Angus Sinclair, one of Scotland’s most notorious killers, has died at the age of 74.
He was convicted of four killings, including the World’s End murders, but was thought to have killed at least four more.
Sinclair had been in prison since 1982 after being convicted of a series of rapes and indecent attacks on children.
The Scottish Prison Service confirmed he died overnight at HMP Glenochil in Alloa, Clackmannanshire.
Five years ago he was convicted of the murders of Helen Scott and Christine Eadie, who were last seen at the World’s End pub on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile in 1977.
He was sentenced to a minimum of 37 years in prison for the murders of the two teenagers – the longest handed out by a Scottish court.
Detectives told the BBC at the time they believed he had murdered four more women during a seven-month spree but they did not have enough evidence to charge him.
Sinclair grew up in the St George’s Cross area of Glasgow.
His obsession with sex was evident from an early age and he killed his first victim in 1961, when he was just 16 years old.
The teenage Sinclair had lured his seven-year old neighbour Catherine Reehill before raping and strangling her.
The calculated manner in which he disposed of the body and tried to cover his tracks shocked police.
He even called the ambulance himself, telling the operator, that “a wee girl has fallen down the stairs”.
The BBC uncovered a psychiatrist’s report from the time which said: “I do not think that any form of psychotherapy is likely to benefit his condition and he will constitute a danger from now onwards.
“He is obsessed by sex, and given the minimum of opportunity, he will repeat these offences.”
Despite the dire warning, Sinclair served just six years.
He was released in his early 20s, took up a trade, got married and had a son.
However, in 1977 there was a spate of murders across central Scotland.
Six young women disappeared after nights out, and were found dumped on deserted farmland or waste ground.
The women Sinclair murdered
- Catherine Reehill, seven
- Christine Eadie, 17
- Helen Scott, 17
- Mary Gallacher, 17
The women Sinclair is believed to have murdered
- Frances Barker, 37
- Hilda McAuley, 36
- Agnes Cooney, 23
- Anna Kenny, 20
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