The families devastated by the terrible cruelty of serial killer Peter Tobin

On the time constabulary recovered a 2nd assemblage down a location erstwhile occupied by a murderer, the begetter of a missing teen raised his hand, crossed his fingers and said helium hoped it was his daughter.

Dinah McNicol was 18 erstwhile she vanished successful 1991, aft hitchhiking location to Essex from a creation euphony festival successful Hampshire.

Her begetter had spoken to countless reporters since past and it conscionable truthful happened that I was interviewing him erstwhile 16 years of tortuous uncertainty were coming to an end.

Ian McNicol had been near successful specified a acheronian spot that helium wanted his girl to beryllium the idiosyncratic successful a shallow grave, due to the fact that it would mean the household would yet cognize wherever she was, get her back, and laic her to rest.

His words laid bare the unspeakable cruelty of serial killers and they've haunted maine ever since.

A caller BBC documentary, The Hunt for Peter Tobin, explains however the execution of a young Polish pupil yet solved the enigma of what had happened to Dinah and a 2nd teenager, 15-year-old Vicky Hamilton, who had gone missing successful cardinal Scotland six months earlier.

Tobin was a registered enactment offender connected the tally from the authorities erstwhile helium killed Angelika Kluk and concealed her assemblage beneath the level of a Glasgow religion successful September 2006.

He was 60 astatine the time. The transgression was truthful horrific, detectives were convinced helium indispensable person killed before.

Strathclyde Police launched Operation Anagram, a nationwide scoping workout which tried to found whether Tobin could beryllium linked to unsolved cases astir the UK.

Within months, officers realised helium was surviving successful Bathgate erstwhile Vicky Hamilton went missing successful the West Lothian municipality successful February 1991.

Despite a immense enquiry and appeals by her distraught family, 15 years had passed with nary hint of Vicky ever being found.

The nexus with Tobin changed everything.

Forensic scientists re-examined grounds from the clip of her disappearance and recovered DNA from Tobin's lad connected Vicky's purse, which had been near adjacent Edinburgh autobus station.

In June 2007, Lothian and Borders Police searched Tobin's erstwhile location successful Bathgate. In the attic, they discovered a weapon which bore traces of Vicky's DNA.

Operation Anagram went connected to link Tobin to Dinah, who'd gone missing astatine the different extremity of the state successful August 1991.

Her currency paper had been utilized successful towns crossed the south-east of England, from Hove to Margate and Ramsgate successful Kent.

The wealth draining from Dinah's relationship was compensation she received aft her parent Judy died successful a roadworthy mishap erstwhile she was six.

The constabulary recovered grounds linking Tobin to the paper and established helium was surviving successful Margate erstwhile Dinah failed to travel home.

One of Tobin's neighbours recalled "Scottish Pete" digging a heavy spread successful his backmost plot astir that time.

Essex Police thought they were going to get answers for Ian McNicol and his household erstwhile they went to Tobin's aged location astatine 50 Irvine Drive successful November 2007 - but alternatively of Dinah, they recovered Vicky.

Having covered the hunt successful Bathgate, I travelled southbound to Margate with a consciousness of disbelief which was shared by the Scottish officers investigating Tobin's past.

Everyone successful Scotland knew the look of the smiling schoolgirl with the bobbed acheronian hair.

The discovery of her remains truthful acold from location was horrifying and baffling. How had she ended up there?

The reply was that Tobin had killed Vicky successful Bathgate, dismembered her body, and taken her remains with him erstwhile helium moved to a caller location 470 miles distant successful the southbound of England.

In the days that followed, arsenic the constabulary continued their hunt for Dinah astatine Irvine Drive, I interviewed her dada astatine his location successful Tillingham, a tiny Essex colony built circular a Norman church.

Ian was an instantly likeable antheral successful his precocious 60s; a retired instrumentalist primitively from Glasgow who'd named his girl aft a jazz standard.

Over the years, Dinah's disappearance had taken its toll connected his health. We sat down and started filming.

"When I mislaid my wife, we knew she was dormant due to the fact that we had to hide her," helium said.

"We went done the mean process of grief.

"When a subordinate of your household goes missing, it's 20 times worse than decease due to the fact that you bash not cognize a happening and each sorts of things spell done your imagination."

He was taking immoderate solace from the information that different household successful precisely the aforesaid concern had been helped, adjacent though his girl had not been found.

Ian turned to the camera to code Vicky's household and said: "If you're watching, from maine and my family, bully luck to you. We privation you each the best."

The doorbell rang. Another newsman told america the constabulary had conscionable announced the find of a 2nd body.

Ian agreed to proceed the interview, raised his close manus with his fingers crossed and said: "If they've said that, delight beryllium Dinah, and get america retired of this misery.

"I would hide her adjacent to her mother. So please, fto it beryllium Dinah."

Later, aft the constabulary confirmed the remains were those of his daughter, Ian said helium could dice successful peace. He passed distant successful 2014.

In the BBC documentary, Vicky's younger sister Lindsay Brown tells of the interaction her disappearance had connected their parent Jeanette. Two years aft Vicky went missing her parent died, her household said, from a breached heart.

Archive footage shows Lindsay speechmaking a connection to the media extracurricular the High Court successful Dundee successful 2008, connected the time Tobin was convicted of Vicky's murder, flanked by her older sister Sharon and duplicate member Lee.

Given each they had been through, what she did that time was arsenic brave arsenic it was hard to watch.

She said: "Vicky was overmuch much than the miss who was abducted and killed by a alien oregon a miss connected a missing poster. We volition ever retrieve Vicky arsenic she lived, not arsenic she died."

The detectives investigating Tobin's past were definite helium had different victims. They did each they could to find answers for different families, to nary avail.

Tobin took his secrets to the sedate and was serving 3 beingness sentences erstwhile helium died successful 2022.

No-one came guardant to assertion his body. His ashes were disposed of astatine sea.

When I was interviewed for the BBC documentary, the shaper asked what I had thought erstwhile I heard the news.

I told him I had been pleased and hoped his decease hadn't been pleasant. Should I person been that honest? Did it transverse a line? I don't know.

What I bash cognize is that I'll ne'er hide Ian McNicol oregon what helium said to maine 17 years ago: "Please beryllium Dinah."