Peter Manuel: The Beast of Birkenshaw (Part 2)

When Peter Smart failed to show up for work on the morning of January 6, 1958, officers in Lanarkshire, Scotland were dispatched to Smart’s home to conduct a well-being check. When no one came to the door, the officers forced their way inside, where they found Smart, his wife, and their eleven-year-old son all dead from gunshot wounds to the head. A week later, Peter Manuel was arrested and charged with the murders of the Smart family, but in time the police in Lanarkshire would learn that was only one of Manuel’s horrific crimes.

Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Birmingham Post and Gazette. 1958. "3 shot dead: no gun found." Birmingham Post and Gazette, January 7: 1.

Coventry Evening Telegraph. 1956. "Three dead in bungalow beds." Coventry Evening Telegraph, September 17: 1.

Daily Record. 1956. "Fifth tee murder." Daily Record, January 5: 1.

—. 1956. "Fifth tee murder: dramatic appeal." Daily Record, January 6: 1.

—. 1957. "Teenager vanishes." Daily Record, December 30: 1.

—. 1958. "Two sensations as trial opens." Daily Record, May 13: 7.

Daily Telegraph. 1958. "1958." Daily Telegraph, May 15: 15.

Evening Sentinel. 1956. "Bloodstains found on bed sheets." Evening Sentinel, September 17: 1.

—. 1957. "Tjhick snow hampers moors hunt." Evening Sentinel, December 11: 1.

Hull Daily Mail. 1957. "Police seek fresh clues in murder mystery." Hull Daily Mail, December 10: 5.

Lundy, Iain. 2007. "Psychopath who brought terror to the west." Evening Times, December 27.

MacLeod, Hector. 2009. Peter Manuel, Serial Killer. Edinburgh, Scotland: Mainstream Books.

Nottingham Evening News. 1956. "Bungalow riddle: two women and girl dead in bed." Nottingham Evening News, September 17: 4.

Silvester, Norman. 2022. The story of Scotland's first known serial killer Peter Manuel. October 10. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/23034356.story-scotlands-first-known-serial-killer-peter-manuel/.

The Times. 1958. "Statement on 8 murders." The Times, May 22: 5.

Western Mail. 1958. "Watt denies shooting his wife." Western Mail, May 16: 5.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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