The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Killer’s family ‘wanted nothing to do with him’
Relatives shunned murderer as he lay dying from cancer in hospital
Notorious triple killer Alexander Birrell was shunned on his Perth deathbed by his own family, a fatal accident inquiry heard yesterday.
Family members told the authorities they wanted nothing to do with Birrell as he lay dying from cancer in a hospital ward.
Birrell was in the final stages of small cell lung sarcoma when he was transferred to Perth Royal Infirmary from Perth Prison on May 15 last year.
He was subsequently placed on palliative care only as doctors ruled there was nothing further they could do. He was pronounced dead on May 29.
Depute fiscal Mohammed Sadiq said: “On 26 May 2018 the deceased’s family were updated and they wished to be called only to be informed of his death.
“They stated that they did not wish to be involved in the funeral, the death certificate or the registration process.”
Details of the family’s snub to Birrell were contained in a joint minute read to the fatal accident inquiry at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday.
Birrell, 66, was jailed at Edinburgh High Court in 1991 for killing his motherin-law and her two young grandchildren in a fireraising attack in the city.
He remained behind bars for 25 years after being caged for life for plotting the blaze that killed Mary McGregor, 62, and her grandchildren Karen and Kirsty Lawrie.
He ordered their flat in Edinburgh be set on fire by his son and a friend in a twisted bid to get his estranged wife to come back to Scotland.
Birrell was ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years, while his son, Alexander Jr, was also jailed for life.
The friend, Derek Montgomery, was sentenced to 12 years for culpable homicide.
During his time in prison Birrell challenged a parole board decision that saw him fail to be released on licence.
The parole board refused to allow him out after he served his minimum sentence because police intelligence claimed he was trying to get guns to seek revenge.
Birrell’s trial heard how his wife had left him and gone to Plymouth and the blaze was part of a plan to create a family crisis to get her to come home.
Birrell had hounded Montgomery into starting the fire and assured him there would be no one inside.
Mr Sadiq said the Crown were only seeking a formal finding from the court and the view was backed by representatives of the Scottish Prison Service and NHS Tayside.
Sheriff Gillian Wade said she would issue a formal written finding within a few days.