The body of serial killer and paedophile Peter Tobin has been cremated and dumped at sea after none of his family members came forward to claim him after he died in hospital.
The murderer, who once boasted that he’d killed 48 women, died from cancer earlier this month, chained to a hospital bed.
Edinburgh City Council said it arranged for the body of the cold-blooded killer to be cremated on Thursday 13 October.
The cremation took place in secret after Tobin died on Saturday 8 October, aged 76, following his refusal to take food or medication after breaking his hip. His ashes were also scattered at sea.
The council had been forced to make the arrangements after no one claimed the convicted killer’s body, The Sunday Mail reports.
Tobin was found to have killed three women but is thought to have slaughtered many more.
He was serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of Police student Angelika Kluk, 23, whose body was found hidden under the floorboards of a Glasgow church in 2006.
The Scottish killer, who is believed to be one of the UK’s worst ever serial killers, was also serving life terms for the murder of 15-year-old schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton, of Redding, near Falkirk in 1991, and 18-year-old Dinah McNicol the same year.
Their bodies were found 17 years later, buried in the garden of his former home in Margate, Kent.
He had previously been convicted of raping two 14-year-old girls in 1993.
A source told The Sunday Mail: ‘After he died, this was dealt with quickly. Like serial killers Robert Black and Angus Sinclair, it was considered best that his remains were scattered in the sea.’
Meanwhile, his death certificate, which was registered the day he was cremated, said the cause of death was ‘unascertained’, meaning it was pending investigation. But sources close to the case have said he was suffering from terminal cancer.
The council confirmed the cremation had taken place. A spokesperson said: ‘The remains of Peter Tobin were cremated in accordance with the requirements of Section 87 of the Burials and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016.
‘Ashes from the cremation were dispersed into the sea. The Council’s thoughts are with the victims of his crimes and their loved ones.’
His ex-wife Cathy Wilson, 52, said she was glad he was dead but was heartbroken for suspected victims’ families after he chose to take his secrets to the grave.
She told the Sunday Mirror: ‘He was a monster and there is a feeling of relief that he is now dead.
‘But the strongest emotion we have is grief for the families of girls and young women who disappeared and know Tobin was the likely culprit, but who have to accept now that they will never have the answers they wanted so badly.’
