A new podcast titled Beware Book revisits a string of brutal murders in Glasgow between 1991 and 2005, including the 2005 murder of 27-year-old Emma Caldwell
A new Rayo Original Podcast, Beware Book, revisits a series of brutal murders that shocked Glasgow between 1991 and 2005 and asks a haunting question – why have so many of the victims still not seen justice?
Over 14 years, eight women involved in prostitution were mercilessly killed, and at least four of those cases remain unsolved today – Diane McInally’s, Karen McGregor’s, Leona McGovern’s and Jacqueline Gallagher’s cases.
The killings happened during a turbulent chapter in the city’s history. Glasgow was grappling with soaring unemployment, high crime rates and the tightening grip of heroin addiction. The women, many already living on the margins of society, were left particularly vulnerable. Due to their distrustful of the authorities and fearing for their safety, they relied heavily on one another.
To try to protect themselves, they recorded warnings about violent or suspicious clients in a battered leather journal that became known among them as the ‘Beware Book’.
Now, journalists Collette McGonigle and Callum McQuade of Clyde 1 revisit these tragic stories that devastated families, re-examining the investigations and asking difficult questions about whether opportunities were missed and whether prejudice may have shaped how the cases were handled at the time.
The most high-profile case – the murder of Emma Caldwell – was finally solved in 2024, when Iain Packer was convicted, 19 years after her death. After covering the trial Collette and Callum revisited the other unsolved killings, questioning whether they were investigated thoroughly and without prejudice, and whether opportunities to catch Emma’s killer earlier were missed.
The podcast will feature deeply personal interviews with the victims’ loved ones, many speaking publicly for the first time. As well as a former investigating officer, who will share his thoughts on where the Beware Book might be today.
Listeners will also hear from Iain Packer’s earliest known victim and from former officers who all believe the full extent of his violent past is only now coming to light.
The series highlights the struggles faced by women on the margins and the failures of a justice system that often overlooked them.
“At its heart, Beware Book is about restoring dignity to women whose lives were often reduced to headlines,” the journalists say. “It’s about amplifying the voices of families who feel forgotten by the justice system.”
The podcast will examine whether renewed attention could finally bring answers forward and some measures of peace to those left behind.
The first two episodes of Beware Book will be available from March 23, with a new episode released every Monday for five weeks. The podcast is available on the Rayo app, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from March 23.