A man has admitted murdering his ex-partner after she began a relationship with someone else.
Lee Inglis, 39, told police officers he was intending to behead Stacey Hogg, 35, when he killed her in Hawick, Roxburghshire, on June 25, 2026.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Inglis made the admission shortly after being arrested for repeatedly stabbing her on the head, body and neck.
Judge Lord Ewing heard how Inglis had previous convictions for abusing Stacey.
He heard how, at the time of the deadly assault, Inglis had been convicted of assaulting Stacey in October 2024 with a knife, leaving her injured and her face scarred.
He was given a community payback order and a restriction of liberty order for the crime. At the time he fatally injured Stacey, he was still subject to the restriction of liberty order.
Stacey murdered while son was in house
On Friday, prosecutor Leanne Cross KC spoke of how Stacey spent the night before she died at home watching Scotland play Brazil in the World Cup with her 13-year-old son.
Inglis came to the house and repeatedly stabbed her.
When judge Lord Ewing asked Ms Cross whether her son had discovered his mum in the aftermath of the assault, the prosecutor replied: “Yes, that’s right.”
Meanwhile, Ms Cross told the court of Inglis’s motivations for the attack.
He said: “About 7.42am, the accused was arrested and transferred to Hawick police station.
“A full psychiatric assessment of the accused was carried out at that time.
“The accused spoke openly and freely throughout the assessment.
“He said that he had been triggered by the deceased’s disclosure of a new partner.
“He said that he had intended to cut off her head but had found this too difficult and that whilst his actions were premeditated, he had not intended for it to be that day or to be so rushed.
“He confirmed that the deceased was his possession and said that if he could not have her, no one could.”
On Friday, Inglis pleaded guilty to a charge of murdering Stacey at McLagan Drive, Hawick, on June 25, 2026.
The charge was aggravated because it involved abuse of a partner or ex-partner.
On Friday morning, members of Stacey’s family were in court and saw Inglis being brought into court.
One man shouted at Inglis as he was brought into the dock handcuffed to court security officers.
Ms Cross told Lord Ewing that Inglis was in a relationship with the deceased Stacey Hogg for around 15 to 16 years.
The court heard that in November 2024, after the assault which led to his final previous conviction.
Lord Ewing was told that following the separation, the children lived with Stacey, and he moved in with his parents just a few minutes away.
Speaking about the accused’s previous convictions, Ms Cross said: “He then has two convictions from December 2021, which involved the deceased.
“On December 4, 2021, the accused made a threatening remark about the deceased to his parents, took a knife from their kitchen and tried to exit their home.
He was stopped by his parents, and the police were called. The accused was arrested and convicted for this.
“The second conviction, dated December 2021, relates to an incident that took place on November 12, 2021.
“Following a disruption within the family home, the accused assaulted the deceased.
“The deceased contacted the police, and the accused was later arrested and convicted.
“Community Payback Orders s and a non-harassment order were imposed for these two offences.
“The Community Payback Order was breached twice prior to the final indictment conviction listed in November 2025, for assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
“That conviction relates to an incident on October 26, 2024.
“The accused assaulted the deceased with a knife on this occasion, leaving her with injury and scarring to her face.”
Inglis couldn’t accept relationship had ended
The court heard that family and friends say that Inglis found it difficult to accept the end of the relationship.
Ms Cross said that on occasions, Inglis showed up at Stacey’s home uninvited.
She added: “He was in regular contact with her, making clear to her that he would always be around and would be able to find her.
“He made threats towards her, should she become involved with anyone else.”
The court heard that in the ten months before her death, Stacey tried to distance herself from Inglis. She became involved in a relationship.
Ms Cross told the court that on the weekend prior to Stacey’s murder, she went on a camping trip with her new partner.
The advocate depute told the court that Stacey didn’t want Inglis to know about this and said she was at her brother’s home.
However, Inglis saw Stacey’s brother, and this prompted him to send a series of aggressive messages to her, accusing her of telling lies.
Ms Cross said this prompted Stacey to tell her former partner about the new relationship.
Killer told victim ‘you know what’s coming’
On the day before she died, Inglis sent her a series of threatening messages about her new relationship.
Ms Cross said: “The accused became abusive and threatening via text messages, at one point saying you shouldn’t have told me Stacey’ and ‘you know what’s coming’.
“The messages scared the deceased, so she went to her mother’s address to wait until the accused’s curfew began at 7pm.
“While there, she was in contact with her friends from the area.
“Her friends repeatedly advised her to go to the police as they were concerned for her safety.
“The deceased told them that she would go to the police if things got worse.”
Stacey then watched the Scotland match. At 7.01am, a nearby Ring doorbell camera captured Inglis heading towards her home.
The court heard that she came face-to-face with Inglis about six minutes later.
Inglis then struck her repeatedly on the neck with a kitchen knife.
Describing the attack, Ms Cross said: “Once in the bathroom, the accused then struck her repeatedly to the neck area with a kitchen knife.
“Numerous defensive injuries suggest that she struggled with the accused, but the injuries to her neck were catastrophic.
“Blood spattering can be seen on the bathroom walls.
At 7.11am, Stacey managed to make a 999 call. “In it, she can be heard screaming, and she is heard to shout ‘my kids’ before the call dropped.
“Her son was present in the house throughout the attack. Whether he saw or heard anything of the attack is not known, but he has made no disclosures to that effect.”
The court heard that Inglis then returned to his home and said to his mum: “Phone the police because I have just killed Stacey.”
She did so because she noticed blood staining on his clothing and a “bloodied” knife on the kitchen counter.
A single female officer attended at Stacey’s house and found her in the bathroom with a large pool of blood around her head and neck area, and no obvious signs of life.
The officer continued her search of the house and found the deceased’s 13-year-old son in his bed in an upstairs bedroom. She advised him to remain upstairs, and she went back down to begin CPR on the deceased.
The court heard that paramedics arrived at about 7.52am, but Stacey was pronounced dead four minutes later.
Ms Cross added: “Police officers were required to remove the deceased’s son from the house by covering him with a blanket and leading him outside to be with family, who by this point had arrived at the scene.
“Meanwhile, other officers attended at the accused’s home address.
On entering the property, they found the accused on his knees with his hands over his head, wearing only his shorts. He was placed in handcuffs, and his immediate response was “It took you long enough”.
The court heard that Inglis was examined by a psychiatrist and found to have a personality disorder. However, the medical professional concluded Inglis was responsible for his actions and could stand trial.
A post-mortem was carried out on Stacey’s body on June 26, 2026. She was found to have multiple injuries to her neck, hands and fingers.
Defence advocate Lili Prais KC asked for her client to be sentenced on Friday. But Lord Ewing said he wanted to obtain a background report.
Inglis will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on November 5.
‘Violent and dangerous individual’
Detective Inspector Ross Duthie said: “Our thoughts remain with Stacey’s family and friends as they continue to come to terms with what has happened. Nothing can make up for their loss, but I hope this outcome brings them some form of comfort.
“This was a horrific incident which understandably caused a lot of concern in the local area, and I would like to thank the community for their patience and assistance throughout our investigation.
“Inglis is a violent and dangerous individual who will now face the consequences of his despicable actions.
“We are committed to tackling violence against women and girls, and I would like to assure anyone suffering at the hands of an abuser not to suffer in silence.
“We have detectives dedicated to investigating such offences. Please report it. You can be assured that you will be fully supported by officers and our partner agencies.”