Brother and sister who set fire to house killing three beloved cats jailed

A brother and sister who set fire to a house which killed a man’s beloved three cats have each been jailed for 21 months.

Aaron Forbes, 32, and Amanda Forbes, 34, started the blaze in Glasgow’s Robroyston on February 28, 2022.

There was said to have been a hostile history between Aaron and the owner of the four bedroom home at which he had previously lived.

The siblings torched furniture while the owner, a 52-year-old mechanic, was at work and stole a safe.

Three of his four one-year-old Bengal cats perished in the blaze.

The emotional homeowner told jurors: “These were, in effect, like my children and for them to be removed from this planet in a traumatic manner is disgusting.”

The Forbes sibilings were both convicted at Glasgow Sheriff Court of willful fire raising.

They were also found guilty of breaking into the man’s home and theft.

Sheriff Gerard Bonnar told them: “You were convicted of a very serious crime – setting fire to a house causing significant damage and the death of three beloved pet cats.

“The motive on the part of Aaron Forbes seems to have been revenge and this was supported by his sister.

“She supported this revenge by acting on his instructions.

“The gravity of the offences means that there is no alternative to custody which is suitable or appropriate.”

The man recalled how he met Aaron Forbes online ten years ago and they lived together for four.

He said that Aaron later moved out of the house which was shared with a university lecturer and another man two weeks before the incident.

The homeowner told the court how he let all four of his pets out before going to work.

He said: “In the course of the morning three of them got back in.

“I thought that is good because I did not want them out. Little did I know, it was a death sentence them being back in the house.”

The witness told the court that he later received a phone call from a neighbour that his home was alight.

He said: “She told me that I was not to worry as the fire brigade were there.

“I had no inclination of the devastation that was about to come.”

He then went on to tell fiscal Ryan Watson: “If the three did not come in, they would have been spared.

“One did not come back in. She has been spared and is still with us.

“I am guilty of talking about cats as if they are people. As a cat lover, that’s what it feels like.”

The witness stated that he was not allowed back in his home for 12 hours.

CCTV from a neighbouring property on the day of the incident was shown to the court of a silver car driven by Aaron near to man’s house.

Two people dressed in black – one of which identified as Amanda Forbes – were also spotted.

Linzi McQuade, defending Aaron, of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, told the sentencing that a “degree of immaturity and vulnerability” played a part in the offences.

Gemma Elder, defending mum-of-three Amanda, of Kirkintilloch, stated that her client was “capable of change”.