Denise Mina's Longstanding Interest in Peter Manuel
Crime writer Denise Mina has been contemplating the case of Peter Manuel for many years.
"He was breaking into houses and killing entire families and then hanging around afterwards,"
"This predates the idea of a serial killer that we have now, which is a maniac operating alone, committing the same crimes over and over again.
"But he wasn't committing the same crime. He was doing lots of different things. He was a psychopath."
Mina first explored Manuel's story in 2013 through a production at Glasgow's Oran Mor venue, part of the A Play, A Pie and A Pint series.
The play, Driving Manuel, featured the late Andy Gray portraying the killer as he navigated Glasgow's pubs and clubs alongside businessman William Watt.
Following the performance, several audience members approached Mina, suggesting there was more to the narrative, particularly concerning William Watt.
Watt's wife, daughter, and sister-in-law were murdered in their beds in September 1956 while Watt was away on a fishing trip.
He was initially accused and imprisoned for three months.
Upon release, Watt undertook his own investigation into the murders, offering payment for information, which Manuel accepted.
The Long Drop: Mina's True Crime Novel
Mina's 2017 novel, The Long Drop, imagines the unusual pub crawl shared by Manuel and Watt, as well as Manuel's subsequent trial, murder convictions, and execution.
This work marked Mina's first venture into true crime and earned her the William MacIlvanney Prize.
Currently, the novel is adapted for the stage as the closing production of the revitalized Citizens Theatre season.
Adapted by Linda McLean, the play stars Brian Vernel as Peter Manuel and is directed by Dominic Hill.
"The book is so incredibly evocative of a particular time in Glasgow.
"You can smell the coal on the walls, and see the fog but it's also a time of change, just before places like the Gorbals were ripped down and rebuilt."
The Citizens Theatre itself is among the few buildings to survive from that era and has recently reopened after a seven-year, multimillion-pound refurbishment.
On stage, the production meticulously recreates the shop fronts and pub interiors that once surrounded the theatre.
Peter Manuel: Scotland's Notorious Serial Killer
Nearly 70 years after his execution, Peter Manuel remains one of Scotland's most infamous serial killers.
Between January 1956 and January 1958, Manuel is known to have murdered nine people, though he was convicted of seven.
The media dubbed him "the Beast from Birkenshaw," referencing the Lanarkshire town where he lived during his crimes.
Manuel was born in New York in 1927 to Scottish parents who returned to the UK five years later, moving between Coventry and Motherwell.
His criminal activities began at age seven with theft, escalating in his teenage years to sexual and violent offenses including home invasions.
He spent time in borstal and was imprisoned at 15 for a hammer attack on a sleeping woman.
The Watt Family Murders
The murders of the Watt family occurred amid Manuel's killing spree, most of which took place in towns southeast of Glasgow.
On the night of 17 September 1956, Manuel fatally shot 45-year-old Marion Hunter Watt, her 16-year-old daughter Vivienne Isabella, and her 42-year-old sister Margaret Hunter Brown in their Burnside home.
He used an illegally purchased revolver, which he later discarded in the River Clyde.
William Watt was initially the prime suspect and was detained but released in December of that year.
Manuel was incarcerated for much of the following year for a separate crime but during this time contacted Watt and his solicitor.
After his release in November 1957, Manuel committed his final series of murders, killing five victims in five weeks, culminating with the shooting of Peter and Doris Smart and their 11-year-old son Michael in Uddingston over New Year's.
Despite previous missed opportunities, police gathered sufficient evidence to arrest Manuel, who was tried in May 1958.
The Trial and Execution
The trial lasted two weeks, during which Manuel dismissed his lawyers and represented himself, while crowds gathered outside the Glasgow court.
He was found guilty of seven murders and sentenced to death.
Manuel was executed by hanging at HMP Barlinnie on 11 July 1958.
He was among the last men executed in Scotland before the death penalty was abolished in the UK in 1965.
Actors Reflect on the Production
Brian Vernel, portraying Manuel, previously appeared at the Citizens Theatre in 2013.
"I've played some pretty dark characters,"
"It's the most interesting piece that I've worked on for quite some time.
"Obviously it's a play that has a very dark subject matter, but it's also about real people and takes place nearby, so it's almost like this play is written within the memory of what you know the city to be."
Keith Fleming, who plays William Watt, admitted he had limited knowledge of Manuel or the crimes before joining the cast but found widespread interest when discussing the story.
"My friend's granny, she's 94 years old, she grew up in the Gorbals, so instantly recognised the name and had all these recollections of warnings about walking home and going in groups when it was at the height of his atrocities."
The Sensational Court Case
The murders shocked the public, and the trial attracted intense media attention with TV stations and newspapers descending on Glasgow.
To prevent mob violence, the prison service deployed a decoy van during Manuel's court appearances.
Manuel was among the first defendants in Scotland to represent himself in court but failed to persuade the jury, which convicted him on seven counts of murder.
Ongoing Questions and Legacy
Seventy years later, Denise Mina believes there remain undisclosed aspects of the case.
"After The Long Drop two of the sons of one of the victims came to see me.
"They said they were sure that William Watt was not an innocent who happened to meet his family's murderer, that he had commissioned somebody to kill his wife.
"They said they had been trying to tell people the real story for decades but no one would listen, because as soon as the case was over everyone decided that was the end of it."
"And they told me amazing details like he had gone fly fishing up at the Crinan Canal and he took the guard dog with him - a three-year-old golden Labrador - which is the last thing you want when you are fly fishing."
"I was mad that I didn't get that detail in."
"But mostly now it's people saying, I remember when that happened when I was a kid.
"And people's mothers would threaten them, 'If you don't go to bed now, Peter Manual will come and get you'.
"Which is a very Glaswegian style of parenting."
