CRIME FILE: Sticky tape killer

A string of teenage lads were lured by mild-mannered Givens, who would tie up, torture and sexually abuse the terrified youngsters.

And police were aghast when they learned of the horrific activities of a man who used fake names such as "Mr Green" or "Mr Blue" to cloak his real identity.

It began when a young apprentice aged only 14 walked into a police station and told the officers a terrifying tale.

He said he had been coaxed into a disused shop by a chubby man with a scar on his cheek who offered him ten shillings (50p) to help lift a fireplace grating.

Inside the dingy building the stranger produced a gun and tried to tie him to a chair and gag him.

The youngster escaped and ran home to his dad who took him to the police.

Detectives were sceptical at first until they found paint in the empty shop used to black out the windows and a chair similar to that the victim had told them about.

The shop owner said the premises had been rented to a "Mr Green" whose description matched that given by the boy.

But despite extensive inquiries in July 1962 the trail to "Mr Green" went cold.

Then a few weeks later Fred Dowden, aged 15, vanished from his Dumbarton.

A massive hunt drew a blank. Even tracker dogs failed to find Fred.

It seemed hopeless until an eagle-eyed police constable noticed someone had used paint to black out the windows of a disused doctor's surgery at 66 West Bridgend in the town.

Remembering his briefing to be on the lookout for anything that might bear a similarity to the earlier incident, the young cop peered inside and saw a sight that churned his stomach.

Tied to a chair was the body of Fred, his face and mouth covered with sticking tape. The surgery had been rented to a man with a scar calling himself "Mr Black".

Then police discovered a "Mr Blue" had rented another empty building in Govan, Glasgow, a few weeks earlier.

Inside were rolls of sticky tape. The killer was obviously planning to snatch another victim. But who was the murderer? He had left fingerprints at the shop and surgery, but there were no matches in the police records.

The solitary clue police had was a possible sighting of Fred getting into a black Ford Anglia car on the day he disappeared.

Could that car be traced? It was a huge task requiring officers to find the owners of 9,500 similar vehicles in the area with no guarantee it was the motor the killer had used. But hundreds of dedicated officers threw themselves into the task and one, Constable Cameron Wiseman, had remarkable success.

Noticing a black Ford Anglia in Parkhead, Glasgow, he found the owners who said they had been holidaying in Canada during the time when Fred had been abducted. But they had given permission for their mechanic to use the Anglia while they were away.

Could they describe him? They told him: "He's chubby with a scar on his face."

His name? Philip Givens.

Givens, 35, an animal lover whose mind was tormented by sadistic sexual desires, was arrested at a property in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, he shared with other family members.

identified His fingerprints matched those found in the shop and surgery; he was picked out at an identity parade and then positively identified by the owners of the premises as "Mr Green" and "Mr Black".

At first he had denied being responsible for either atrocity but then broke down and admitted being the killer.

When he appeared at the High Court in Glasgow in March 1963 Givens pleaded guilty to abduction and murder and was sent to the State Hospital at Carstairs in Lanarkshire.

Dr George Sweeney told the court the killer had a pathological sexual development that resulted in him getting satisfaction from tying himself up then freeing himself.

"Givens thinks of his abnormality in religious terms of the conflict between the Devil and his good self."

As he was led off Givens asked his sister: "How can I meet my Maker? How can I face God after what I did for the Devil?"

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