Investigators are actively delving into renewed claims surrounding the mysterious identity of the notorious criminal, Bible John.
John Templeton, a former printer, has been named as the asserted killer of Helen Puttock, the third victim, in a book penned by Australian author, Jill Bavin-Mizzi.
Bavin-Mizzi firmly believes that Templeton is also the murderer of two other women considered to be victims of Bible John, namely Patricia Docker, 25, and Jemima MacDonald, 31.
All three victims had attended the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow on the nights they were tragically killed.
Last week, the Sunday Mail provided Police Scotland a copy of Bavin-Mizzi’s book titled “Bible John: A New Suspect,” which follows an explosive front-page report of the author’s claims.
A spokesperson said: “The murders of Helen Puttock, Jemima McDonald, and Patricia Docker remain open. As with all pending cases, they are subject to review and any newfound information connected to their deaths will be thoroughly investigated.
“We have received the book and its contents will be assessed.”
Bavin-Mizzi tracked down Templeton after studying the ancestry of John McInnes, who was identified as a suspect back in 1996.
McInnes, a former soldier from Stonehouse, Lanarkshire, who tragically took his own life in 1980, was interviewed just 72 hours after Helen’s murder in October 1969.
Interestingly, DNA obtained from Helen’s clothing showed similarities to samples given by McInnes’s siblings, Jane and Hector. However, when McInnes’ body was exhumed from Stonehouse Cemetery in 1996, no conclusive match was found.
This led Bavin-Mizzi to question if the person who left the DNA could have a different connection to the McInnes family. A careful genealogical examination of their family tree led her to Templeton, born in 1945.
Helen’s sister, Jean, informed police that the man they met at the Barrowland used either the surname Templeton or Sempleson. Helen’s body was discovered in a tenement garden in Earl Street, Scotstoun, Glasgow, where she lived with her husband and two children.
Her last known encounter was with Jean when the sisters shared a taxi with the stranger. Jean was dropped off in nearby Yoker, before the taxi returned to Earl Street.
Bavin-Mizzi, 62, published these allegations concerning Templeton earlier this month after locating his former wife in 2022. She provided Bavin-Mizzi with a photo that bears a striking resemblance to the artist’s impression created by George Lennox Paterson, using information given by Jean.
It was revealed that Templeton had been questioned by police half a year after Helen’s murder. Bavin-Mizzi also found similarities between him and the man in the taxi, such as height and hair colour. Significantly, Templeton was fostered as a child to a family in Dumbarton Road, Yoker, approximately half a mile from where Helen was murdered.
Jean reported to the police that the suspected killer used biblical phrases, leading to the nickname “Bible John”. Templeton, the printer, got married in August 1969, just before Jemima MacDonald’s murder. He died in 2015, aged 70.
Jemima was found in a derelict flat on MacKeith Street, in the east end of Glasgow in August 1969. Patricia was discovered near her home at Langside Place on the city’s south side in February 1968.
