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In this episode, I tell the story of Mary McLaughlin, a 58-year-old woman killed in Partick, Glasgow, in September 1984.
Mary was last seen in the company of a stranger, a man, on September 26, 1984, after spending the evening in a pub with her friends.
Six days later, her body was found in her home on Laurel Street by Martin Cullen, one of her 11 children, and his then-partner. Somebody had strangled Mary with the cord of her dressing gown.
Thirty-five years would pass before Police Scotland arrested serial sex offender Graham McGill after advances in DNA technology placed him in Mary's flat at the time of her murder.
Judge Lord Burns handed McGill a life sentence with a minimum term of 14 years in May 2021, almost four decades after Mary's murder.
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Intro music:
David John Brady - 'Throw Down the Gauntlet'
davidjohnbrady.com
References:
BBC News. (2021, April 8). Mary McLaughlin: Jury urged to convict man accused of 1984 murder. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-56679113
Glasgow murder hunt. (1984, October 3). Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 1.
Hamilton, J. (2016, March 1). Unsolved: Retired senior detective and victim’s daughter tell how they are still troubled by Mary Ann McLaughlin’s murder case 32 years on. Daily Record. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/unsolved-retired-senior-detective-victims-7467390
Hamilton, J. (2021, May 19). “Life should mean life” Daughter of Scots murder victim Mary McLaughlin says killer Graham McGill should die in jail. Daily Record. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/life-should-mean-life-daughter-24137585
Hamilton, J. (2022, March 19). “Sex killer had an accomplice” says daughter of murdered Mary McLaughlin. Daily Record. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/sex-killer-accomplice-says-daughter-26505451
Historical Glasgow murder solved - Mary McLaughlin. (2021, April). Police Scotland. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/news/2021/april/historical-glasgow-murder-solved-mary-mclaughlin
Mary McLaughlin: Jury urged to convict man accused of 1984 murder. (2021, April 8). BBC News. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-56679113
Mary McLaughlin: Murder accused “confessed killing” to ex-wife. (2021, April 7). BBC News. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-56665538
Mary McLaughlin: Serial sex offender found guilty of 1984 murder. (2021, April 9). BBC News. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-56692995
McDonald, C. (2021, April 11). There is no joy. There is justice: Son of Mary McLaughlin reveals pain of 1984 murder and family’s long wait to see killer convicted. The Sunday Post. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/mary-mclaughlin-murder/
O’Hare, P. (2021, May 18). Mary McLaughlin murder: Killer jailed after DNA solves 35-year mystery. BBC News. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-56505250
POLICE PLEA IN MURDER HUNT. (1984, October 3). The Scotsman, 8.
Robertson, J. (1999, September 8). “Danger to women” gets life jail term for attempted rape. The Scotsman, 7.
Saunt, R. (2021, May 18). Convicted rapist, 59, who murdered mother-of-11 by strangling her with her own dressing gown cord more than 36 years ago is jailed for 14 years after DNA breakthrough. Mail Online. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9591693/Convicted-rapist-59-murdered-mother-11-jailed-14-years-DNA-breakthrough.html
Sex Offenders Act 1997. (1997, March 21). legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/51/enacted
Silvester, N. (2022, January 15). The Glasgow crime story of the Mary McLaughlin’s killer brought to justice 35 years later. Glasgow Times. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/scottish-news/19841545.glasgow-crime-story-mary-mclaughlins-killer-brought-justice-35-years-later/
Six-year sentence. (1981, April 7). The Scotsman, 8.
Ullmen, J. (2013). Diamonds and Pearls. CreateSpace.
Watson, L. (2014, January 25). I’m haunted by the mystery of who killed my mum in her flat 30 years ago. Glasgow Times. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13272297.im-haunted-by-the-mystery-of-who-killed-my-mum-in-her-flat-30-years-ago/
Widow killed. (1984, October 3). Nottingham Evening Post, 5.
