Edinburgh — A man with a documented history of domestic abuse has admitted to murdering his former partner a day after learning she had started a new relationship. Lee Inglis pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh to stabbing 35-year-old Stacey Hogg to death inside her home in Hawick earlier this year.
Court proceedings revealed that the 39-year-old had previously avoided prison time on two separate occasions for earlier knife attacks against the mother of three. At the time of the killing in June, Inglis was still serving an unpaid work order and a nightly home curfew. He waited until his curfew lifted at seven in the morning before traveling from his parents' residence to the victim's house.
Investigators noted that he entered through the back door and ambushed Stacey as she walked down the stairs. She sustained severe injuries to her neck and head, and police later discovered her body on the downstairs bathroom floor. Following his arrest, Inglis told officers that he intended to sever her head and stated that if he could not have her, nobody else would.
Inglis has a violent background involving the victim, having received an unpaid work sentence in 2022 for assaulting her and threatening her with a kitchen knife. Court documents showed he previously injured her by placing his hands around her neck, causing her to fall and hit her head. He avoided jail a second time last year after being convicted of holding a knife to her throat and cutting her face, receiving supervision, community service, and a curfew instead.
The tragedy prompted widespread grief and anger throughout the Hawick community. A fundraiser established to support her children raised more than £45,000, and her funeral service had to be relocated to the town hall to hold the large number of attendees. Relatives released a statement remembering her as a cherished daughter, mother, sister, and loyal friend whose kindness and strength will always be remembered.
Police Scotland officials described Inglis as a dangerous and violent individual who will now face accountability for his actions. The case has also drawn attention alongside other recent high-profile violent crimes against women in Scotland, renewing public focus on the protection of domestic abuse victims. Inglis is scheduled to return to the High Court in Edinburgh to be sentenced on November 5.