A twisted father and son duo who tortured and killed two men by burning letters onto their skin with a blowtorch and cut them with machetes and a Stanley knife have today been jailed for life.
Ian MacLeod, 66, and Dean McLeod, 42, were both told they had to serve at least 34 years behind bars before they can apply for parole for their roles in the prolonged deaths of Derek Johnston and Desmond Rowlings.
A judge told the pair at Edinburgh’s High Court: ‘This is, on any view, one of the worst cases of murder to come before the High Court.’
The older MacLeod separately invited Johnston and Rowlings to his flat in Greendykes House in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh between October 30 and November 1 2022, where they were brutally tortured and killed.
They repeatedly hit them over the head with a Stanley knife, a machete and a hammer, which was left embedded in his head.
The sick pair also burned the letters ‘YLT’ into Johnston’s foreheads with a blowtorch, sliced off an ear and part of his nose and forced nails through his eyes.
Ian MacLeod (pictured) invited both victims to his flat in Edinburgh
Son Dean McLeod (pictured) helped his father with the twisted killing
With Rowlings, they burned the letters ‘VT’, ‘YT’ and ‘YLT’ across his body, and severed parts of his nose and upper lip, and cut off his ears.
In the days before the murder, Johnston, who lived in Liberton, Edinburgh, told a neighbour that he had heard rumours the two killers were out for blood.
Nevertheless, he arrived at Greendykes House at 6:15pm on October 30, and did not leave.
But the older MacLeod went to his home to pick up his dog, before he invited Rowlings, a retired joiner, round a day later on October 31.
The following day was his 67th birthday, and his partner unsuccessfully called him to wish him a happy birthday.
When he didn’t answer, she and her friends went round to his empty flat to find that the TV and lights were still on, and his car was parked outside. They filed a missing person report with the police.
Advocate depute Gavin Anderson told the court that police had to break into the father and son’s flat, where they found the victims’ bodies.
Anderson said: ‘The body of Mr Rowlings was found in the living room. He was lying on his back in the far right corner of the room under a window. He was covered by a blanket.
‘A Stanley knife, hammer and blowtorch were found beside him. He had sustained significant injuries to his head and body, including the partial removal of his ears and nose; as well as multiple stab wounds to the face.
Derek Johnston was killed in November 2022, and suffered at least 28 injuries
Desmond Rowling (pictured) was due to turn 67 the day after he was killed, and siffered 136 injuries at the sick father-son duo’s hands
‘The body of Mr Johnston was found in the bathroom, lying within the bath. He was covered by a rug. He had sustained significant injuries to his head and body. A hammer was embedded in his head. A nail was protruding from each eyeball.’
A post-mortem revealed Rowlings suffered 136 distinct injuries to his head, neck, chest, back and limbs, while Johnston suffered at least 28 injuries.
Johnston was found to have died after suffering several injuries to the right side of his head.
After the killings, Dean left a bloodied note for police that read: ‘What we done was evil and sadistic but I have pleaded for help for decades.’
He wrote that he went to see a psychiatrist, where he smashed up tables in the waiting room, telling him about ‘persistent thoughts of mutilating people.’
He added: ‘Na f— you’z, pitty I wasn’t the same man as back in the day as the targets would’ve been a better selection and a lot more of them for sure, they 2 were done for petty reasons really.
‘I am sorry to let anyone down for being so evil but I was just tiered (sic) of being a laughing stock and door mat from pure T pots.’
Dean added that he adored his father, describing him as ‘a pure warrior of a man.’
The pair both left the scene of the crime and each took a dose of methadone in a failed bid to commit suicide, but drove to the The Royal Edinburgh Hospital and met off-duty doctors in the grounds of the psychiatric institution, before being taken to Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary.
It was there that police tracked them down and took possession of a bag that contained a part of Johnston’s ear and a piece of his flesh, as well as some of Rowlings’ ear and some of his flesh as well.
During an assessment with a consultant forensic psychiatrist MacLeod junior told him: ‘They never believed I was ill, but they will now when they see the intentions and there was a lot more intentions.’
He added: ‘The voice in my head say to do this and do that.’
MacLeod junior said: ‘I sit and bang my head against the wall to music for hours and hours and I know quirky things like that aren’t right with me.’
MacLeod senior’s counsel, Brian McConnachie KC, told the court that the father, who was previously jaield for six years on assault charges, 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.
Meanwhile 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 said: ‘We note the guilty pleas by Ian MacLeod and Dean McLeod for the concerted murders of Derek Johnston and Desmond Rowlings.
‘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.