Police thank Leven community for helping to catch murderer

Detective chief inspector Keith Hardie said that everyone in the community where Mrs Logie lived at 35 Greengates in the town had been “100 per cent committed” to helping the police to find her killer.

Mrs Logie (82), was found dead in her home on the evening of January 5 after being bludgeoned to death by callous heroin addict Sandra Weir (41), a neighbour who had befriended her.

Weir was found guilty of murder following a ten-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh during which jurors heard evidence that Weir had taken £4460 from the kindly pensioner’s bank account between December 2014 and January this year.

Judge Michael O’Grady described the act as “breathtakingly wicked.”

Speaking to the Press as Weir was found guilty of the murder and other charges, DCI Hardie said: “We always have great assistance from the public and this was certainly the case here.

“There was massive community concern around something like that happening on their doorstep,

“In my experience we got 100 per cent commitment and assistance from the local community because they wanted the person responsible brought to justice.

“This was a very traumatic case. Any sort of attack on a vulnerable, elderly woman in the supposed safety of her own home is always hugely concerning and it has had a massive impact on the local community.

“The level of violence involved was a real cause for concern.

“Sandra Weir was not initially a prime suspect although we had slight concerns around her. She was a next door neighbour and therefore a witness and was interviewed in that regard. It was only when we started looking at her finances that it became apparent that she was stealing money from Mary. There was never anyone else we were suspicious of.”

“Forensics is an issue we have when the suspect has legitimate access. When you are talking about strangers forensics can help put them at the scene of a crime.

“The issue we had with Sandra was that we knew and had a lot of evidence that she visited Mary on a regular basis, so to put her there wasn’t moving the case any further forward. That said, there was DNA on the rolling pin belonging to Weir and transfer of blood on her clothing. We discovered that she had changed her clothing through witness evidence and CCTV footage.”

And he said the horrific nature of Mrs Logie’s killing had affected all of the 50 or so officers who were involved in investigating the crime.

“When we start out on a case like this we don’t know the victim or the person responsible (for the crime).

“We build up a picture and it makes it even more sad and difficult when you build up a picture of Mary being a lovely and kind woman who was well liked and respected. It just makes it more traumatic.

“You almost get to know the victim. It makes it difficult for the officers and we are very aware of that but at the end of the day that’s what we are here to do.”