March 1, 1927 - Peter Manuel
Manuel operated across Lanarkshire and southern Scotland for roughly two years before his capture, killing with enough consistency and geographic spread to sustain widespread public fear throughout the region. What distinguished him further was his decision to dismiss his legal counsel and conduct his own defense at trial — a performance that revealed considerable intelligence alongside the violence. He was hanged in July 1958, one of the last men executed in Scotland.
From Wikipedia
Peter Thomas Anthony Manuel (13 March 1927 – 11 July 1958) was a Scottish serial killer known as the Beast of Birkenshaw who committed the murders of seven people across Lanarkshire, Scotland, between 1956 and 1958. He is also suspecting of murdering two further victims—one in East Kilbride, Scotland and one in Edmundbyers, England—in 1956 and 1957 respectively.
Tried at Glasgow High Court for the eight murders committed in Scotland, Manuel was convicted of seven of these crimes on 26 May 1958, with charges pertaining to his first alleged victim dismissed due to insufficient evidence. He did appeal his conviction, but his conviction was upheld on 24 June. He was hanged at Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison on 11 July.
Manuel became known as the "Beast of Birkenshaw" due to the name of the North Lanarkshire village where he lived at the time of his arrest and the proximity of his home to each of his known Scottish crime scenes.
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