Bible John is the moniker given to an unidentified serial killer who is believed to have murdered three young women in Glasgow, Scotland, between 1968 and 1969.

The victims of Bible John were all brunettes between the ages of 25 and 31, all of whom met their murderer at the Barrowland Ballroom, a dance hall and music venue in the city. The perpetrator has never been identified and the case remains unsolved and one of the most extensive manhunts in Scottish criminal history. The case was the first time in Scotland in which the Crown Office authorised publication of a composite drawing of a person suspected of murder.

This unidentified serial killer became known as "Bible John" due to his having repeatedly quoted from the Bible and to have condemned adultery while in the company of his final victim. The known movements and modus operandi of the convicted serial killer and rapist Peter Tobin gave rise to speculation that he might be Bible John, after his conviction for three murders in the late 2000s, but police later eliminated him as a suspect.

First murders

Patricia Docker

180px|thumb|The alleyway in which Docker's body was discovered, pictured in 2013

On 23 February 1968, the naked body of a 25-year-old auxiliary nurse named Patricia Docker was discovered in the doorway of a lock-up garage in the alleyway behind 27 Carmichael Place in the Battlefield district. The location of her body was a few streets away from her home in Langside Place. Her body bore evidence of extensive blunt force trauma, particularly to the face and head. She had been strangled to death with a strong ligature, possibly a belt. Docker's handbag, watch, clothes and jewellery (other than her wedding ring) were missing from the crime scene; her shoes were recovered at the scene. Her clothing was never found,

A postmortem conducted by Gilbert Forbes at the University of Glasgow Medical School confirmed that the cause of death had been strangulation, and that Docker's body bore no clear evidence of sexual assault. On the night of her murder, her parents had been under the impression she would spend the evening dancing at the Majestic Ballroom on Hope Street, although for unknown reasons, she is believed to have chosen to spend the majority of the evening at the Barrowland Ballroom, probably because of the 'Over-25s' night which it hosted each Thursday. When Docker failed to return home that evening, her parents assumed she had spent the night with a friend.

Investigators theorised Docker may have been killed elsewhere and her body discarded at the location of her discovery. MacDonald was a regular attendee of the Barrowland and, according to family custom, her sister, Margaret O'Brien, took care of her three children in her absence. As midnight approached, she was seen by several people in the company of a young, well-dressed and well-spoken man of slim build, aged between 25 and 35 and between and in height. The man had short hair variously described by witnesses as being fair, ginger, or dark brown with fair streaks. Like Docker, MacDonald had been menstruating at the time of her death, although unlike Docker, MacDonald's body was discovered fully clothed.

Suspect

The suspect was described by Puttock's sister Jean Langford as being a tall, slim and well-dressed young man wearing a brown and well-cut Reid and Taylor brand suit, with reddish, sandy or fair hair rounded neatly at the back. His wristwatch had a military-style broad leather strap, and, unusually, he was wearing unfashionable leather half-boots. He was aged between 25 and 30, approximately to in height, and had blue-grey eyes. She noticed that two of his front top teeth overlapped, and that one of his teeth at the back right-hand side of his mouth was missing. He also commented to the women, "I don't drink at Hogmanay; I pray", although he said that he was familiar with several drinking premises in the Yoker district. He said he was an only child but contradicted this soon after by saying he had a sister, adding that alcohol was not allowed in his home and that when his sister came home drunk once she was refused entry to the house. Langford was of the impression that the man regretted mentioning his sister and tried to redirect the conversation to foster homes and foster children. He revealed that he knew the fares, and possibly the times, for both the buses and the Blue Train services north of the River Clyde. As the taxi travelled along the Kingsway the man said he recognised the high-rise flats and said something about his father or another relative having worked there, and that a children's home had once been there. Langford said that the man appeared to be evasive when asked some questions. Hannah was unfamiliar with the route and made some wrong turns during the last part of the journey, causing Puttock to become frustrated and ask him to stop on Earl Street. It was initially believed that the man may have used the nearby Govan ferry to cross the River Clyde to the south of the city, but the ferrymen working that night could not remember such an individual.

The murder of Helen Puttock held remarkable similarities to the two previous murders, further raising suspicions that all three murders had been committed by the same person. Each of the victims had been the mother of at least one child and had met her murderer at the Barrowland Ballroom. The handbag of each woman was missing. Each victim had been strangled to death, and at least two of these women had been raped prior to their murders. Each of the three women had been escorted home by her killer and murdered within yards of her door. Additionally, all had been menstruating at the time of death