The serial killer Peter Tobin, who spent 20 years living in Brighton and Hove, died today (Saturday 8 October) at the age of 76.
At least two of Tobin’s former homes in the area were later searched by police as they tried to establish whether, as suspected, he was responsible for other murders.
And there were calls for the garden of another of his former homes locally to be dug up to see whether he had buried the remains of a missing woman, Louise Kay.
Tobin was taken from Edinburgh Prison to a hospital where he died today while serving a life sentence for the murder of three people – Angelika Kluk, Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol.
The Press Association (PA) reported that he refused to admit to any more murders as detectives questioned him on his deathbed.
Detectives have long suspected that Tobin killed other victims and hoped that he would give up his secrets before he died.
He was serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of Polish student Angelika Kluk, 23, and hiding her body under the floor of a Glasgow church in 2006.
The killer 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.
Police believe that he was responsible for the murders of other women, noting that he had at least 40 aliases and 150 cars during his life.
Detective Chief Superintendent Laura Thomson, head of major crime at Police Scotland, said: “Recent attempts to encourage him to do the right thing and share any knowledge he may have which could assist the police were unsuccessful.
“While we have no current lines of investigation into Peter Tobin, we welcome any information in relation to his activities.”
The Sunday Mail previously reported that Tobin had cancer and had fallen and broken his hip. The publication said that the killer was refusing food and medication.
A senior Sussex Police officer co-ordinated a national investigation into Tobin after he was jailed.
During that time, in 2010, two local addresses where Tobin previously lived were searched – in Marine Parade, Brighton, and Station Road, Portslade. No evidence was found.
Later, a television documentary focused on another of Tobin’s former homes, in Windlesham Road, near the Seven Dials, and looked at whether he could be linked to the disappearance of two women.
The TV programme said that it was possible that the remains of one of them could have been buried in the back garden of the property.
When the documentary was screened in 2018, Sussex Police said: “At this time there is still no evidence or intelligence to suggest any specific person is responsible for the death of Jessie Earl or the disappearance of Louise Kay.”
Here are links to some of the previous reports about Tobin on the Brighton and Hove News website.
Detectives excavate well at Tobin’s former Portslade home
Police finish searching killer’s Brighton homes
Police scale down team examining life of Brighton and Hove killer Peter Tobin
Missing teenage girl may be buried in serial killer’s old Brighton garden
