STV NewsAn investigation will take place into the death of Scottish serial killer Peter Tobin, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has announced.
He was serving a life sentence for raping and murdering Polish student Angelika Kluk, 23, and hiding her body under the floor of a Glasgow church in 2006.
The killer, who was 76 when he died, was also serving life terms for the murders of 15-year-old schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton, of Redding, near Falkirk, in 1991, and 18-year-old Dinah McNicol the same year.
Their bodies were found 17 years later, buried in the garden of his former home in Margate, Kent.
SuppliedTobin had been an inmate at HMP Edinburgh when he was admitted to the hospital on September 9, 2022 after a fall in his cell the evening before.
He died on October 8, 2022 at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
On Wednesday, the Crown said it would launch a mandatory Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into his death.
The purpose of an FAI includes determining the cause of death, the circumstances in which the death occurred, and establishing what reasonable precautions could have been taken to avoid deaths in similar circumstances.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said that Tobin did not leave the hospital since he was admitted in September until his death a month later.
He had been receiving palliative care prior to his death and was monitored by GeoAmey officers while within ERI, they added.
Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on fatalities investigations for COPFS, said: “The Lord Advocate considers that the death of Peter Tobin occurred while in legal custody and as such a Fatal Accident Inquiry is mandatory.
“The lodging of the First Notice enables FAI proceedings to commence under the direction of the Sheriff.”
Born in 1946 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Tobin became known to police at a young age. He was imprisoned for the first time in 1970, at 24 years old, for burglary and forgery.
He married three times and each of his wives said they fell for a charming, well-dressed man who would turn violent.
In 1993, he sexually assaulted and raped two 14-year-old girls at his home in Hampshire, stabbing one and leaving them for dead after turning on gas taps. The two girls survived and the following year, Tobin was jailed for 14 years for the attacks.
At 58, he was released from prison and returned to his native Scotland, moving to Paisley in 2004.
Just two years later, Tobin would strike again while working as a handyman at St Patrick’s Church in Anderston in Glasgow.
He murdered student Angelika Kluk, who lived at the church while working as a cleaner. He beat and raped the 23-year-old before concealing her body beneath the floorboards of the church.
Tobin was later arrested after Ms Kluk’s body was discovered by police on September 29, 2006. The following year he was convicted of her rape and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 21 years.
While he was serving his sentence for Ms Kluk’s murder, two missing persons cases were linked to Tobin and would finally be solved after more than 15 years of heartache for their families.
Vicky Hamilton, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, was reported missing on February 10, 1991, after failing to return to her home in Redding, near Falkirk. Tobin had been living in Bathgate at the time and moved to England shortly after her disappearance.
Dinah McNicol, an 18-year-old sixth former from Essex, was last seen on August 5, 1991, after hitchhiking home with a friend from a music festival in Hampshire. Following her disappearance, money was withdrawn from her account which was thought to be out of character for the teen, who was saving to go travelling.
Months after his conviction for Ms Kluk’s murder, Tobin’s former home in Margate, Kent was searched and the remains of Ms Hamilton were discovered in the back garden.
Days later, the remains of Dinah McNicol were also found at the property and Tobin was later charged with the two teenagers’ murders. In 2008 and 2009 respectively, Tobin was found guilty of Ms Hamilton and Ms McNicol’s murders and handed a life sentence for each.
Following the culmination of the high profile cases, it was suggested by some that Tobin had murdered women in the late 60s as the unidentified Bible John, however Tobin denied this. Police have since said they have eliminated Tobin from their enquiries.
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