A FORMER detective has said serial killer Angus Sinclair may never reveal information about any further victims, after reports say he may only have months left to live.
The health of World’s End murderer Sinclair is said to be deteriorating rapidly and he is under constant medical attention in Glenochil prison, Clackmannanshire.
One of Scotland’s longest-serving prisoners, Sinclair has only been tried for the deaths of Helen Scott and Christine Eadie, whom he raped and strangled after a night out at the World’s End pub in Edinburgh in 1977. However, he has been linked to numerous other cases.
Reports from the Sunday Mail say the 72-year-old is “skeletal” and needs help eating, walking and using the toilet.
Detective Chief Superintendent Eddie McCusker said he had very little hope that the murderer would reveal any more information about his crimes before he dies.
He said: “Angus Sinclair raped and murdered children and women throughout his entire life and demonstrated no compassion or remorse for the victims or their families.
“In the final months of his life, I think it would be too much to hope for that he would demonstrate any sort of compassion. I would expect Angus Sinclair to die with his knowledge.”
Mr McCusker said there was strong evidence linking Sinclair to the murders of Glasgow women Hilda McAuley, Agnes Cooney and Anna Kenny in 1977.
And last year, alongside the release of BBC documentary The Forgotten Women, he told The Herald he believed there was strong evidence to support the claim that Sinclair was also responsible for the death of Frances Barker.
The 37-year-old disappeared from outside her home in Maryhill and her body was later found in Glenboig, Lanarkshire.
A man named Thomas Young was jailed for her killing but always protested his innocence – he died while waiting to hear if his case could be appealed.
The murder of Ms Barker was re- examined by officers, including Mr McCusker, who worked on Operation Trinity, the cold case investigation launched in 2004 that eventually led to Sinclair’s conviction for the World’s End killings.
Mr McCusker added: “I would welcome the opportunity to speak with him to allow him in his final months to demonstrate some compassion and that he can function as a human being.
“He has it within his power to ease the pain that has been felt by these families over decades.”
Retired detective superintendent Joe Jackson said in the Sunday Mail that Sinclair had almost opened up to him about a string of sexual assaults when he interviewed him at Gorbals police office in Glasgow.
Sinclair is alleged to have said: “I’ve done so many, I can’t remember them all. I could’ve done 50, I just don’t know.”
Mr Jackson said: “He should do the decent thing and confess before he dies and bring some peace to the families of his victims.
“This man told me he had committed any number of crimes and would tell me about them if I asked.
“There are other unsolved crimes out there which he has been linked to and now’s the time for him to talk.”
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