Police ‘assessing’ new cover-up claims over serial killer ‘Bible John’

Three women were killed in 1968 and 1969 in Glasgow and their murders have never been solved

A police photofit of Bible John, left, with two of his victims, Patricia Docker, right, and Jemima McDonald, bottom (PA)

Police have said they are “assessing” claims made in a podcast covering three mysterious murders in the 1960s.

Patricia Docker, 25, Jemima McDonald, 32 and Helen Puttock, 29, were all killed in Glasgow in 1968 and 1969 after visiting the Barrowland Ballroom in the city’s east end.

The murders, which have never been solved despite one of the largest police inquiries in Scottish history, became a media sensation, with blame being foisted on a man named only as “Bible John”, owing to his quoting of scripture during a taxi journey with Ms Puttock and her sister before she was murdered.

A podcast released by the BBC last year examined the cases, speaking to the families of the victims and former police officers who investigated the murders.

The podcast claimed the involvement of the man in the taxi, who was also believed to be the last person to see Ms Puttock alive, was covered up because he was the cousin of a senior police officer.

Officers interviewed said they believed the man to be John Irvine McInnes – the cousin of Jimmy McInnes, a detective.

The body of John Irvine McInnes – who died by suicide in the 1980s – was exhumed in 1995 in relation to the investigation, with DNA analysis against a sample taken from Ms Puttock’s tights coming back inconclusive, clearing him of involvement.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said on Wednesday: “We are assessing the contents of a recent podcast in consultation with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

“The murders of Helen Puttock, Jemima McDonald and Patricia Docker remain unresolved, however, as with all unresolved cases, they are subject to review and any new information about their deaths will be investigated.”