Father and son who murdered and mutilated two men with a blowtorch in Edinburgh flat are jailed for life

Derek Johnston (left) and Desmond Rowlings were found dead inside the flat in Greendykes Road.

A father and son who murdered and mutilated two men with a blowtorch in a horrifying attack in an Edinburgh flat have been jailed for life.

Ian MacLeod, 66, and Dean MacLeod, 42, were both ordered to serve at least 34 years in prison before they can seek to apply for parole after killing Derek Johnston and Desmond Rowlings.

MacLeod senior separately invited both victims to come to his home at Greendykes House in the Craigmillar area where they were savagely attacked.

His son, nicknamed Denim, bought two hammers, forensic suits, plastic overshoes and goggles in the lead up to the murders.

Warning: This story contains graphic detail which some readers may find upsetting

A judge told the pair at the High Court in Edinburgh: "This is, on any view, one of the worst cases of murder to come before the High Court."

Lord Arthurson said the violence inflicted on Mr Johnston, 37, and Mr Rowlings, 66, was "extreme, sustained and prolonged".

The judge endorsed the words of a victim's bereaved family who described it as "the cowardly actions of monsters".

MacLeod senior, of Greendykes Road, Edinburgh, and his son of North Berwick, in East Lothian, admitted murdering Mr Johnston between October 30 and November 1 in 2022 by repeatedly striking him on the head with a Stanley knife and a machete.and repeatedly hitting him on the head with a hammer.

They also burnt the letters 'YLT' into his forehead with a blowtorch, severed an ear and part of his nose.

The pair also pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Rowlings between the same dates by repeatedly striking him on the head and body with a Stanley knife and machetes and repeatedly striking him on the head and body with a hammer.

They burnt the letters 'VT', 'YT' and 'YLT' on his body with a blowtorch and severed parts of his nose and upper lip and cut off his ears.

After the murders police found a note written by Dean MacLeod which said: "What we done was evil and sadistic but I have pleaded for help for decades."

The court heard that days before the murders Mr Johnston, who lived in the Liberton area of Edinburgh, told a neighbour that he had heard: "Ian and Denim were out to kill him."

Defence counsel Brian McConnachie KC, for the MacLeod senior, who was previously jailed for six years for serious assault, said he has health issues including Parkinson's Disease.

He said MacLeod understood the sentence to be imposed on him would be "a death sentence" as he would not be coming out of custody.

Mark Stewart KC, for the son, said he has suffered mental health issues for a number of years.

Moira Orr, Procurator Fiscal for homicide and major crime at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “These were brutal and senseless killings of men who were known to the accused. Their actions inflicted untold distress on the victims’ families, especially Derek’s mother and sister and Desmond’s two daughters and partner.

“The savage nature of these attacks sent shockwaves through the local community.

“While the families of Derek and Desmond will never recover from the murders inflicted upon their loved ones, I hope these guilty pleas bring them some comfort that justice has been served. Today’s sentence spares them the distressing ordeal of a trial reliving the deaths of their loved ones. Our thoughts remain with them.”