Peter Tobin: Bible John link explained, who were victims of Scottish serial killer - and is he still alive?

Peter Tobin was one of the country’s most notorious serial killers having been convicted of murdering three young women, and is thought to be responsible for the deaths of others.

Since his convictions there has been speculation about unsolved murders he could be linked to, including the Bible John killings in Glasgow, and the Jessie Earl case.

The murderer was given his first life sentence in 2007 for killing Angelika Kluk and the young woman’s murder sparked further investigation into Tobin.

Tobin went on to receive further sentences for the murders of two other women, and died last year while serving his time. But who did he murder, and could he really be Bible John? Here’s all you need to know.

Who is Peter Tobin?

Tobin was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire. He moved to Brighton and married his first wife in 1969, though they divorced in 1971. He remarried in 1973 though that relationship also broke down a few years later.

In 1990 he moved to Bathgate with his third wife, though she left him that year. Tobin’s wives all described him as turning violent and showing a “sadistic streak”.

In 1991 he moved to Margate, Kent, and by 1993 he was living in Hampshire. That year he sexually assaulted and raped two teen girls and was jailed the following year. During his life Tobin used dozens of aliases.

Who is Peter Tobin known to have murdered?

Angelika Kluk

In 2007 Tobin was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years for the murder of Angelika Kluk, 23, in 2006 in Glasgow. The sentence came just three years after his release from prison over the double rape conviction.

He had been working as a handyman at St Patrick’s Church Anderston, Glasgow, going by the name of Pat McLaughlin. Miss Kluk, who was from Poland, also worked at the church as a cleaner to finance her studies and was staying in the presbytery.

The last time Miss Kluk was seen alive was on 24 September, 2006 - where she was in the company of Tobin. Her body was found by police on 29 September concealed in an underground chamber near the confessional of the church. Miss Kluk had been beaten, raped and stabbed. Tobin was arrested in London shortly after Miss Kluk’s body was found.

Vicky Hamilton

Tobin murdered the 15-year-old in his Bathgate home as she travelled to Redding, near Falkirk, after visiting a relative in Livingston in February 1991.

Miss Hamilton had last been seen on 10 February 1991 as she waited for a bus home. Her disappearance sparked on of Scotland’s biggest missing person inquiries.

After Tobin’s conviction for Miss Kluk’s murder, his Bathgate home was searched. In November 2007 Miss Hamilton’s remains were discovered buried in the garden of Tobin’s former home in Margate, Kent. Tobin was convicted of Miss Hamilton’s murder in 2008 taking his minium sentence to 30 years.

Dinah McNicol

On 16 November, 2007 Miss McNicol’s remains were also found at the property in Margate.

The 18-year-old from Tillingham, Essex, had last been seen on 5 August, 1991, when she had been hithchiking home with a male friend. They had accepted a lift from a man and her friend was dropped off at junction 8 on the M25.

Miss McNicol was never seen again, though withdrawals were made from her building society account from cash machines in Hampshire and Sussex after her disappearance.

After being found guilty in 2009 of murdering Miss McNicol Tobin’s sentence was increased and he is now serving three life sentences.

Could he be linked to the Bible John murders?

There has been an ongoing theory Tobin could be the killer dubbed Bible John who was responsible for the murders of three women in Glasgow between 1968 and 1969.

The women were all brunettes aged between 25 and 32 years old and had met their killer at the Barrowland Ballroom. The killer became known as Bible John due to having repeatedly quoted from the bible.

Tobin has reportedly denied being responsible for the murders.

And the former lead detective David Swindle who worked to capture Tobin previously told the Scotsman: “At the end of the day the police need evidence, and there’s absolutely nothing to link Tobin to Bible John… People say the link is, oh well he went to the Barrowland at the same time, but so did hundreds and hundreds of other people - there’s no real evidence or links to Tobin.”

While The Sun reported earlier this year the dad of Vicky Hamilton, Michael, said he did not believe Tobin is BIble John, and thinks the killer is “probably dead”.

Though speaking of Tobin he said: “Plenty of murders haven’t been solved yet — and I believe Tobin had to do with a lot of them.”

Is Tobin still alive?

No. Tobin died in October at the age of 76 after years of ill health. In April Tobin had spent two nights in hospital after becoming unwell in prison. He was taken from HMP Edinburgh to hospital, thought to be the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Tobin had been treated in hospital a number of times in recent years, including in February 2016 when he was taken to the city’s Royal Infirmary by ambulance after he reportedly collapsed in his cell.

The Sun reported that his funeral was paid for by the taxpayer to the tune of almost £700. The £683 funeral expenses were made up of £69 in admin fees, £250 for a coffin and £364 for a cremation. His ashes were then disposed of in the sea.

Edinburgh City Council said: “The remains of Peter Tobin were cremated in accordance with the requirements of Section 87 of the Burials and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. Ashes from the cremation were dispersed into the sea. The Council’s thoughts are with the victims of his crimes and their loved ones.”

Has he been linked to other cases?

Operation Anagram was a nationwide police investigation into Tobin’s life and movements. The investigation began in 2006, after his first murder conviction. By July 2010 it was reported officers had narrowed their review down to nine unsolved murders and disappearances. However, the operation was wound down in 2011.

Several cases have been investigated for links to the serial killer. Among them is the disappearance of 18-year-old Louise Kay from Beachy Head in Eastbourne during 1988. She was never seen again after telling a friend she was going to sleep in her car at Beachy Head after an evening with friends, something she had done previously. Her Ford Fiesta car was also never seen again.

Operation Anagram established Tobin had been working in a hotel in Eastbourne at the time she disappeared, he was also said to have been selling a small hand painted car after her disappearance.

The case of Jessie Earl has also been looked at for links to Tobin. Miss Earl disappeared in 1980. Her body was found in undergrowth at Beachy Head near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in 1989 – nine years after she vanished from her nearby bedsit.

A second inquest into the 22-year-old’s death, heard that she was “probably” tied to a tree and “possibly” sexually assaulted. The coroner at the inquest ruled her death was murder.

Written arguments discussed at a previous hearing said that convicted serial killer Peter Tobin, was “suspected of having been at large in the Eastbourne area during the 1980s”.

It was also said a DNA profile from Ms Earl’s parents was compared to unidentified DNA in relation to operation Anagram investigating Tobin, but this produced no matches.