With special thanks to Michael Gatherar for contributing this article.
Cop Killer
About 8:30 pm on Tuesday, 26th March 1946, retired Detective Sergeant James Straiton, 61 years old, was at home with his wife when his neighbour, James Deekan, called. Deekan had returned home from an evening at the cinema and believed his house was in the process of being burgled.
Mr. Straiton picked up his old police truncheon and went with Mr. Deekan to his house two doors away at 524 Edinburgh Road, Carntyne, Glasgow. The two men entered the house and found two youths coming down the stairs, both carrying pistols. Mr. Straiton launched himself at one of the youths, striking him with the truncheon. During the ensuing struggle, one of the youths fired a pistol at point-blank range, fatally injuring Mr. Straiton.
The youths fled, firing more shots at Mr. Deekan and his wife. They were pursued by a bus driver and his conductor, who were taking a break nearby and had heard the shots.
James Straiton, a native of Perthshire, had originally joined Lanarkshire Constabulary in 1903, transferring to Glasgow City Police in 1912. During his thirty years of police service, he received ten commendations for “good police work” and retired in 1933. The Chief Constable said, “He was a most conscientious and courageous police officer. His action on the night of his death was prompted by a high sense of citizenship.”
Mr. Straiton was a married man with two sons and two daughters.
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A Letter from the Criminal World
Detective Sergeant Straiton was evidently well thought of even by the criminal fraternity, as this letter sent to a newspaper shows:
I am writing this for my father. He was very moved by your article on Detective Sergeant James Straiton, victim of the Carntyne murder and the plight in which his widow is left.
He says to tell you Mr. Straiton was a very good man and although he “pinched” my father twice, he never refused him a bob when he was broke.
He tells me to tell you to give enclosed to the Detective Sergeant’s widow, as he owes him that and more and there is nothing he wouldn’t do for him. For very plain reasons he wishes only to be known as – Con.
(The donation enclosed was sent to Mrs. Straiton.)
Investigation and Arrest
Enquiries at the scene revealed the house had been entered through an upstairs window, reached by the intruder scaling a drain pipe and then letting his companion in through the kitchen window. Strangely, the intruder had left his shoes outside the house, presumably to assist him in his ascent.
Initially, the “murder hunt” went cold, but police had a breakthrough when a thumbprint of a well-known housebreaker was found at the scene of another burglary. Police quickly arrested nineteen-year-old John Caldwell, an army deserter from the Seaforth Highlanders, who had a string of previous convictions for theft and housebreaking.
Following an identification parade, at which he was picked out by Mr. Deekan, Caldwell was charged with the offence. Before that, however, he implicated his accomplice, fifteen-year-old John Mushet.
The Trial
On 25th June 1946, Caldwell’s trial began at Glasgow High Court before Lord Justice Stevenson. He faced eight charges including murder, firearms offences, and housebreaking.
The case against John Mushet was dismissed on the grounds that he was “mentally retarded” (sic) and he was sentenced to be detained at “His Majesty’s Pleasure.”
The trial lasted two days, with the jury taking fifty minutes of deliberations to find Caldwell guilty of murder and the reckless discharge of firearms. However, they recommended mercy be shown because of his age.
The trial judge, Lord Stevenson, did not agree. Donning the black cap, he sentenced Caldwell to death.
A subsequent appeal and plea for reprieve failed. At 8 am on Saturday, 10th August 1946, within Barlinnie Prison, John Caldwell was executed by Thomas Pierrepoint, assisted by Steve Wade.
While Caldwell was “not at all sorry for Straiton or his family,” the people of Glasgow and his fellow officers were, and a considerable amount of money was raised for his widow and family.
Killer Cop
Police Constable 138D James Ronald Robertson of Glasgow City Police appeared to be the perfect family man. Married to Janette, known as “Netta,” he was a devoted father to their two young children. The non-smoking, non-drinking Robertson did, however, have two weaknesses: women and motor cars. It was those two weaknesses that would send him to the gallows.
Robertson, born in 1917, was brought up in Clydebank, Glasgow. He joined Glasgow City Police in November 1945 and was assigned to a beat in the tough and infamous Gorbals district of Glasgow. Robertson was thirty-three years old, 6’2” tall, and known as “Big Ronnie.” Prior to joining the police, he had worked at an engineering firm and as an inspector of aeroplane engines at Rolls Royce.
The Night of the Crime
On the night of Thursday, 27th July 1950, PC Robertson was on night duty. He told his colleague PC Dugald Moffat that he was going to slip away for a while to see a “blonde.” PC Moffat later confirmed that this was a common occurrence for Robertson, who he knew usually returned to his beat around 1 am.
Unusually for the time, PC Robertson had a motor car. He had discovered a dark blue Austin 16 abandoned on his beat. The vehicle had been stolen, and after keeping an “eye” on it for a couple of days, Robertson fitted stolen false registration plates on the vehicle and assumed ownership. He drove his family around and even used it for work, telling his colleagues he was looking after it for a relative.
Discovery of the Victim
Early on the morning of Friday, 28th July 1950, a taxi driver noticed a “bundle” lying in the middle of Prospecthill Road in Glasgow. It was the body of a woman, apparently the victim of a “hit and run” road traffic accident.
The police were informed, and PC William Kevan of the Traffic Department attended. The officer was immediately suspicious as no injuries were apparent on the lower half of the body, which would be expected in such a collision. The injuries were concentrated on the head and upper body. There were also multiple sets of tyre tracks rather than one, as in a typical “hit and run.”
The victim was not carrying any identification, and it wasn’t until the next day that she was identified as Catherine McCluskey, a 40-year-old single woman living in a Gorbals tenement flat with her two illegitimate children, boys aged five years and three months.
Her neighbour, Mrs. Johnston, who had been looking after the two boys, became concerned when Catherine failed to return home. She told investigators she was caring for the children so Catherine could go and meet the new man in her life — the father of her baby. She further told detectives that the “new man” was a policeman named Robertson.
Investigation and Charges
The police “gossip line” soon identified James Ronald Robertson, who was known to be having marital difficulties and seeing another woman.
PC Robertson was brought in, and his car was seized. Forensic examination revealed that samples of the dead woman’s flesh, blood, hair, and clothing were present on the underside of the vehicle.
Post-mortem examination revealed the victim’s jaw was broken in three places, her left ear was almost torn off, and there were fractures to her nose, breastbone, pelvis, and ribs. The pathologist believed she had been struck on the head with a blunt instrument, possibly a truncheon, then run over multiple times.
Robertson’s Account and Trial
PC Robertson initially denied knowing Catherine McCluskey but later admitted he was friendly with her, having met her during the course of his duties. He denied being the father of her child or having an affair with her.
He claimed that on the night in question, Catherine had asked to see him, got into the car, and requested to be taken to a town some distance away. Robertson refused, saying it would take him away from his beat too long. When an argument ensued, Catherine became hysterical and got out of the car.
Robertson said he drove away but, feeling uncomfortable leaving her stranded, reversed back to where he had left her. Feeling a bump, he realized he had reversed into her. He claimed her clothing was entangled with the underside of the car, so he drove backwards and forwards a few times to free it. He then abandoned the car in a side street and returned to his beat.
Charges and Sentence
In view of the medical and forensic evidence, as well as some witness statements, Robertson was charged with three offences:
- Murder
- Stealing a motor vehicle
- Garage-breaking (during which he had stolen items, including registration plates)
Upon being cautioned and charged, he replied, “That is entirely wrong.”
Following committal proceedings, Robertson faced trial at Glasgow High Court before Lord Keith on 6th November 1950. After a week-long trial, the jury of eight men and seven women took just over an hour to find Robertson guilty of all charges.
The nemesis of the law had finally caught up with him. Donning the black cap, the judge sentenced him to death. The convicted man stood rigidly to attention, his eyes expressionless as the judge pronounced sentence.
Following a failed appeal and a rejected petition for reprieve, at 8 am on 16th December 1950, hangman Albert Pierrepoint, assisted by Steve Wade at Barlinnie Prison, carried out the execution.
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