A man who survived a savage attack by 'limbs in the Loch' killer William Beggs has renewed his call for a police search for other victims and says he should never be freed from prison.
Brian McQuillan was speaking 35 years after Beggs stood trial at the High Court in Kilmarnock for assaulting him in his flat in the town, for which he was jailed for six years. Ten years later, Beggs was sentenced to life for the murder of teenage supermarket worker Barry Wallace, whose dismembered body parts he dumped in Loch Lomond. Barry had gone missing after a staff Christmas party in Kilmarnock in December 1999.
Attack described as like a shark bite
Yesterday, Brian revealed for the first time that the attack by Beggs, in which he cut open his leg, was so violent that a doctor at the hospital said the wound was more like a shark bite. Brian is convinced there are other victims like him and Barry who were lured to Beggs' flat and either killed or seriously injured. He says he was told by police at the time of Barry's murder that they had found other unidentified blood in the flat.
Brian is hoping that a new police investigation and search of the flat will identify fresh victims and put a block on any future release. He added: "They asked me for my DNA in 1999 when they were investigating the murder of Barry Wallace. I wouldn't give it to them unless they gave me a reason why they needed it. They said to me that they have found blood in his flat, I think it was in his bedroom, that didn't belong to William Beggs. They wondered if some of it belonged to me. That told me there were other victims in that bedroom. They came back to me later and told me that my blood was not found in his flat. I did not know then or now the extent of that other blood that had been found. That is why I would like them to carry out a further investigation to find out who these people were."
Beggs due in court for fresh bid for freedom
Beggs is due to make a fresh bid for freedom at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on October 16. He has lodged a petition for a judicial review of a decision last year to refuse him parole. Brian first appealed to police to reopen the case last November over his concerns that Beggs could be freed in the future. He revealed how he was also told by police at the time of Barry's murder that they had found photographs of young men that they were unable to identify.
Brian added: "I know for sure there is the blood of other victims in Beggs' flat but I do not know how many. I am calling on the police to carry out a new inquiry and establish who the other victims are. Because we know there are other victims, men who possibly lost their lives in his flat. We know that blood was found under the floorboards. That is not someone who has cut themselves shaving or suffered a minor injury."
Concerns over homeless victims
Brian believes that Beggs, who is originally from Northern Ireland, may have targeted homeless people as victims because they were less likely to be reported missing. He added: "I have approached Police Scotland and asked them to investigate him for the evidence that is in his flat. He can never be released. Someone like him can never be rehabilitated. He has got to be kept away from the rest of the public for the rest of his life."
The attack by Beggs has left Brian with PTSD and prompted his move to London from Scotland 30 years ago. Brian, who is now 62, added: "This case will live with me for the rest of my life. I have never really been able to move on from it. It has had a long term impact on me that's for sure."
Recalling the 1991 attack
Brian also recalled the attack on him by Beggs in July 1991. He stood trial in October that year and was given the six-year jail term the following month. They met in a gay bar in Glasgow and Beggs invited him back to his home in Kilmarnock's Doon Place for a drink. Brian however fell asleep and woke up to find Beggs trying to cut open his leg.
He added: "I jumped out of the window to escape because there was so much blood. Both he and I were covered in it. I knew I had suffered a serious injury." The attack by Beggs left Brian with a deep wound on the back of his leg and nerve damage to this day. He added: "The wound was so deep that the surgeon said it reminded him of a shark bite. My entire leg had been opened up so wide it looked like a chunk had been taken out it. Neither he nor I could work out what type of weapon had been used."
Brian remembers the attack as if it was yesterday. He added: "His behaviour towards me was so calm and chilling. The person behind those eyes was not the same person that I had met earlier. It was an entirely different person. His demeanour had completely changed. I believe something in his brain snaps and he reaches a point of no return."
Brian added: "It broke my heart when I learned what happened to Barry. I know that Barry would have seen the same person that I witnessed. Beggs would have enjoyed the whole terror because he was enjoying my terror. There is great pleasure he takes in it."
Campaign for victim notification changes
Brian is also campaigning to be put on the Victim Notification Scheme should Beggs ever be released from prison having been refused in March. He was told that only the family and close relatives of the most recent victim or group of victims are eligible. Brian has called for changes to the law so all past victims of an offender can be notified of their release from prison, particularly where the crimes are the same or similar.
Brian has also made a separate submission to the Parole Board opposing any future release of Beggs. Beggs had previously been convicted in Middlesbrough of the 1987 murder of Barry Oldham, whose body he tried to dismember, but walked free on a legal technicality. Since his conviction for murdering Barry, Beggs, now 62, has become a serial litigant raising countless actions in the Scottish courts costing around £1million in legal aid.
