Serial killer Peter Tobin hatched a bizarre plan to take out life insurance and then kill himself, the Daily Record can reveal.
A financial consultant has told how he received a “hysterical” call from Tobin demanding to be given a policy, before adding: “I’ve done something terrible – now I’m going to kill myself.”
Evil Tobin was serving a whole life sentence in Saughton prison for murdering Vicky Hamilton, 15, Dinah McNicol, 18, and 23-year-old Angelika Kluk when he died last month – three years after being diagnosed with cancer. He was 76.
Speaking after the killer’s death, finance consultant Stuart Evans, 60, said he is still haunted by a chilling phone call he took from Tobin while working for insurance firm Schroders in London in 1987.
At the time Tobin was an unknown Scot living in the Brighton area with new wife Cathy Wilson, who was only 16 when she married him a year earlier.
Tobin has been linked to the deaths of Jessie Earl and Louise Kay from the area in the 80s.
Speaking for the first time about the plan, he said: “The call is vivid in my mind as he was in this hysterical state, ranting and raving, saying, ‘Can I get life insurance? You must give me life insurance,’ over and over. Then he said: ‘I’ve done something terrible. I’m going to kill myself.’
“Immediately, alarm bells rang. I thought, gosh, I’ve got somebody suicidal here. But in my naivety, I told him, ‘Calm down, I’m sure you haven’t done anything that bad to warrant taking your life. And besides, insurance won’t pay out on suicide cases.’
“But this man would not stop. I’d never taken such a disturbing phone call. His voice had high tension in it and rose to a feverish pitch.
“He was at the end of his tether, completely mad. ‘You’ve got to help me, you’ve got to help me. I’ve done something terrible,’ he repeated. He ranted on for a good five minutes.”
Finally, Stuart cut in and asked him for his details.
Stuart said: “I explained to the man that we would need his name and address to deal with his query. He said his name was Peter Tobin and gave an address in Acton, west London. The name Tobin also stood out for me. Being a Welshman, I’m used to hearing surnames such as Griffiths, Jones and Thomas.”
Tobin again threatened to kill himself before slamming down the phone.
Shaken, Stuart relayed Tobin’s call to his boss – then reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police, with the Acton address supplied by Tobin.
He said: “I remember colleagues suggesting Tobin must have been a crank caller. Then I called Richmond station – but I got the oh-the-flying-saucers-have-landed – response from the desk sergeant.
“Nobody seemed to be taking my report seriously. I was gravely concerned. I told the sergeant, ‘I think he’s done something terrible. I have a horrible feeling he’s hurt or possibly killed somebody – and now he’s saying he’ll kill himself. I suggest you send somebody round there.’
“I wanted to go to the address myself – I even asked a colleague to drive me there after work that day but he refused to.”
Two decades later, when he heard about Tobin’s horrific crimes in the media, Stuart made the connection.
Watching footage of Tobin quizzed by police over Vicky Hamilton’s 1991 abduction and murder, Stuart recognised the beast’s voice.
He said: “When I heard Tobin speaking, I knew he was the man. I felt consumed by guilt.”
A spokesman for Schroders said they could not find a record of the call. The Metropolitan Police said they could not search for a record of Stuart’s approach due to the passage of time.
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