Top detective to reveal how serial killer Peter Tobin was led to Edinburgh prison
A former police chief who helped bring serial killer Peter Tobin to justice is set to tell the story behind some of his most chilling cases.
David Swindle was in charge of the investigation into the rape and murder of Polish student Angelika Kluk in 2006. Her body was found under the floorboards of a Glasgow church, and handyman Tobin was identified as a suspect.
Swindle then set up the UK wide Operation Anagram - linking Tobin to the murders of two other young women, Vicky Hamilton and Dinah Nicol, dating back to 1991. The twisted killer died in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in October 2022, at the age of 76.
At the time, he was serving a whole life term for all three murders including Angelika. Swindle who retired from Strathclyde Police at the rank of Detective Superintendent, will take to the stage later this year in Irvine, Ayrshire, for his new true crime show Murder – A Search for the Truth. Other dates across Scotland are also being planned.
Swindle, who worked on hundreds of homicides in his distinguished 34-year career, has recently completed a nationwide UK tour seen by almost 170,000 people, his new live show will be at Irvine Harbour Arts Centre on November 15. The audience will be given an insight into the policing techniques deployed in a major murder investigation including the arrest of Tobin.
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Swindle will also look at the psychology of killers and try and answer the question - are they born or made? He said: 'I'm excited to bring this show to Irvine.
"It's the perfect setting for a face-to-face with the truth behind some of the UK's darkest crimes No drama. Just facts, cases and real consequences.
"Sometimes there is too much focus on the killer and we should never ever forget the victims. For every one of these murders there's at least one victim – someone's daughter or son. It's all about the victims."
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Operation Anagram used every police force across the UK to investigate Peter Tobin who was originally from Johnstone in Renfrewshire. It looked at more than 1000 leads, tracked down more than 40 places he lived and investigated any unsolved murders or missing women in those areas. Detectives narrowed the list to nine unsolved murders and missing person cases with possible links to Tobin.
Operation Anagram also looked at the unsolved murders from 1968 and 1969 of young Glasgow mothers Patricia Docker, 25, Helen Puttock, 29, and Jemima MacDonald, 32, by a man dubbed Bible John by newspapers. However it found no link to Tobin.
Since his retiral Mr Swindle has also helped the parents of Livingston woman Kirsty Maxwell investigate the mystery death of their daughter who fell from a balcony while holidaying in Benidorm, Spain, with friends in 2017.
Tickets on sale now via https://scottishdetective.com/
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