Police seeking witnesses over "deliberate" fire that killed man
Police investigating a deliberate house fire that killed a man have been stopping and speaking to people a week on since the incident.
Police investigating a deliberate house fire that killed a man have been stopping and speaking to people a week on since the incident.
Cameron Logan, 23, was killed in the fire at his family home on Achray Place, Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, in the early hours of New Year's Day.
His girlfriend Rebecca Williams, 24, known as Bex, is now in a serious condition in hospital after being injured in the blaze.
The fire also resulted in Mr Logan's parents being treated for smoke inhalation and caused the death of the family dog.
Police, who were called to the fire at 7.25am on January 1, are treating the case as one of murder and attempted murder.
Officers stopped motorists and walkers in the area between 6.30am and 8.30am on Sunday to ask if they were in the area at the time of the incident exactly one week ago.
Detectives have issued various witness appeals, but they are particularly interested in finding a man reported to have been seen walking in Army combat clothing on the West Highland Way on the morning of the fire.
It is believed he routinely walks from Maryhill to the West Highland Way at Craigton Road, often passing through the Milngavie area, and officers believe he may have information which could help the ongoing probe.
Ms Williams and Mr Logan had been celebrating Hogmanay and walked home in the early hours of the morning to the Logan family home.
Detectives say the fire had been set deliberately, resulting in the death of psychology student Mr Logan.
Since then, officers have also been carrying out door-to-door inquiries, checking CCTV footage and interviewing people from the party the couple attended.
Officers were seen searching woodland and waterways near the semi-detached property on Friday.
Ms Williams, a broadcast journalist, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, initially in a critical condition.
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow said on Friday: “Rebecca's condition remains serious but stable.”
Ms Williams' father has said she is “fighting hard” in hospital.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Livingstone said on Sunday: This morning's operation was very positive and officers managed to speak to 45 motorists as well as 10 pedestrians (four dog walkers, five walkers and one jogger) who were in Achray Place and the surrounding area.
We will now assess any new information that could potentially assist with the investigation and help us catch the person responsible for this despicable crime.
A number of potential witnesses have already come forward, including people who believe they may be the dog walkers mentioned in our previous appeals.
However we still need to speak to anyone else who was in the area on New Year's morning.
Somebody deliberately set this fire, killing a young man and seriously injuring a young woman, and that person will have had to make their way from the scene in the immediate aftermath.
If you were in the area around the time of the fire and have not spoken to police, please come forward.
I cannot stress how important it is that we speak to every single person who was in the area, even if you don't think you have any information, come forward and speak to us because even the smallest detail could make all the difference.
We are still looking to trace a number of people who have either been captured on CCTV or reported to have been seen in the area on New Year's morning, including the man and the woman who were jogging together on Craigton road at around 8.10am.
We are also still looking to speak to a man seen in the Craigton Wood area around the time of the fire walking a brown 'Pitbull' type dog as well as another man walking along Craigton Road onto the West Highland Way with two Springer Spaniels.
There is no suggestion that any of these people seen in the area around the time of the incident are responsible for the fire, but they could be potential witnesses and it is absolutely vital that we speak to them all as part of our ongoing inquiries.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has come forward to assist with the investigation so far. The response from members of the public and the local community has been excellent and I would continue to urge anyone who was in the area around the time of the fire, or who has any information about who is responsible, to please get in touch.''
Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or alternatively calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where details can be given anonymously.