THE man who killed his brother and attempted to murder his brother’s girlfriend in a New Year fire attack will serve at least 20 years in jail, a judge decreed yesterday.

Blair Logan, 27, had earlier pled guilty to the murder of his brother Cameron and the attempted murder of his brother’s girlfriend Rebecca Williams as well as endangering the lives of his parents at their home in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.

His parents wrote to the court to say they found it “extremely difficult to reconcile the Blair that they know with the Blair that caused Cameron’s death”. The family dog, Gomez, was also killed in the fire.

A lawyer for Logan said he had shown remorse for the murder and had attempted suicide in prison.

Sentencing him to life imprisonment, Lady Scott described how Logan poured petrol over his brother and set it alight in what the court had been told was an attempt to maim and not kill Cameron.

Lady Scott said: “In the early morning, whilst your brother Cameron was asleep in bed, with his girlfriend lying beside him, you entered the room wearing a mask and stood over them.

“You poured petrol firstly, on to the bed and then directly on to your brother and you set fire to him.

“The fire took immediately, with devastating effect whereby your brother died a horrible death and his girlfriend sustained very serious injuries. Cameron was only 23 years old. 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 recklessness.”

The court had been told that Blair Logan had “abnormal personality traits” with features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Lady Scott commented: “This results, amongst other limitations, in your having a limited ability to appreciate the consequences of your actions and a limited emotional response. I take this into account as part of the explanation to your conduct. But there is no suggestion here that you have a mental disorder such that you could not appreciate the nature of and the wrongfulness of what you did. You are fully criminally responsible for your actions.

“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 mutual 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.

“You had planned this attack for a considerable time. You obtained and stored the petrol in preparation and you researched documentaries on fire injuries.

“You have also pled guilty to the attempted murder of Williams. She sustained truly terrible injuries in burns to her face, arms and hands and in fire damage to her throat.

“She has undergone, and will require to undergo, numerous surgical operations. She still has a tracheostomy in place which may be permanent.

“At the time Williams was employed in her dream job in radio broadcasting – you have robbed her of her voice and her career, of her future with Cameron and of her confidence and sense of self-worth. She remains disfigured, impaired and in pain.

“Your act in setting this fire, also endangered the lives of your own parents who were asleep upstairs. I cannot imagine the pain they will forever endure from what you did, losing in effect both of their sons.”

Lady Scott fixed the “punishment part” of his sentence – the time before he can apply for parole – at 20 years reduced from 24 years to reflect his early guilty plea.

Outside the court, Rebecca Williams’ father Phillip made a statement on behalf of his daughter thanking Cameron’s father Dave and neighbour John Weir for rescuing her, her family and friends, the emergency services, and her employer Global Radio, where she worked as a broadcast journalist.

He said on his daughter’s behalf: “I find it almost impossible to put into words the devastating impact this cowardly act has had upon me and my family.

“Cameron was my best friend and partner. He was a caring, respectful and loving man, who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

“He had great ambitions to join the police force and was working hard towards building our future together. A future that has now been stolen from us.

“The horror of what happened in that room will haunt me forever. It was a calculated and intentional attack.

“Cameron died in the most cruel way, in front of my eyes. I can only imagine the pain and suffering he will have experienced in his final moments. I wish more than anything that I could have saved him.

“The actions of one evil individual cannot be undone. The length of the sentence imposed today was never going to be enough for such a barbaric and ruthless murder. Nothing will ever bring back Cameron.”