Retired Detective Believes Peter Tobin Had More Victims Still Unaccounted For

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A former senior police officer who helped bring serial killer Peter Tobin to justice has renewed claims that the convicted murderer was likely responsible for more deaths than the three he was jailed for. David Swindle, the detective who led the breakthrough investigation, believes Tobin’s violent history and calculating behaviour point to a wider pattern of undiscovered victims.

Tobin, who died in 2022 at the age of 76, was serving a whole life sentence after being convicted of the murders of Angelika Kluk, Vicky Hamilton, and Dinah McNicol. His crimes came to light in 2006 when Angelika, a 23-year-old Polish student, disappeared from St Patrick’s Church in Glasgow. Her body was later found concealed beneath the church floorboards, sparking a nationwide hunt for the man she was last seen with, handyman “Patrick McLaughlin,” later identified as Tobin.

Already known to police as a registered sex offender, Tobin had previously served a 10-year prison sentence for drugging and sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Swindle said the moment Angelika’s body was discovered, the investigation shifted focus entirely. “It was a scene of extreme violence,” he told Sky News, adding that Tobin’s actions were not only brutal but methodically planned.

More Victims

Following his conviction, police launched Operation Anagram to trace Tobin’s movements and link him to other unsolved crimes. That inquiry led officers to the garden of his former home in Margate, Kent, where they discovered the remains of Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol, both of whom had disappeared in 1991. Vicky, just 15, was last seen at a bus stop in West Lothian. Dinah, 18, vanished while hitchhiking home from a music festival.

Prosecutors later proved Tobin had drugged, murdered, and buried both teenagers. Despite DNA and fingerprint evidence, he denied any involvement. He was handed a 30-year minimum sentence for Vicky’s murder and a full life order for Dinah’s. The judge branded him “an evil man”.

Swindle, however, remains convinced Tobin killed more women. Jewellery found among his possessions after Angelika’s murder was found to contain DNA traces from unknown females. “These weren’t trophies, they were souvenirs from horrific acts,” Swindle said.

Police Scotland officers visited Tobin as he lay dying in hospital in 2022, hoping he might reveal further information. He refused to speak. “It was the final act of control,” said Swindle. “Like Ian Brady, it was always about him. No remorse. No accountability.”

Though Operation Anagram has since been scaled down, questions remain. Tobin was linked to other historic disappearances, including Louise Kay in 1988 and Jessie Earl in 1980, but nothing was conclusively proven.

Since retiring, Swindle has dedicated his time to supporting families affected by homicide abroad and reviewing cold cases through his consultancy. Reflecting on his work, he said the Tobin case was a defining point in his life. “I’ve dealt with some grim investigations, but this was different,” he said. “I hope no officer ever has to face such evil again.”