The Daily Record has detailed the most despicable acts carried out by the Daniel crime clan, from children being locked in animal cages to the desecration of a young boy's grave. This follows the release from prison of foster carer Barbara Daniel, six months after she was convicted of abusing children at a Glasgow "house of horrors".
House of Horrors abuse
Barbara Daniel, 75, and her husband Douglas, 80, were found guilty in January of subjecting six children, aged between four and 14, to cruel and unnatural treatment at their home in Parkhead between 1986 and 1991. The trial heard how the pair used horrific punishment methods, including forcing some youngsters into an animal pen. They both received a 30-month sentence on March 9, but Barbara was freed from jail after successfully appealing her sentence at the Sheriff Appeal Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, with it reduced to eligibility for release at 81 days.
One victim was made to stand with geese who pecked her skin, while a girl was ordered to bathe in a bird bath. Some children went hungry, but one recalled being fed cow tongue intended for pet ferrets by "evil" Barbara Daniel. At least one child was made to sit on the floor alongside pet dogs during mealtimes. The children were also subjected to violent physical assaults and controlling behaviour, including being locked in rooms, monitored with alarmed windows, and restricted bathroom access, with only one square of toilet paper allowed.
Costa del Sol double murder
Notorious Lyons hood Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, and his trusted lieutenant Ross Monaghan, 43, were shot dead at a pub in Fuengirola on May 31 last year. The incident occurred hours after the Champions League final, with expats and holidaymakers gathered around big screens at 11.30pm when Lyons, on a golfing holiday, was shot outside on the terrace. A masked gunman then stormed the pub and shot Monaghan at point blank range. Spanish police identified the assassin as an internal member of the rival Daniel crime group before Michael Riley, 45, was arrested following an international manhunt and extradited to Spain.
Alien abductions and Applerow Motors shooting
Kevin 'The Gerbil' Carroll, a feared enforcer for the Daniel gang, was believed to be behind a series of "alien abductions" across central Scotland in 2009, so named because victims were so traumatised they couldn't remember anything. During the kidnappings, Carroll used blowtorches, power tools and boiling water to torture victims before stealing drugs, money and weapons. On December 6, two hitmen hired by the Daniel clan, Raymond Anderson and James McDonald, opened fire at Applerow Motors, a garage owned by David Lyons. Michael Lyons was fatally shot in the head at age 21, while Steven Lyons was shot in the leg. Robert Pickett was shot three times, leaving him in a coma and resulting in the loss of a kidney. Anderson and McDonald were convicted in 2008 and handed a minimum of 35 years, later reduced to 30 on appeal.
Grave desecration and assassination
In November 2006, Carroll allegedly toppled the gravestone of Garry Lyons, who died from leukaemia at age eight in 1991. It's believed he wrapped a tow rope around the headstone and hooked it to a 4x4 before accelerating. Days after shooting Eddie Lyons Jnr again, Carroll arranged a meeting at Asda car park in Robroyston on January 13, 2010. While he sat in the back of a black Audi A3, two masked men opened fire, shooting him 13 times in the head and chest. William "Buff" Paterson was jailed for 22 years over the killing.
