15. Bible John Killed In The Name of God
In the 1960’s, The Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, Scotland was a lively dance club where young people went on dates. It was an open secret that Thursday nights were designated for single people to meet and hook up. This was scandalous, of course, so most people did this as discreetly as possible. But one by one, the bodies of women who went to the Barrowland Ballroom on Thursday nights were found. Patricia Docker, Helen Puttock, and Jemima McDonald were all killed after going out dancing.
Witnesses saw each one of the girls leave with a tall, thin red-headed man, who is clearly their killer. The bartender remembers speaking to this man, who ranted about how “sinful” the Barrowland Ballroom was, and that everyone was going to Hell. Serial killers usually target women who look the same, but the one thing these three ladies had in common was that they were menstruating. In The Bible, Leviticus 15:19-33 says that women on their period are “unclean”, and they should not be touched. Police nicknamed this man “Bible John”.
The Glasgow Police Department has a prime suspect named Peter Tobin, who was arrested in 1993 for killing two 14-year-old girls. When comparing photographs of young Peter Tobin to the sketches of Bible John, it is easy to see why they believe he is the killer, especially since serial killers don’t usually begin killing at a later age in life. But they do not have enough evidence to prove that he really was Bible John.