It was the murder of two women that shocked the region and prompted fears that a serial killer may be on the loose.

On October 1, 1982, the body of taxi driver Catherine McChord, 36, was found crammed into the boot of her cab in Braeside Place, Cambuslang.

She had died violently, with deep stab wounds to her chest and the back of her head.

Strathclyde Police launched a major murder investigation, interviewing hundreds of taxi customers and drivers.

Catherine had previously been sentenced to three years in prison in the late 1970s for her part in a £143,500 newspaper ‘spot the ball’ competition scam.

But detectives quickly ruled out a connection to that fraud or even organised crime itself.

The beneficiaries of the fraud had been Catherine, friends and colleagues - not members of the underworld.

Whoever responsible was a fare that she had picked up that night.

Catherine was just an innocent woman going about her job when someone tried to kill her.

But who had done it and why?

What possible motive could someone have for murdering a taxi driver and with such violence?

However, detectives had found something at the murder scene that suggested it was more than just a murder.

Inside Catherine's taxi a cigarette lighter, an inhaler and her car keys had been carefully positioned in a straight line on the driver's seat.

That suggested there was a ritualistic element to the crime.

The attack caused fear among Glasgow’s 1400 black cab drivers both male and female.

The motive for the attack wasn't clear.

Had it been something simple as a dispute over a fare or the journey taken by the driver?

But surely that would not have promoted such savagery?

The fact that Catherine’s body had been put in the boot of her black Hackney cab was even more chilling.

There was talk of drivers being given special panic alarms which they could activate if they were under attack.

Despite putting in resources from across the force, police drew a blank in their bid to find the killer and the inquiry was eventually wound down.

But just as the officers were returning to their normal duties, a killer struck again.

On December 3, the body of nurse and midwife Elizabeth Walton, 48, was discovered in the grounds of West Coats Primary School in Cambuslang - the school her daughter attended.

It emerged that she had been offered a lift home that night but decided to walk instead.

Elizabeth was dragged from the pavement through bushes, beaten, kicked, strangled and stripped naked.

After death her body, wrists and legs were mutilated with a knife - described in court as "symbolic and ritualistic wounds".

By her side lay her clothes, carefully tied in neat knots, laid out in a line - in the same ritualistic way that the police had found the first victim.

There were other similarities to the murder of Catherine.

Both had died violently. In both cases, a knife was used by a left-handed person.

Neither had been sexually assaulted. Both died a short distance from each other.

There was also another fear that the killings were part of a pre-planned ritual and the killer could strike again.

Police realised that there was an extremely dangerous man or woman on the loose and they had to be caught before they struck again.

The biggest team of cops the region had seen in years started knocking on doors and an incident caravan was set up near the scene of the crime. It took only three days for their first breakthrough this time.

Police were baffled by both murders and had no suspects.   

Initial appeals for witnesses failed to provide a breakthrough.

That was until forklift truck driver Iain Scoular arrived at the caravan saying he had information that could help. 

He'd been near the primary school around 11pm on December 2, the time of the killing, and noticed a suspicious-looking man hanging around some bushes. Scoular gave the cops as much of a description as he could remember.

Scoular was 24-years-old, politely spoken, from a good family and lived in a very nice house near the scene with his well-to-do parents. 

Yet the more detectives inquired into Scoular's sighting of the mystery man, the more intrigued they became about Scoular himself. Cracks began to appear in his story.

He had said to cops that he'd been home by 11pm on the night Elizabeth was killed. 

However, his mother revealed Scoular hadn't come home until 1am - two hours later than he'd told the cops.

She also said that Scoular had been at home with her and her husband the night Catherine had been murdered.

Checking their notebooks, they realised that Scoular had given a different account of his whereabouts. 

Scoular was interviewed again and changed his story twice.

Witnesses then identified him as having been seen running fast past the shopping centre in Cambuslang shortly after Elizabeth's murder.

Around this time Scoular’s parents are said to have complained officially to the police about the pursuit of their son.

They were concerned that he was being implicated for a crime which they thought him innocent.

By this time police were confident that the two murders had been committed by the same person. Could that have been Scoular?

The renewed police activity on the second murder had also prompted people's memories.

Two separate witnesses identified Scoular as running away from a taxi the night Catherine was killed.

Then the forensic team made a breakthrough. 

Two hairs from the collar of a jacket Catherine had been wearing were found on Scoular's trousers - which in turn had been taken during a search of the house where he lived with his parents.

They had enough. Scoular was charged with both murders.

The 14-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow in May 1983 was a harrowing experience for the jury as details of the murders were revealed and graphic pictures shown.

The jury found him guilty, and sentencing him to life Lord Allanbridge said: "I consider you an extremely dangerous young man."

One senior police office later described Scoular as an "evil, emotionless murder machine".  

Few people disagreed. 

Scoular was released in 2003 on parole having served just over 20 years behind bars.

In an interview at the time, Catherine's husband Eddie McChord told of his outrage.

He said the Parole Board ignored his warnings that Scoular could strike again and set him free.

Eddie added: "This man killed my wife. He should never have been allowed out as he will surely kill again. No woman is safe when he is around. 

"During the trial, he showed no expression of remorse or concern for the consequences of his actions. 

"He used to sneer, chew gum and joke with the police officers in the dock. 

"This is a man who killed because of the publicity and notoriety it would bring him. He wanted his 15 minutes of fame and he will kill again. 

"He has finished his sentence but the families of his victims are left with the life sentence. We will take this to our graves." 

Following his release Scoular moved in with a family member in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, only a few miles from the scene of the two murders.

Eddie, then 56, said his family had objected to Scoular's release on two previous occasions.

He added: "Scoular applied for parole last year and it was refused after we objected.

"He applied again last month and we objected again. 

"This monster has his whole life to look forward to, all we are left with is a grave to tend in a cemetery.”

Scoular had previously been allowed out for regular weekend visits to his family to prepare him for life on the outside. 

Eddie said: "We weren't told about this either. The first we heard was when friends spotted him in Cambuslang."

Little is known about Scoular, who would now be in his 60s.

Four key questions about the case remain to this day.

Why did Scoular go to the police and tell them about the mystery man running away? Was he playing a game with them or trying to throw them off the scent? Would the police have ever found out about Scoular had he not gone to them in the first place? And if they hadn't arrested him when they did would he have killed again?