New podcast series from BBC Scotland sheds new light one of the UK’s most infamous unsolved serial killings

A new 10-part podcast series from BBC Scotland, which launches on BBC Sounds on Saturday 1 October, reveals significant new information about the notorious Bible John murder investigation in Glasgow.

Bible John – Creation of a Serial Killer, delves into the unsolved case which began in February, 1968, when a young woman was murdered after a night dancing in Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom.

She was the first victim in a series of three killings that came to be known as the Bible John murders. The investigation became Scotland’s biggest ever manhunt, with the press giving the killer his eye-catching name. But after the third murder in October 1969, Bible John apparently stopped.

Then in 1996, it was revealed that detectives had a new prime suspect. Journalist Audrey Gillan broke the story, which was front page news in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper. As part of her investigation she gained access to some of the original police files and spoke to investigating officers and a key witness.

But having looked at the police files again, she now sees that the descriptions of the three murdered women – Patricia Docker, Jemima Macdonald and Helen Puttock – are riddled with judgments about who they were and how they lived.

Revisiting these documents from 25 years ago, Audrey is determined to reveal the women’s lives in a way that’s never been done before.

She wants to discover how Patricia, Jemima and Helen lived, how they died and what happened to the families they left behind.

And through her investigation, she also uncovers the trail of another story about Bible John - one which could significantly change what we know about the case.

Audrey says: “This case has haunted me for almost all of my life. I have always wanted to find out more about the three women - to get a sense of the streets they walked on, the clothes they wore and the songs they sang. But the Bible John investigation is like nothing else I have ever worked on, and making this podcast has thrown up a number of revelations.”

The series also features contributions from police officers, journalists who reported on the original investigation and family members of the three victims. Many of these people have never spoken publicly about the case before.

Bible John – Creation of a Serial Killer is produced by BBC Scotland Productions and will be available on BBC Sounds from 1 October.