Month: August 2017

7 – Scottish Crime Spree: The Beast of Birkenshaw (Part 3)

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, murder, Scottish Crimes, Serial Killer, UK Crime, Vintage murder

In the final episode of the Beast of Birkenshaw series, Peter Manuel takes over his own defence. He finds many people to place the blame on for his many crimes, and explains how evidence managed to disappear from the crime scenes.

He takes the stand to give evidence in his defence. But to no avail – he is found guilty and is sentenced to hang. But in a final twist before he’s put to death, Manuel takes ill in the prison. Will he be fit to hang, or will he be saved from his fate?

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7 – Scottish Crime Spree: The Beast of Birkenshaw (Part 2)

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, murder, Scottish Crimes, Serial Killer, UK Crime, Vintage murder

In the second part of our series covering Peter Manuel, the Beast of Birkenshaw, his trial begins. This time, we tell the story of the witnesses, who all weave together their stories, most implicating Manuel, others attempting to help salvage the dire situation he finds himself in. 280 people give evidence of the crimes he is charged with, ranging from burglary to capital murder.

Manuel’s life is on the line, as he only needs to be found guilty of one of the multiple capital charges to find himself at the end of the hangman’s noose. But halfway through the trial, Manuel fires his advocates and decides to defend himself. Will Manuel be able to tell the better tale and save his life? Or will the judge and jury see through his superficial charm and convict him of the serial murders in Birkenshaw?

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7 – Scottish Crime Spree: The Beast of Birkenshaw (Part 1)

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, murder, Scottish Crimes, Serial Killer, UK Crime, Vintage murder

“Mary had a little cat

She used to call him Daniel,

Then she found it killed six mice

And now she calls him Manuel”

Peter Manuel was born in New York in 1927, to Scottish Parents Samuel and Brigit. The family returned to Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1932 where Peter’s childhood and adolescence were marred with sprees of theft and violence. He ended up in first an approved school before moving on to Borstal. He was an over confident person, and liked to be the centre of attention, going so far as to make up his involvement in serious crimes in order to increase his notoriety.

In this, the first of our three part series on the man who would become known as “The Beast of Birkenshaw” we look at his upbringing, and the circumstances that led to the deaths of 8 people on the outskirts of Glasgow in the late 1950s.

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6 – The Kerry Babies Murder & familial false confessions

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Child Victim, Irish Crime, murder, unsolved, Wrongly Accused

In the year 1984, Ireland was a very different place. Contraception, Abortion and Divorce were illegal. The country was dogged by religious conservatism and was facing into a terrible recession. Amidst this, the body of a baby boy was found on a beach in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry.

The police began to look for the likely suspect: a recently-pregnant unmarried mother. Joanne Hayes was accused and charged with the murder of the infant. She and her whole family eventually confessed to the murder, despite Joanne’s baby being located. So what had caused the family to confess?

A judicial inquiry was set up to investigate Garda maltreatment, but it soon turned into a trial of Joanne’s character.

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