I met a depraved killer at a party - he burned down my house

Becky Young met Dylan Brister at a party in 2020. She initially found him harmless, a new acquaintance when she was going through a break up. They became friends, but Becky soon began to see "red flags".

Brister's mood was unpredictable. He would "kick off" if she wasn't around to see him, bombard her with messages and turn up at her home unannounced.

The erratic behaviour persisted even after Becky cut contact - and around 10 months later, it took a far more sinister turn.

On 23 October 2021, Brister broke into Becky's house, set fire to a jacket and left the property to burn. He trapped her two cats in the bathroom and they died from smoke inhalation.

Then less than two weeks later, he drugged, raped and killed father-of-four Calum Simpson, 24, from Methil.

Brister and his accomplice, Cameron Allan, filmed the depraved attack on a mobile phone.

In October 2024, Brister was jailed for a minimum of 23 years for the murder but he has only now admitted to starting the house fire in Methil, Fife.

On Tuesday the judge, Norman McFadyen KC, told the High Court in Edinburgh: "This was a totally shocking crime which had very significant consequences."

He added Brister was clearly "a very dangerous man".

The killer was sentenced to 32 months which will be served consecutively to the punishment part of his life sentence for murder.

On the night of the blaze, Becky was staying at her girlfriend's house when two police officers came to the door to break the news.

"When it finally started to sink in, I fell to the ground as my body couldn't hold me up I was so shocked," she said.

"Straight away I thought of my cats and when I asked, the police officer's face said everything.

"I began to sob and then we went straight over there. When we arrived there weren't any flames left.

"It was just a black burnt out shell and you could see the smoke from a mile away."

Following initial inquiries, investigators accompanied Becky back to her home.

She said Brister's DNA was found on a beer bottle he had taken a drink of and left at the scene.

Becky recalled going into the property to find all her possessions had been destroyed by the flames.

"When the smoke had calmed down I went back to see if I could salvage anything and left with a black bag filled with my gran's ornaments," she said.

"My whole flat was just ash, anything you touched turned to black dust and when you looked up you could see through the ceiling.

"I lost everything. My gran had died the year before and the fire took everything, all our family pictures, all our memories just gone."

Becky later learned of the violence Brister and Allan had inflicted on Simpson - whose youngest child was born 11 days before the fatal attack.

A court heard the pair had been attempting to recruit a man to make up a threesome using the dating app Grindr, but their efforts had failed.

Simpson found himself alone with Brister and Allan after going to a flat in Methil with a friend, but the friend left.

Brister, who had won more than £20,000 gambling, had purchased 1,000 tablets of Etizolam, also known as "street valium".

They pair spiked Simpson's drink with the drug and bound his wrists with rope. They filmed themselves attacking him, even after he passed out.

Simpson later died from intoxication caused by the combination of the class C drug and alcohol.

Becky, who provided a character reference at Brister's trial, said she was scarred when she heard the details of the case.

She said Brister had always craved attention and wanted to be famous.

"The murder rocked the community, everyone was so shocked," she said.

"Everyone knew everyone in the area but Dylan really made a point of making himself well known.

"Whether it was about his family, his past, or his reputation he would use anything for attention.

"He wanted to be known, he wanted to be famous for something and he didn't care what it took.

"Now he is famous for being a monster."

Becky, now 40, is attempting to put her life back together - but says she has struggled to cope with the nightmare that unfolded five years ago.

"I still can't get my head around what he has done," she said.

"There is not a day that goes by where I don't think about it and what they did to Calum's family.

"I didn't process it, I couldn't, it was too difficult."

Becky revealed she lost four-and-a-half stone in three months as she couldn't eat.

She added: "The mental scars will never go away. I have fought for years to get justice.

"My kids and my partner are the only thing kept me going - I couldn't have got here without them."