Set ablaze and burned to death as he slept... by his own brother
Solicitor’s sons’ bitter feud ends in horror as victim is doused in petrol – but girlfriend who saw him die in torment scrambles to safety
A SOLICITOR’S son burned his brother to death as he slept beside his girlfriend in the horrific culmination of a feud that had gone on for years.
Psychology student Cameron Logan was doused in petrol then set alight by his older brother Blair at their parents’ home on New Year’s Day.
Cameron’s girlfriend Rebecca Williams, 25, saw him die and was badly burned herself but survived after managing to crawl away.
Yesterday, after Blair Logan was jailed for life for murder she said: ‘The horror of what happened in that room will haunt me for ever.’
A court heard that the brothers had a hostile relationship and had not spoken since the death of their grandmother four years ago.
The attack, which the judge said was planned and motivated by malice, was said to be in retaliation after Cameron, 23, had earlier punched Blair, 27, at the house in Milngavie, a suburb of Glasgow.
A computer seized from Blair’s bedroom showed that he had carried out internet searches on burns victims as far back as October.
Cameron and radio journalist Miss Williams had been to a Hogmanay party before returning to the house where they went to sleep at around 4am on an inflatable mattress set up on the living room floor.
It was about three hours later when Tesco store assistant Blair, wearing a mask, crept in to the room and poured petrol on to the bed and directly on to his brother, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.
The court was told that the brothers’ mother Catherine, 55, had come downstairs at that time after being woken by the sound of the family dog whining. She saw a masked figure in dark clothing standing inside the living room, holding something on fire.
He threw it on the bed and Mrs Logan heard Cameron ‘ roar in surprise, shock and fear’.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC said: ‘Blair then ran from the living room and went out the front door. Catherine Logan slammed the door behind him, shouting something like ‘‘get the hell out of my house’’, still not knowing who it was.
‘When she turned back towards the living room she saw ‘‘orange and crackling’’ and the room turning black. She also heard Cameron and Rebecca screaming.’
Miss Williams managed to roll on to the floor and crawl out of the room into the kitchen where she was unable to open the back door so put her head in the fridge to protect herself from the fire.
David Logan, 55, the brothers’ father, tried to get into the living room but was beaten back by the intensity of the smoke and flames.
He managed to get out of the house, before he and a neighbour rescued Miss Williams from the kitchen. She suffered burns to her arms and face and damage to her throat, vocal cords and lungs.
Judge Lady Scott said Cameron, who had dreamed of joining the police, died a ‘horrible death’ and that Blair ‘acted with wicked recklessness’. Logan admitted murdering Cameron and attempting to murder Miss Williams. He also admitted endangering the lives of their parents in the blaze in which the family dog Gomez was also killed.
He was given a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years behind bars.
Logan claimed he had not intended to kill his brother but had poured the petrol ‘with the intention of maiming or crippling’ him.
Defence lawyer Shelagh McCall QC said Blair had shown genuine remorse. He viewed the murder of his brother as ‘horrific’ and said it cannot be justified.
She also referred to a letter that Logan’s parents had written to the court in which they said they ‘find it extremely difficult to reconcile the Blair they know with the Blair who caused Cameron’s death’.
The barrister told the court Logan had attempted suicide in prison and is under high observation.
The judge accepted court reports that the killer has ‘abnormal personality traits’ and features of autism.
But she said there was no suggestion that Logan had a mental disorder and was fully criminally responsible for his actions.
Lady Scott said of the parents: ‘I
‘A roar of shock and fear’
cannot imagine the pain they will forever endure from what you did, losing in effect both of their sons.’
She told Logan he had committed an ‘exceptionally serious crime’. She added: ‘Cameron was only 23. He was a happy and much loved young man full of ambition for the bright future ahead of him.
‘Even if as you say you did not intend to kill your brother it is clear that you deliberately set fire to him and you acted with wicked reck-
‘Wicked recklessness’
lessness. The explanation you give for this murder was your long held hostility to and difficulties with your brother. There is no doubt there was considerable animosity between you both – you had not spoken to each other since 2013.
‘I do accept, as indicated in the psychiatric reports, that you have a recurring perception of being unfairly treated which has prompted your hostile reaction to your brother.
‘ What is very clear is that it was your stated intention in your words to maim him. Your motivation was malice.’