Peter Manuel: The Infamous "Beast of Birkenshaw" Unleashed a Reign of Terror in Scotland

BACKGROUND

Peter Thomas Anthony Manuel was born in March 1927 in New York to Scottish parents who had moved to the United States in search of a better life. The family struggles to establish themselves in the US, but after the Wall Street Crash in 1932, they return to Scotland.

Even as a young boy, Manuel begins his criminal career. By the age of ten, he is already well-known to the local police as a thief. His probation officer later states that Manuel had the longest juvenile record he had ever seen.

A WALKING CONTRADICTION

At the age of 15, Manuel breaks into a house and attacks a sleeping woman by hitting her on the head with a hammer. Over the next year, he commits a series of sexual assaults. He is caught and serves nine years in a local prison. He would go on to serve additional prison sentences for rape before starting his killing spree in 1956.

Opinions on Manuel's mental state are divided. Some say he exhibits many traits of a psychopath: a lack of empathy for his victims, no remorse, and no understanding that what he did was wrong. Doctors see him as a man with many contradictions: someone who kills and rapes women but idolizes his own mother; he is cruel to animals, yet he loves the family dog; he cannot maintain a long-term relationship with a woman, yet he sees himself as a ladies' man.

THE CRIMES

From 1956 to 1958, Peter Manuel subjects his victims to a violent orgy that makes him the most infamous serial killer in Scotland. His first victim is 17-year-old Anne Kneilands. In January 1956, Manuel stalks the teenager under the cover of darkness. He attacks Anne with an iron bar and rapes her. Since Manuel is a known sex offender, the Lanarkshire police question him about Anne's murder. His father, Samuel, claims that Peter was with him at the time of the crime. With this alibi and no other evidence, the case against Manuel is dropped, giving him the freedom to kill again.

In September 1956, he breaks into the home of Marion Watt and her daughter Vivienne in Glasgow. Margaret's sister is also visiting. Manuel shoots the three women in their beds. Suspicion initially falls on Marion's husband, William, who is on a fishing trip at the time of the murders. The police arrest William Watt, and he spends two months in jail before the case is dropped due to lack of evidence.

Meanwhile, Manuel finds himself in Barlinnie Prison after being convicted of burglary. Once released in late November 1957, Manuel resumes his killing spree.

His fifth victim is believed to be taxi driver Sydney Dunn, who is shot on December 8, 1957. The police gather information about Manuel's movements after his release and find that he was job hunting in the northeast at the time of Dunn's murder. Although this evidence is not conclusive, it links him to the crime. Isabelle Cooke is the next to die. The teenager is on her way to a ball but never arrives. The police launch a massive search for her but only find parts of her clothing, indicating that she may have been attacked. Isabelle's body is discovered only after Manuel is arrested for his other crimes. He confesses to her murder and leads investigators to the secluded location where he had disposed of her body. She was strangled with her own underwear.

In the early morning hours of New Year's Day 1958, Manuel breaks into the home of the Smart family in Uddingston, a suburb of Glasgow. Mr. and Mrs. Smart and their 11-year-old son Michael are asleep when Manuel shoots them in the head. After committing the murders, Manuel spends some time in the Smart family's house. He repeatedly returns to the crime scene to feed their cat. The murders of the Smart family would mark the beginning of Manuel's downfall.

INVESTIGATION

The investigation into the Glasgow murders proves challenging for the police. Manuel appears to have no obvious motive or connection to his victims. There are no witnesses and few pieces of evidence, leaving the murders unsolved for two years. The only link between the victims is that they had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Police and prison staff who had come into contact with Manuel suspect his involvement in the murders, but without concrete evidence, they can do little against him. Freshly printed banknotes from the Smart family's home are eventually linked to Manuel. The notes with specific serial numbers are used to pay for drinks in several bars in and around Glasgow. Pub owners contact the police, and investigators also secure letters that Manuel had written to William Watt. Despite his attempts to shift blame for the murders of the Watts women onto others, Manuel's letters contain information that only the killer could know.

ARREST

In the early morning of January 14, 1958, slightly over two years after the death of his first known victim, Anne Kneilands, the police arrest Peter Manuel. They storm the family's house in Birkenshaw, search for stolen items from the Smart crime scene, and arrest Manuel and his father for burglary. The aim is to simply get him off the streets for now. The case against him progresses significantly during the arrest.

Knowing Manuel and his desire for attention, the police leave him alone in his cell for almost 24 hours before interrogating him. This approach has the desired effect, as Manuel calls out from his cell, offering to help the police with some "unsolved cases."

He confesses to killing Anne Kneilands, the Watts, Margaret Brown, Isabelle Cooke, and the Smart family. It is speculated that Manuel broke his silence in order to see his parents again, to whom he has a close relationship. However, it could also be that, as a psychopathic murderer, he wanted to be in the spotlight.

TRIAL

May 12, 1958: 31-year-old Peter Manuel stands trial for eight murders. If found guilty, he faces the death penalty.

After a twelve-day trial, it takes the jury less than two and a half hours to find Manuel guilty. He is sentenced to death by hanging.

On July 11, 1958, Manuel is executed. His last words are said to have been, "Turn on the radio, and I'll go quietly."