Peter Manuel
Encyclopedia
Peter Thomas Anthony Manuel (13 March 1927 – 11 July 1958) was a United States-born Scottish serial killer
who is known to have murdered nine people across Lanarkshire
and southern Scotland between 1956 and his arrest in January 1958, although he is suspected of having killed as many as eighteen. Prior to his arrest, the media nicknamed the unidentified killer the Beast of Birkenshaw. Manuel was hanged in HMP Barlinnie for his crimes on 11 July 1958; he was one of the last prisoners to die on the Barlinnie gallows.
before emigrating back to Britain in 1932, this time to Birkenshaw
in Lanarkshire
. During childhood he was bullied, and was known to the local police as a petty thief by the age of ten. Aged sixteen, he committed a string of sexual attacks that resulted in him serving nine years in HMP Peterhead
, and served further sentences for rape
before beginning his killing spree in 1956.
Anne Kneilands: 17. On 2 January 1956, Kneilands was stalked onto an East Kilbride
golfcourse, where she was raped and bludgeoned to death with a length of iron. Although he was questioned by police about the murder and would confess to it two years later, Manuel escaped arrest when his father gave him an alibi. He was charged with this murder in 1958, but the case against him was dropped due to lack of evidence.
Marion Watt, Vivienne Watt, and Margaret Brown: 45, 16, and 41. Marion, her daughter Vivienne, and her sister Margaret were shot to death in their home in Burnside, Glasgow
, on 17 September 1956. Manuel was out on bail for a burglary at a nearby colliery at the time of the murders, and was suspected by officers in charge of the manhunt for the Watts’ killer, but he once again evaded capture following the arrest of Marion’s husband, William. Although released two months later, Watt was assumed guilty of the murders until 1958, when the Smart family were gunned down in their home just a few miles away.
Sydney Dunn: 36. Manuel shot and killed his fifth victim, taxi driver Sydney Dunn, on 8 December 1957 whilst looking for work in Newcastle
. Dunn’s body was found on moorlands in Northumbria
soon after, but by this time, Manuel had already returned to Lanarkshire
. As with the case of Anne Kneilands, there remains some doubt as to whether or not Manuel did indeed kill Dunn; an inquiry into the murder, held a fortnight after the killer was hanged at Barlinnie, officially tied the crime to him after a button found in Dunn's taxi was matched to one of his jackets.
Isabelle Cooke: 17. Cooke disappeared after leaving her Mount Vernon
home to go to a dance at Uddingston
Grammar School on 28 December 1957. Manuel stalked her, raped and then strangled her, and then buried her in a nearby field; he would later lead officers to the spot where he’d disposed of her body. As with Dunn’s murder twenty days earlier, Cooke’s disappearance was not initially connected to Manuel.
Peter, Doris, and Michael Smart: 45, 42, and 10. The Smarts were shot to death in their Uddingston
home on 1 January 1958. Manuel then stayed in their household for nearly a week, eating leftovers from a Hogmanay meal and even feeding the family cat, before stealing some brand-new banknotes that Peter Smart had been keeping for a holiday, and taking the family car and dumping it nearby. Ironically, Manuel gave a lift in this car to a police officer investigating the disappearance of Isabelle Cooke, and even told him that he felt the police weren’t looking in the right places. It was only following the Smarts’ murders that police realised a serial killer was on the loose, leading to the exoneration of William Watt.
Manuel was tried for murder at the Glasgow High Court; in a move that astounded many present, he sacked his lawyers and conducted his defence by himself. Although the judge, Lord Cameron, admitted that Manuel conducted his defence “with a skill that is quite remarkable”, the killer was unable to convince the jury of an insanity plea, and he was found guilty of all charges against him, except for that of Anne Kneilands, which had been dropped due to a lack of evidence. On 11 July 1958, Manuel was hanged on the gallows at Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow. His last words are reported to have been, "Turn up the radio, and I’ll go quietly".
Contrary to what is sometimes believed, Manuel was not the last criminal to be executed in Scotland, but the third-last. Anthony Miller
followed Manuel on to the Barlinnie gallows in December 1960, while Henry John Burnett
suffered a similar fate at Craiginches Prison, Aberdeen in August 1963.
In 2009, a BBC programme Inside the Mind of a Psychopath argued that the authorities colluded to ensure Manuel was hanged, despite the fact that he was a known psychopath.
in Manhunter
on Manuel.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who is known to have murdered nine people across Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
and southern Scotland between 1956 and his arrest in January 1958, although he is suspected of having killed as many as eighteen. Prior to his arrest, the media nicknamed the unidentified killer the Beast of Birkenshaw. Manuel was hanged in HMP Barlinnie for his crimes on 11 July 1958; he was one of the last prisoners to die on the Barlinnie gallows.
Early life
Manuel was born in 1927 to Scottish parents in New York; the family moved to DetroitDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
before emigrating back to Britain in 1932, this time to Birkenshaw
Birkenshaw, North Lanarkshire
Birkenshaw is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, to the east of Glasgow, and in proximity to Uddingston, Tannochside and Viewpark. Birkenshaw is largely a housing estate, but is more widely known for the Birkenshaw trading estate, popular with couples on weekends for its range of DIY,...
in Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
. During childhood he was bullied, and was known to the local police as a petty thief by the age of ten. Aged sixteen, he committed a string of sexual attacks that resulted in him serving nine years in HMP Peterhead
HMP Peterhead
HMP Peterhead is a prison in the town of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.Peterhead convict prison was built around August 1888, and was designed to hold 208 prisoners. It was to be Scotland's only convict prison Occupancy averaged at around 350 however, until peaking at 455 in 1911...
, and served further sentences for rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
before beginning his killing spree in 1956.
Murders
Although Manuel confessed while in custody to killing eighteen people, he was tried for the murders of only eight people in 1958. One of the cases against him was thrown out of court; another, committed in England, was attributed to him following his death.Anne Kneilands: 17. On 2 January 1956, Kneilands was stalked onto an East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
golfcourse, where she was raped and bludgeoned to death with a length of iron. Although he was questioned by police about the murder and would confess to it two years later, Manuel escaped arrest when his father gave him an alibi. He was charged with this murder in 1958, but the case against him was dropped due to lack of evidence.
Marion Watt, Vivienne Watt, and Margaret Brown: 45, 16, and 41. Marion, her daughter Vivienne, and her sister Margaret were shot to death in their home in Burnside, Glasgow
Burnside, Glasgow
Burnside is a residential district in the Scottish town of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Greater Glasgow. It is a relatively quiet location, and borders with Cambuslang, Wardlawhill, Blairbeth, Clincarthill, High Crosshill, Stonelaw, Fernhill and Springhall.Stonelaw Road is the heart of...
, on 17 September 1956. Manuel was out on bail for a burglary at a nearby colliery at the time of the murders, and was suspected by officers in charge of the manhunt for the Watts’ killer, but he once again evaded capture following the arrest of Marion’s husband, William. Although released two months later, Watt was assumed guilty of the murders until 1958, when the Smart family were gunned down in their home just a few miles away.
Sydney Dunn: 36. Manuel shot and killed his fifth victim, taxi driver Sydney Dunn, on 8 December 1957 whilst looking for work in Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. Dunn’s body was found on moorlands in Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
soon after, but by this time, Manuel had already returned to Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
. As with the case of Anne Kneilands, there remains some doubt as to whether or not Manuel did indeed kill Dunn; an inquiry into the murder, held a fortnight after the killer was hanged at Barlinnie, officially tied the crime to him after a button found in Dunn's taxi was matched to one of his jackets.
Isabelle Cooke: 17. Cooke disappeared after leaving her Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon, Glasgow
Mount Vernon is a residential area in the east end of the City of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The area was originally part of the Parish of Old Monkland, and also of the Barony and Regality of Glasgow...
home to go to a dance at Uddingston
Uddingston
Uddingston is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, about seven miles south-east of Glasgow...
Grammar School on 28 December 1957. Manuel stalked her, raped and then strangled her, and then buried her in a nearby field; he would later lead officers to the spot where he’d disposed of her body. As with Dunn’s murder twenty days earlier, Cooke’s disappearance was not initially connected to Manuel.
Peter, Doris, and Michael Smart: 45, 42, and 10. The Smarts were shot to death in their Uddingston
Uddingston
Uddingston is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, about seven miles south-east of Glasgow...
home on 1 January 1958. Manuel then stayed in their household for nearly a week, eating leftovers from a Hogmanay meal and even feeding the family cat, before stealing some brand-new banknotes that Peter Smart had been keeping for a holiday, and taking the family car and dumping it nearby. Ironically, Manuel gave a lift in this car to a police officer investigating the disappearance of Isabelle Cooke, and even told him that he felt the police weren’t looking in the right places. It was only following the Smarts’ murders that police realised a serial killer was on the loose, leading to the exoneration of William Watt.
Arrest, trial and execution
Although many police officers who were familiar with Manuel suspected him of carrying out these murders, they were unable to prove it until shortly after the Smarts’ murder, when some banknotes Manuel had been using to pay for drinks in east-end Glasgow pubs were found to be from the batch stolen from their household by the killer. Initially denying everything, he confessed to these murders, and more than a dozen others, after his mother confronted him at the police station where he was being held.Manuel was tried for murder at the Glasgow High Court; in a move that astounded many present, he sacked his lawyers and conducted his defence by himself. Although the judge, Lord Cameron, admitted that Manuel conducted his defence “with a skill that is quite remarkable”, the killer was unable to convince the jury of an insanity plea, and he was found guilty of all charges against him, except for that of Anne Kneilands, which had been dropped due to a lack of evidence. On 11 July 1958, Manuel was hanged on the gallows at Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow. His last words are reported to have been, "Turn up the radio, and I’ll go quietly".
Contrary to what is sometimes believed, Manuel was not the last criminal to be executed in Scotland, but the third-last. Anthony Miller
Anthony Miller (murderer)
Anthony Joseph Miller became the second-last criminal to be executed in Scotland on 22 December 1960 when he was hanged on the gallows at Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison by Harry Allen, assisted by Robert Leslie Stewart. Miller had been convicted of murdering John Cremin at Queen's Park Recreation...
followed Manuel on to the Barlinnie gallows in December 1960, while Henry John Burnett
Henry John Burnett
Henry John Burnett was the last man to be hanged in Scotland and the first in Aberdeen since 1891. He was tried at the high court in Aberdeen between 23 and 25 July 1963 for the murder of merchant seaman Thomas Guyan...
suffered a similar fate at Craiginches Prison, Aberdeen in August 1963.
In 2009, a BBC programme Inside the Mind of a Psychopath argued that the authorities colluded to ensure Manuel was hanged, despite the fact that he was a known psychopath.
In fiction
Scottish actor Brian Cox loosely based his portrayal of Hannibal LecktorHannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them.Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer...
in Manhunter
Manhunter (film)
Manhunter is a 1986 American thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it stars William Petersen as Will Graham and features Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor...
on Manuel.