Bible John Timeline

**cobalt** · 2025-08-23T12:19:29+00:00

The Ibrox disaster occurred on January 2nd 1971. An inquiry into the accident to be headed by law Lord Wheatley was announced in February, so it seems likely that Joe Beattie's police investigation would have been superseded by this. Beattie had actually attended the football match (and I can guess which member of the Old Firm he was supporting on the day.)

Do we know anything about McInnes' employment record from 1959 when he left the Scots Guards, presumably as part of his National Service? I doubt he worked at the furniture store for a decade.

**Herlock Sholmes** · 2025-08-23T13:08:39+00:00

According to Garcia, after was discharged in 1959 he returned to Glasgow where he got a job at McGregor’s furniture store on Sauchiehall Street although in the podcast Audrey Gillan said that he spent a year working as a nursery man first.

He would have been around 21 at that time that he was discharged so he would have 22/23 when he got the job at McGregor’s then it’s said that at 25 he was assistant manager at a different store (he doesn’t mention what type of store) So this would have been around 1963.

Then, at some point, he and his wife started an old people’s home.

Garcia says that in 1968 he got a job in another furniture store in Ayr (he had Ayrshire links on his mother’s side) and it was here that he embezzled money from his employers (this is why his photograph was on police records) but this must have been earlier because he was clearly working at Moylan’s at the time of the murders.

So it’s impossible to get an accurate timeline on McInnes employment record Cobalt. In general it looks like: army - nursery man - furniture shop - furniture shop - old people’s home - furniture shop (possibly Moylan’s)

**cobalt** · 2025-08-23T14:37:37+00:00

Cheers Sherlock, there seem to be a few problems with the timeline. As you pointed out, in February 1968 McInnes could not have been murdering Pat Docker in the south of Glasgow on a Thursday night if he was working in a furniture shop in Ayr as stated by Garcia. Unless, that is, he committed the Docker murder then moved to Ayr later in the year, which might explain the gap in between the murders to those who theorise about serial killers. If McInnes was caught with his fingers in the till in Ayr that could explain his being back working in the Hamilton area rather sharpish in 1969.

If McInnes was caught committing fraud in Ayr there are a couple of problems. First up, the theory that he attended a psychiatric unit to avoid prosecution makes no sense since this has been dated in 1971: at least 3 years after his offence! And I think the photo of McInnes recognised by a bouncer at the Barrowland and also the taxi driver was a police mugshot, but if it was taken from around 1968 then McInnes could not have looked older as one of them noted. (Unless he had another police mugshot from later in his 'career.')

If McInnes is our man it seems he was careful to commit his crimes, whether financial or murderous, outside his own locality.

**Herlock Sholmes** · 2025-08-23T16:48:16+00:00

In the podcast AG says:

“William might not have seen McInnes drunk, but in the years after Helen Puttock's murder, Irvine received two convictions for being drunk and incapable, plus more for theft, benefit fraud, criminal damage and possession of a knife. That furniture shop he worked in, Moylan's, one time he failed to bank the shop's takings, appropriating them for his own use. This particular theft led Irvine to check in to Heartwood Psychiatric Hospital in 1971.”

(William is a Stonehouse local called William MacMahon btw)

Garcia says:

”McInnes then took a new job at a furniture outlet in Ayr, which he started in 1968. Rumours continued to swirl around the strange and increasingly highly strung figure. There was talk that he had checked into a psychiatric hospital, possibly to dodge accusations of embezzlement from his new employers.”

It does appear that McInnes had a few different charges against his name but, as you say, the suggestion that he might have checked himself into Heartwood to avoid charges were in 1971. Audrey Gillan seems confident that he was still working at Moylan’s up until 1971.

It does raise the question - isn’t it perhaps a little strange how Micky Moylan appeared not to recall McInnes name ever being mentioned and yet he remembers his two other employees assisting the police?

Another question might be - if Hannah said that McInnes looked older in the mugshot than he remembered him, would a mere 2 years or so have made any noticeable difference to his appearance? It doesn’t seem very likely. As you suggest, doesn’t this point to the police having a photograph of McInnes taken later than 1971?

Bible John Timeline

Bible John Timeline

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