In 1967, a teacher was shot in her classroom in Dundee.
In 1976, two men escaped a mental hospital and killed three others in the process.
In 1979, three women were found beaten and strangled in a flat in Dundee.
All of these horrific events had one thing in common.
The name Robert Mone.
Continue reading “70 – Lives of Violence: Robert Mone”[
In the final episode on the life and crimes of Archibald (Roy) Hall, we chart his activities over the final months of 1977 and into 1978. He had gone from butler and thief to murderer, when he turned against his lover and ex con David Wright. But that was far from his last murder, and the next couple of months he would kill employers, associates and family members, and drive thousands of miles across the UK, criss-crossing England and Scotland.
But eventually his crimes caught up with him, and Roy found himself before a court again – not once, but twice.
Continue reading “27 – Archibald Hall: Thief & Serial Killer (Part 2)”
In the first of a two part series, we take a look back on the life and crimes of Archibald Thompson Hall, aka Roy Hall, aka Roy Fontaine, the monster butler. Roy was born to a working class family in Glasgow, and from an early age wanted to live an extravagant lifestyle. One that he could not (or would not) achieve through hard work and graft. Roy preferred to take what he could. He became a thief and spent many years in and out of prison. In between these stints, he worked as a butler, to be close to the status he desired, and the belongs that went this, that he could steal.
How did this supposed high flying and often hapless thief turn murderer?
Continue reading “27 – Archibald Hall: Thief & Serial Killer (Part 1)”
Thomas Hamilton was a loner. He decided to dedicate his life to running boys’ clubs to keep kids off the street, but its quite likely he had ulterior motives for this. His strange, erratic and inappropriate behaviour meant that he was not well liked, his his passion, his boys’ clubs, came under scrutiny. He also had a persecution complex, and as his life fell apart due to his own actions, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Thomas Hamilton became the man responsible for the Dunblane Massacre, the only school shooting in British History.
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?
Continue reading “7 – Scottish Crime Spree: The Beast of Birkenshaw (Part 3)”
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?
Continue reading “7 – Scottish Crime Spree: The Beast of Birkenshaw (Part 2)”
“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.
Continue reading “7 – Scottish Crime Spree: The Beast of Birkenshaw (Part 1)”