It was a crime that shocked the country that started in December 1999 when police divers on a routine exercise in picturesque Loch Lomond discovered human limbs in bin bags submerged in the icy water.
It was a crime that shocked the country that started in December 1999 when police divers on a routine exercise in picturesque Loch Lomond discovered human limbs in bin bags submerged in the icy water.
Eight days later another bag – containing a head – washed up 60 miles away on a beach in Ayrshire.
The grisly discoveries were soon linked to the disappearance of an 18-year-old shop worker from Kilmarnock who was last seen on a night out in the town.
Barry Wallace was considering a career in the Royal Navy but was working as a shelf stacker for Tesco to earn cash while he pondered over his future.
The youngster was last spotted at a taxi rank before accepting a lift from William Beggs who took him to his flat.
Barry died during a horrifying assault just a short time later.
Police quickly identified call centre worker Beggs as a prime suspect and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
But when Beggs heard of a police raid on his flat on the radio in his car, he fled the country via Jersey and France and made his way to Holland.
On December 28, 1999, he walked into an Amsterdam police station with a lawyer and was arrested.
It would be a year before the ‘Limbs in the Loch’ killer was back on Scottish soil to face a trial for murdering Barry.
Beggs had a “strange aura” about him according to the officer who booked him in for police questioning after he was extradited from Holland.
Former head of Police Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, Niven Rennie, was the officer tasked with authorising the detention of the man suspected of murdering and dismembering an Ayrshire teenager.
Niven, who was also President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents before retiring in 2016, spoke out as a new six-part TV series exploring the murder and police investigation airs on BBC Scotland this month.
Niven told 1919: “Clearly working in Kilmarnock at the time we were all aware of the terrible murder of Barry Wallace and that William Beggs was being sought. As I recall he had absconded to Holland and had to be extradited back to Scotland.
“There was a strange aura about him – it was a peculiar atmosphere at the charge bar”
“On the arrival of the detail from Holland I happened to be the duty officer at Kilmarnock police station in charge of the custody suite. It was a morning during the week when he arrived, I think around 11am. The cell block was quiet as the custodies from the day before had gone to court.
“Beggs was largely accepting of his situation, answered the necessary questions without fuss and the whole thing passed without incident.
“I have described to people since that there was a strange aura about him, it was a peculiar atmosphere at the charge bar.
“That may, however, have been due to the nature of the charges and the amount of publicity.
“Whatever the reason, I remember that arrest situation far more clearly than many I have been involved in.”
Since his October 2001 conviction for killing Barry, Beggs has refused to stay silent and has styled himself as a legal guru for himself and other inmates, fighting dozens of litigious procedures in court against the Scottish Prison Service. Almost all of them have failed.
Beggs, who was cleared of an earlier murder in Oldham in 1987, has embarked on a series of legal fights which have cost taxpayers over £1 million in legal aid.
His latest action was thrown out of court earlier this year when he lost a bid to recover CCTV footage from cameras located in Kilmarnock on the night Barry disappeared. Beggs believes this will exonerate him.
He has also repeatedly challenged police to give information about the investigation relating to statements given to them during the murder inquiry.
The BBC documentary, Limbs in the Loch: Catching a Killer, features senior detectives and journalists at the heart of the story to give their insights into the murder and the pursuit of justice by police.
Limbs in the Loch: Catching a Killer is a Firecracker production for BBC Scotland. All episodes are available on iPlayer from Tuesday, November 5.