A man with a documented history of domestic violence has pleaded guilty to murdering his former partner one day after discovering she had entered into a new relationship.
Lee Inglis, aged 39, admitted at the High Court in Edinburgh to fatally stabbing Stacey Hogg, 35, in her residence in Hawick during the early part of this year. The victim was a mother of three.
Court records reveal that Inglis had previously evaded custodial sentences on two separate occasions despite committing knife attacks on Hogg. At the time of the fatal assault in June, he remained subject to both a home curfew and an unpaid work requirement as part of an earlier sentence.
Inglis deliberately timed his actions to coincide with the conclusion of his curfew at 07:00, then travelled the short three-minute distance from his parents' residence to Hogg's home.
The court was informed that he gained entry through the rear entrance and attacked Hogg as she descended the staircase. She sustained what the prosecution described as "catastrophic wounds" affecting her neck and head. Officers who attended the scene discovered her body lying in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor downstairs.
During his arrest, Inglis made statements to police that revealed the premeditated nature of his intent.
"I intended to cut off her head."He further stated:
"If I couldn't have her, nobody would."
This case reflects a broader pattern of intimate partner homicides in Scotland. Similar circumstances have emerged in other recent cases involving men subject to court orders at the time of offences. In June 2026, a man wearing an electronic monitoring tag murdered his partner with a hammer in Aberdeen, and another man pleaded guilty in July 2026 to stabbing his estranged wife multiple times in Edinburgh in front of their daughter. These cases highlight systemic vulnerabilities in the enforcement of protective measures against perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Inglis's admission of guilt brings to a close the immediate legal proceedings, though sentencing remains outstanding. The case underscores the heightened danger faced by women leaving abusive relationships, particularly when former partners learn of new romantic involvement.
