As a podcast sheds new light on a string of murders which shocked Glasgow, Dolly Glover, aunt of slain Diane McInally, tells why she’ll never stop fighting for the truth
Mum Diane McInally, 23, was found beaten and strangled to death in woodland in Pollok Park, Glasgow, in October 1991. Two men were later arrested in connection with her death, but they were never charged. Her murder remains unsolved. Diane’s auntie, retired cleaner Dolly Glover, 75, of Glasgow, says: “We were always a close family, I knew Diane from the moment she was born – her father was my brother.
“She was a bubbly girl. A normal kid, happy go lucky. She met her partner, had a baby. She was a really good mother. In the year before she died, we didn’t see her as much. She moved to the other side of Glasgow. I didn’t know she was a prostitute. It’s a dangerous occupation.
“When she was murdered, she was looked down on. Prostitutes are human beings, the same as an accountant. We got the phone call one Tuesday night. My husband and her brother went to identify her. How could someone do that to someone? It still chills me to my core.
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“The police promised they would find someone. They arrested two boys, but nothing came of it. One of them admitted seeing her and arguing with her, but swore he never killed her. Her son, Craig, was four at the time of her murder. The family took him away to Kent to start again. Sadly, he suffered mental health issues and addiction problems and he was jailed for at least 19 years in 2023 for killing his father Ian Menzies. We hadn’t kept in touch, but we were shocked.
“When a case like Diane’s remains unsolved, you’re always fighting for the truth. There’s still hope – if you can call it that – of catching her killer Emma Caldwell was one of Scotland’s most high profile unsolved murders. Suddenly in 2024, Iain Packer was jailed for her murder
“She was found in woodland like Diane. He [Packer] was free to roam the streets for 19 years. What else was he able to do? It’s the same for Diane’s killer. I believe that they’re still out there. I’m appealing once again for anyone who saw anything at all to come forward … to help put a dangerous person behind bars. Diane’s mother and father went to their graves not knowing what happened to their little girl. So now I’m taking up the mantle. I’ll never stop fighting for Diane.”
Shedding new lights on Glasgow murders
Sex workers in Glasgow were so terrified of the killer stalking their streets that they created a ‘Beware Book’ containing details of dangerous clients. Between 1991 and 2005, eight women were brutally murdered, with half their cases remaining unsolved.
Finally, in 2024 Iain Packer, described as a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character and regular user of prostitutes, was jailed for at least 36 years for the 2005 Glasgow murder of 27-year-old prostitute Emma Caldwell, whose body was found in remote woods. Police apologised to Emma’s family – who said she’d been failed by a “toxic culture of misogyny and corruption” – for how the original inquiry was handled, accepting responsibility for letting her and other victims down.
The Scottish government said it would consider holding a public inquiry into problems with the original investigation, which meant that by the time Packer, 51, was convicted, he was guilty of 32 other charges – including 11 rapes and multiple sexual assaults against 22 women.
This week, Clyde One radio journalists Collette McGonigle and Callum McQuade have launched a true crime podcast called Beware Book, examining the stories of the eight murdered women, featuring deeply personal interviews with their families.
*You can listen to Rayo Original podcast Beware Book now, available on the Rayo app, Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify… or wherever you get your podcasts.
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