Murder trial: Paramedic tells of battle to save Mary Logie

Alan McIntyre,60, told a jury on Tuesday how he and a colleague went to the 82-year-old pensioner’s home in Leven, thinking they were answering a ‘routine’ call.

But the High Court in Edinburgh heard that Mr McIntyre changed his opinion after seeing the nature of Mrs Logie’s injuries.

Giving evidence on the second day of proceedings against Mrs Logie’s alleged killer Sandra Weir, 41, Mr McIntyre said he arrived at her house shortly after 8.30pm on January 5 2016.

He told prosecution lawyer Alex Prentice QC that there were large amounts of blood near to where Mrs Logie lay on the floor. Mr McIntyre also said he saw a “circle” of blood on the ground which looked as though it had been cleaned.

He said Mrs Logie’s heart rate was “chaotic” and her breathing was “intermittent”.

Mr McIntyre told Mr Prentice that he thought there had been a “murder” and he asked people who had been present in the house to leave.

He said: “I thought something bad has happened here. I could hear a moaning coming from her.

“I really couldn’t see. It was badly lit. I immediately went into rescue mode to try to save her life.

“I remember thinking this woman has just died. Her injuries are catastrophic and I’m going to try to save her.”

However, Mr McIntyre told the court that he wasn’t able to save her.

Mr Prentice asked: “Were your attempts successful?”

Mr McIntyre replied: “They were futile.”

Weir denies a total of eight charges including murdering Mrs Logie at her home at Greengates, Leven on January 5 2016.

Mr McIntyre, who is based with the Scottish Ambulance Service in Leven, said he and his colleague received a message from ambulance controllers to attend Mrs Logie’s house.

He told Mr Prentice that he and his colleague had been told that Mrs Logie had “fallen over” and that he was answering a “routine call.”

However, upon arriving at Mrs Logie’s house, Mr McIntyre said he changed his mind. He told the court that there was a number of people present and he asked them to leave.

He said: “I could see lots of blood.”

Mr McIntyre told Mr Prentice that he thought the sight of so much blood wasn’t “right or normal”.

He added: “I could see a circle of blood which looked as if it had been cleaned. It was a stain on the carpet which looked as if it had been cleaned.”

Mr McIntyre said Mrs Logie was seriously injured but he still tried to save her life. He told the court that he examined her head for injuries.

Mr McIntyre also told the court that Mrs Logie’s hands were “really badly swollen”.

He added: “Her hands were swollen - like boxing gloves. They were really badly swollen. I remember saying to my colleague these were defensive injuries.”

The court heard that Mrs Logie was declared dead at 8.51pm.

Consultant Forensic Pathologist Ian Wilkinson, 35, told the court that he examined Mrs Logie’s body on March 3 2016. He told Mr Prentice that the cause of Mrs Logie’s death was blunt force head trauma.

Dr Wilkinson, who works for NHS Lothian, told the court that Mrs Logie sustained a total of 31 injuries to her head and neck.

He also told the court that evidence showed that Mrs Logie’s brain had some signs of Alzheimer’s - but that wouldn’t have contributed to her death.

She also suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The medic told the court that her death had been caused by the injuries which had been inflicted on her by a blunt force instrument.

Mr Prentice asked: “Were these injuries you observed survivable?”

Dr Wilkinson replied: “Death would be the expected outcome.”

When Weir’s lawyer Murray Macara QC asked Dr Wilkinson whether he was unable to establish what time these injuries were inflicted upon Mrs Logie, the pathologist replied: “Yes. That’s correct.”

Weir, a prisoner of HMP Edinburgh, has pleaded not guilty to a total of eight charges.