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Brendan O’Donnell was a troubled and clingy child. After the death of his mother, he displayed violent tendencies. Rather than making his way into the mental health services and getting treatment, he found himself in detention centres for delinquent children. He spiralled out of control and eventually rampaged across the peaceful countryside near Lough Derg, killing three people and holding another two at gun point.
Continue reading “8 – The True Crimes of Brendan O’Donnell: Murder in Muster”
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)”
In the years immediately following the war in a still bomb-ravaged London, people were going missing. A few letters sent to their families reassured that all was well. But when 69 year old Olive Durand-Deacon went missing from her residential hotel, a suspicious policewoman looked further into the shady character of John George Haigh. He quickly confessed to killing 5 people and dissolving their bodies in acid. He attempted to put forth a defence of insanity, but ultimately, Haigh met his end on the gallows.
Continue reading “4 – The Acid Bath Murders: The Crimes of John George Haigh”