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In the season 6 special of British Murders, I tell the story of Peter Manuel, "The Beast of Birkenshaw".
Thought to be Scotland's first serial killer and one of the country's worst, Peter Manuel was convicted of killing seven people between January 2, 1956, and January 1, 1958.
In this first part, I discuss Peter's background and early life as well as the murders of Anne Kneilands, Marion Watt, Vivienne Watt and Margaret Brown.
In part two, I'll discuss the murders of Sydney Dunn, Isabelle Cooke, Peter Smart, Doris Smart and Michael Smart, the "Trial of the Century", and Peter Manuel's eventual execution.
Intro music:
David John Brady - 'Throw Down the Gauntlet'
https://linktr.ee/davidjohnbradymusic
My recording equipment:
Shure SM7B Vocal Microphone
Cloud Microphone Cloudlifter CL1
Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB Audio Interface
Rode PSA-1 Professional Studio Boom Arm
Recorded and Edited in:
Hindenberg PRO
References:
Barlinnie unlocked: Innocent William Watt was locked up for deaths of his family. (2012, July 1). Daily Record. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/barlinnie-unlocked-innocent-william-watt-1108746
Barrie, J. (2016, November 20). Surviving relatives of Peter Manuel murder victims furious ITV over ‘In Plain Sight’ drama about his crimes. Daily Record. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/surviving-relatives-three-peter-manuel-9290428
Doe, P. J. (2016a, December 23). Peter Manuel Part 1: Early Life and First Crimes. Old Glasgow Murders. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://oldglasgowmurders.blogspot.com/2016/12/peter-manuel-part-1-early-life-and.html
Doe, P. J. (2016b, December 24). Peter Manuel Part 2: The Murder of Anne Kneilands. Old Glasgow Murders. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://oldglasgowmurders.blogspot.com/2016/12/peter-manuel-part-2-murder-of-anne.html
Doe, P. J. (2016c, December 26). Peter Manuel Part 3: The Watt Family Murders. Old Glasgow Murders. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://oldglasgowmurders.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-watt-family-murders.html
Gaspar, C. (2021, June 7). Who were Peter Manuel’s victims?The Sun. Retrieved 8 September 2022, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15191298/who-were-peter-manuels-victims/
Greenan, L. (2021, June 5). Family of Peter Manuel murder victims beg TV bosses not to re-show ‘In Plain Sight’ drama. Daily Record. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area/lanarkshire/family-peter-manuel-murder-victims-24247417
Griffiths, E. B. (2022, June 7). Who was Peter Manuel? The real story of In Plain Sight’s notorious serial killer. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/who-was-peter-manuel-the-real-story-of-in-plain-sights-notorious-serial-killer/
Hamilton, T. (2012, July 1). Revealed: Sex secrets of Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel. Daily Record. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/revealed-sex-secrets-of-scottish-serial-997157
Lambrou, A. (2016, December 7). A serial killer who raped and murdered East Kilbride schoolgirl is focus of TV drama. Daily Record. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/serial-killer-who-raped-murdered-9408581
The Manuel Murders – 1956-58. (2005). Glasgow Police Museum. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from http://www.policemuseum.org.uk/crime-casebook/interesting-cases/the-manuel-murders-1956-58/
McNeill, A. (2013, October 15). Murderer’s sister was a ‘credit to the community’. Daily Record. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/murderers-sister-credit-community-2448991
Mullen, S. (2017, September 22). Hanged at Barlinnie: It took just 66 seconds to end life of serial killer Peter Manuel. Glasgow Times. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/15550705.hanged-at-barlinnie-it-took-just-66-seconds-to-end-life-of-serial-killer-peter-manuel/
Peter Manuel. (n.d.-a). Killerpedia. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://killerpedia.com/serial-killers/peter-manuel/
Peter Manuel. (n.d.-b). Murder in the Uk. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.murderuk.com/peter-manuel.html
Peter Manuel - Scotland’s worst ever serial killer.(n.d.). Capital Punishment U.K. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/manuel.html
Rosewood, J., & Lo, R. (2017, June 19). Peter Manuel. In The Big Book of Serial Killers. LAK Publishing.
Scotland’s worst serial killer Peter Manuel and his reign of terror. (2021, June 7). GlasgowLive. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/scotlands-worst-serial-killer-peter-12356086
Silvester, N. (2021, November 7). The Glasgow crime story of serial killer Peter Manuel. Glasgow Times. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19699756.glasgow-crime-story-serial-killer-peter-manuel/
Smith, J. (2016, February 15). The Beast of Birkenshaw: Life of Serial Killer Peter Manuel (Serial Killer True Crime Books Book 7).
Whitehead, J. (2021, June 7). Peter Manuel: The true story of the Scottish serial killer from In Plain Sight, and how many victims he killed. inews.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://inews.co.uk/culture/peter-manuel-true-story-in-plain-sight-scottish-serial-killer-victims-how-many-killed-1038755
Why the gruesome murders and disputed sentence of serial killer Peter Manuel still fascinate us 60 years on. (2018, March 13). BBC Scotland. Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2259J7DzsLjXxQV2lT2tNFN/why-the-gruesome-murders-and-disputed-sentence-of-serial-killer-peter-manuel-still-fascinate-us-60-years-on
