Blair Logan due to be sentenced today for murdering brother in house fire

Blair Logan (27) poured petrol on his younger brother Cameron (23), and the bed he was sharing with Rebecca Williams as they slept at their family home in Milngavie in the early hours of January 1 this year.

Ms Williams was rescued from the fire and treated in hospital, while Logan’s parents were treated for smoke inhalation.

Logan (27) pleaded guilty to a charge of murder and attempted murder at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, July 21.

He is due to be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh today (Friday, August 11)

After his arrest, Logan told police: “I didn’t want to kill him.”

Defence lawyer Shelagh McCall QC said Logan showed “wicked recklessness” but did not intend to kill his brother.

He was said to have “felt physically sick at the whole thing”.

Logan has been subject to two psychiatric reports which concluded there was not sufficient evidence for a plea of diminished responsibility.

Ms McCall said there were “unusual traits” in Logan’s personality and that he had a lack of understanding of the impact of his actions on other people.

Advocate Depute Alex Prentice said the accused admitted pouring petrol “with the intention of maiming or crippling” his brother.

The attack was said to be in retaliation for a recent incident at the house when his brother had punched him.

Logan told detectives he took the petrol from a church garage a month and a half before the fire and stored it in his bedroom.

The court heard that the two brothers had a “hostile” relationship and Logan told police they had not spoken since the death of their grandmother in 2013.

On the night of the fire, Cameron and Rebecca had arranged to stay the night at the family home and his mother Catherine set up an inflatable mattress for them in the living room.

They returned from a party at around 4am and went to sleep.

At around 7.15am, Mrs Logan was woken by the family dog whining and went downstairs, where she saw a figure in dark clothing standing inside the living room.

Rebecca also saw a man in the room, holding something that was on fire, and she and Cameron both screamed.

Rebecca managed to roll onto the floor and crawl out of the room into the kitchen where she was not able to open the back door, and put her head in the fridge to protect herself from the fire.

Ms Williams suffered burns to her arms and face, and needed a skin graft on one of her hands.

She also suffered damage to her throat, vocal cords and lungs and has undergone surgery four times, including a tracheotomy procedure.

She may not be able to return to work as a broadcast journalist due to the damage caused.

Blair Logan admitted killing his brother during a police interview on January 13.

During the interview he told police: “It was not my intent to kill him but I did do it.”

When charged with the attempted murder of Ms Williams, he said: “I thought she was out of the room”, and added: “I did not wish to murder my parents.”