware of a horrifying discovery. The bodies of Peter Smart, wife Doris and their 11 year-old son Michael had been found shot dead in their beds.
Evidence at the scene suggested the family had been dead for several days. Horrifyingly, neighbours reported that someone had been opening and closing curtains and coming in and out of the home during this time. Mr Smart’s car was also stolen and it was later confirmed that Manuel had been driving it and even offered a policeman a lift.
By now, suspicion was mounting over Manuel, but one “smokingc gun” cracked the case wide open. Banknotes that were determined to be from the Smart household were spent by Manuel in a local pub. He was arrested and charged with the Smart family murders on January 14, 1958.
A search of Manuel’s parents’ home uncovered other items stolen during a break in, which were found in his father Samuel’s bedroom. Samuel was arrested and the news prompted Manuel to make a deal – his father’s freedom for his confession.
Manuel led police to Isabelle Cooke’s buried body and it was later determined that she had been strangled with her own underwear. He also revealed where he threw his guns in the River Clyde. He confessed to the eight murders, cementing him as Scotland’s most prolific serial killer.
Manuel was also linked to the murder of taxi driver Sydney Dunn on December 8, 1957, in Newcastle. He had been in the area at the time for a job interview but nothing was ever proven. Peter was 31 when he stood trial for all eight murders at Glasgow High Court in 1957. The highly documented trial lasted 14 days.
The jury took just two hours and forty one minutes to convict him of seven killings. He was found not guilty of Anne’s murder due to lack of evidence, but confessed to it years later.
Manuel was sentenced to death at 4.45pm on May 26, 1958, which after a failed appeal, was carried out at 8am on July 11, 1958.
Families in Glasgow were finally able to breathe, knowing they could live their lives with one less monster on the streets.