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Glasgow's streets have long echoed with the footsteps of gangland rivalries, but none have cast as long a shadow as the bloody war between the Daniel and Lyons families. What began in 2001 with the theft of cocaine valued between £20,000 and £500,000 has evolved into Scotland's most enduring and vicious criminal feud, claiming numerous lives and expanding beyond national borders.

The early phase established the brutal template for what would follow. Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll, the Daniel family's ruthless enforcer known for his "alien abduction" tactics, orchestrated fierce retaliations against the Lyons. The conflict reached shocking depths in 2006 when Daniel associates desecrated the grave of 8-year-old Gary Lyons, who had died from leukemia years earlier. This unconscionable act transcended ordinary criminal rivalry, cementing a hatred that would fuel decades of violence. That same year, the Godfather-style execution at Apple Row Motors left Michael Lyons dead and was followed by a chilling ransom note explicitly tying the murder to the original drug debt.

The 2010 assassination of Carroll himself—gunned down in broad daylight at an Asda supermarket—marked another watershed moment, followed by controversial court proceedings that saw one suspect acquitted and another sentenced to 22 years. After a period of simmering tension, 2017 brought a resurgence of brazen attacks, including the shooting of Ross Monaghan outside a primary school and a horrific machete assault that left Steven "Bonzo" Daniel with life-changing facial injuries. Most recently, the feud has expanded internationally, culminating in the May 2023 double murder of Eddie Lyons Jr and Ross Monaghan in Spain's Costa del Sol.

Discover how this bitter conflict moved from Glasgow's housing schemes to the international stage, involving Dubai-based crime figures and creating dangerous new alliances across Scotland. Subscribe now to understand how a debt, a theft, and wounded pride spawned over twenty years of ruthless gangland warfare that shows no sign of ending.

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Glasgow's shadowy past holds few stories as haunting as that of Susan Newell, the last woman ever executed in Scotland. When 13-year-old newspaper boy John Johnston was found murdered in June 1923, few could have predicted the shocking chain of events that would follow.

What drives a desperate mother to commit murder? Born into poverty and widowed during World War I, Susan Newell's life was defined by hardship. After remarrying and settling in Coatbridge with her young daughter Janet, she found herself reportedly abandoned by her second husband, penniless and facing eviction. On that fateful June day, something inside her snapped during an interaction with young Johnston.

The aftermath proved even more disturbing than the crime itself. With her daughter in tow, Newell attempted to dispose of Johnston's body by concealing it in a go-kart and wheeling it through the streets. This macabre journey, which even included accepting a ride from an unsuspecting lorry driver, earned the case its nickname: "The Go-Kart Tragedy." Her eventual capture in Glasgow's Duke Street led to one of Scotland's most sensational murder trials.

Despite a jury's unprecedented plea for mercy, citing Newell's desperate circumstances, the legal system showed no leniency. Her execution on October 10, 1923, at Duke Street Prison marked a significant moment in Scottish legal history—she refused the traditional white hood, facing her fate with a final act of defiance. While capital punishment for men continued for decades afterward, no woman would again walk to Scotland's gallows.

This episode explores not just the brutal facts of the case, but the harsh social conditions of 1920s Glasgow that formed its backdrop. We examine how poverty, gender expectations, and an uncompromising justice system collided to create this tragic footnote in Scottish criminal history. What does Newell's case tell us about how society viewed women who committed violent crimes? And how did her execution contribute to the eventual abolition of capital punishment?

Listen now to discover the full story of Susan Newell and the complex legacy she left behind. If you're fascinated by true crime with historical significance, subscribe to A Dark City for more untold stories from Glasgow's shadowy past.

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A bloody footprint led to the gallows. A divided city fought for justice.

The brutal murder of servant Jessie McPherson in July 1862 shocked Victorian Glasgow to its core. Her body, discovered in the wealthy Fleming household at Sandiford Place, bore the marks of approximately 40 savage blows. Someone had attempted to clean both the crime scene and the victim's body, yet bloody footprints remained—silent witnesses that would become central to Scotland's first criminal case using forensic photography.

When missing silverware was traced to Jessie McLachlan, a former servant and friend of the victim, it seemed authorities had their killer. Blood-stained clothing in her possession further cemented the case against her. Yet McLachlan maintained her innocence throughout, pointing instead to 87-year-old James Fleming, who had been alone in the house and had a questionable history with female servants. Was this a desperate ploy or the truth?

The trial captivated Glasgow, with newspapers providing breathless coverage of every development. After just 15 minutes of deliberation, the jury unanimously convicted McLachlan, and Lord Deas sentenced her to hang. What followed was extraordinary—public outcry was so intense that an unprecedented Court Commission was established to reinvestigate the evidence. Though they didn't overturn her conviction, McLachlan's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

More than 160 years later, the Sandiford murder still haunts Glasgow's history, raising uncomfortable questions about class bias in Victorian justice and the limitations of early forensic techniques. Was an innocent woman condemned based on circumstantial evidence? Or did a clever murderer nearly escape justice? Dive into one of Scotland's most enduring criminal mysteries and decide for yourself what really happened that July night in Sandiford Place.

Subscribe to A Dark City for more explorations of the shadowy chapters of Glasgow's past that continue to fascinate true crime enthusiasts to this day.