Glasgow rapist dubbed 'Beast of Ibrox' dies in prison

Dominic Devine died on Sunday, August 6 while in custody at HMP Barlinnie.

The 66-year-old was sentenced at Edinburgh High Court in 1987 for multiple charges including four rapes, attempted rape and attempted murder.

As the Glasgow Times previously reported in our Glasgow Crime Stories series, Devine was a violent sexual predator who attacked women in the Ibrox area of the city between 1979 and 1987.

One victim was grabbed and threatened with a knife after she stepped off a bus on Shieldhall Road, while another was threatened with a hammer before being raped on waste ground on Helen Street. 

He was caught by one of the city's top detectives, Joe Jackson, who had recently taken over as head of CID in Govan and who also helped put away notorious World's End serial killer Angus Sinclair. 

Joe Jackson (Image: Newsquest)

Devine was sentenced to life in prison, and at the time he was only the third man in Scottish legal history to be given life for rape.

Devine made the news again 19 years later while on a parole programme at Saughton Prison in Edinburgh.

But after being accused of smuggling drugs into the prison, his release date was put back.

In 2010, it was then claimed he had been caught smuggling heroin into Shotts Prison and he was transferred to Peterhead. Little was known about Devine’s prison life after that.

E-fit released during investigation (Image: E-fit)

A fatal accident inquiry will be held into his death. 

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: "Dominic Devine, 66, a prisoner at HMP Barlinnie has died on Sunday 6 August 2023.

"He was sentenced at Edinburgh High Court in 1987.

"Police Scotland have been advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

"A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course."

Meanwhile, another inquiry will be held into the death of another prisoner at HMP Barlinnie.

Robert Lovelock, who had been remanded at Hamilton Sheriff Court this year, died on Sunday, July 30.