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Gordon Graham

Age: 43

Sex: male

Date: 3 May 1998

Place: 74 High Street, Fraserburgh

Gordon Graham died in a fire at his flat at 74 High Street, Fraserburgh on 3 May 1998.

The fire was first ruled to be accidental, but later in 2009 the case was reopened after experts stated that it was deliberate.

A man was later tried for his murder in 2017 but acquitted.

He was said to have been involved in a fight with Gordon Graham's brother a few hours before the fire at the Sugar and Spice pub in the High Street.

The fire was said to have been started after materials on the ground-floor stair and landing areas were set on fire which then spread into Gordon Graham's flat.

It was seen by some people as they left the Deejays nightclub between 2am and 3am.

Gordon Graham's family had two flats and he would use the upstairs flat when he had been drinking.

His wife was in the flat at the time but was rescued after she jumped from the flat onto the roof of a police van. Firefighters later found Gordon Graham's body in his bed.

At the trial it was heard that the basis for determining that the fire was deliberate was a witness statement stating that they had seen white bags around the wheelie bins. However, it was heard that the witness did not give evidence and the judge ruled that the expert report was founded on hearsay and was not sufficient enough to state that the fire was started deliberately.

It was also noted that two witnesses that said that the man tried had confessed to them were not asked to identify the man in court which was required by the court in order to determine that the name of the man that they were referring to was the same man that they were dealing with in court.

Gordon Graham and his family were said to have moved to Fraserburgh three years earlier from Glenrothes in Fife and were described as the family from Hell.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.