True Crime With Caledonian Kitty : ''He Shot A Chef In The Face Because He Wanted More Butter On His Bread Roll'' | Twice The Evil: Axe Murderer Meets Killer R*pist! Thomas McCulloch & Robert Mone

(Collage made by Caledonian Kitty. Picture credits: scotsman / dailyrecord / newspapers)

*As always, I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be when stating the facts in this article. If you have any concerns about anything I have included here, please feel free to contact me via email or by the contact form on the right-hand side of this blog, thank you*

This shocking real life story was told to me many years ago back in my hometown (Dumbarton, Scotland) and it shocked me then, as it still does to this day. As a child growing up in such a small town it always seemed to be the sort of place that, although it had it's good parts, like a lot of places, it had it's bad parts too.....and the same with people, mostly good but some were bad...very bad and in the case of Thomas McCulloch....beyond evil.

Having been writing about true crime for a number of years now, I have to admit that I had forgotten to actually write about this case which is strange as you'd expect me to remember especially as it involved my hometown but here we are. I hope you will continue to join me in this post on this shocking story.

If you're from my hometown, the name 'Thomas McCulloch' will not be unfamiliar to you, in fact....a chill may run down your spine at the mere mention of the guy and the horrible memories that the mere mention of his name brings back. As kids, we heard stories about Thomas McCulloch and you never knew whether to believe those stories or not. I decided to delve back into the whole story of Thomas McCulloch again recently to bring you the real story of Dumbarton's very own 'Axe Murderer'.

It wasn't that long ago that some of the local people in my hometown were feeling very nervous because they had been informed that a convicted killer (who had previously been deemed 'Criminally insane' and an 'incurable psychopath) was going to be moving into the town after years spent locked up, many of them in solitary confinement because he was deemed too psychotic and dangerous. Even at the age of 60 he could still put the fear of God in people just by hearing his name. Thomas McCulloch was originally from Dumbarton and although having spent many years away from the place he made no secret that his desire upon his release was to return home.

The fact that he was even being considered for release was a complete shock as many remember when Thomas and his lover, Robert Mone escaped from a psychiatric hospital (the infamous 'Carstairs') in 1976 having planned the whole thing using weapons, the pair were able to climb over a barbed wired fence after killing a member of staff at the hospital and a fellow patient (who's ear Thomas had cut off because he wanted to keep it as a souvenir). A police officer was also killed. They broke into a family's house and held the terrified people hostage before making off with the family car and being chased by the police. The police finally caught up with them and they were remanded back into custody. Both men, especially Thomas were expected to serve life in prison as many people believed that he should die behind bars after his original crime which saw him placed in Carstairs in the first place.

Thomas, who had a history of violent and erratic behaviour was originally locked up in the psychiatric hospital because he had attempted to murder two hotel staff over a disagreement over a buttered bread roll. Apparently he wasn't happy that the chef had not buttered his roll properly and in his crazed mind, he thought that this warranted the poor man being shot in the face and the manageress being shot in the shoulder. It was a miracle that both of the victims survived the ordeal obviously the pair of them left with injuries and no doubt PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) because who would be able to see that coming, especially in a hotel.

(Thomas McCulloch. Picture credit: scotsman)

Robert Mone was quite the monster himself having previously caused utter terror at Dundee School back in 1967. Robert had taken over a classroom and held the terrified teacher and young pupils hostage before firing the gun and killing a 26 year old teacher who was pregnant. It was also later revealed that he had sexually assaulted one of the young pupils and had a history of disgusting abuse towards children.

When the evil pair were sent to the psychiatric hospital they seemed to just click together and shared a very disturbing bond which saw them planning their escape for around 3 months. They had managed to collect a number of weapons during this time.

So, with all of that terrifying history, it's no wonder that hearing that this man might be released back into the public, it would cause sheer panic. There was a lot of upset over this, the possibility that he would be released and sent to my hometown but the locals were able to breathe a sigh of relief when it was announced that he wouldn't be getting out of prison or returning to Dumbarton.....for now.

(Robert Mone. Picture credit: dailyrecord)

Well, back in 2010 he was released quietly for the first time and actually set up home back in Dumbarton (which is quite frightening how sneaky all of this was done) it wasn't long before he was discovered and local people started a campaign to have him removed. He was hounded out of the town and for his own safety he was taken back into custody. I have to tell you (if you don't already know) that he has since been released but not to my hometown, apparently he was released in 2013 under one of the conditions that he live with his new partner, a woman, in an apartment in Dundee. He was 65 years old at the time of his release which was some time ago so it is unclear if he is still there or if he is even alive?

Thomas was supposed to die behind bars but he was a lot more calculated than people took him for, he put in appeal after appeal and knew how to work the system to ensure that he would get released. Robert on the other hand couldn't keep out of trouble behind bars and had managed to ruin his own chances of getting out at the same time as Thomas due to getting into a fight with a fellow prisoner. I've tried to find out what the situation is with Robert Mone but I can find any details of him being released so I assume he's still behind bars or he's deceased. In a lot of cases these types of monsters die in prison and a lot of the time nobody reports it because usually (and quite rightly) nobody cares but sometimes people do want to know what happened to these monsters, especially if the worst scenario happens like.....they get released to your neighbourhood! Well done to the people of my hometown for standing their ground (as they always do) and keeping everyone safe by shining a light that a monster was hidden in plain sight.

These two individuals were beyond evil, you can't even say who was the lesser of the two evils because they were and are both dangerous, sick monsters who should never see the light of day. I think it's a disgrace that someone as sick and sadistic as Thomas McCulloch is able to spend his later years in comfort living in Dundee with that crazy woman that he's shacked up with because let's be honest here, who moves in with a psychotic axe murderer who cuts off people's ears? She won't be right in the head either to be associated with such a horrendous individual.

(Thomas McCulloch. Picture credit: dailyrecord)

With such unbelievable details of this story I'm surprised that movies have not been made about these sick murderers, you'd think there would be a stack of documentaries out there about them. No doubt after my article goes live, this story will shock some of the members of the true crime community to talk about it and cover the crimes of the evil Thomas McCulloch and Robert Mone.

If you have made it this far in this post, thank you, I really appreciate it. I know this was quite a disturbing read but I do hope that you found it easy to follow and come away with more knowledge about this case and these two monsters.