Killer of former teacher sentenced to life in prison

A 29-year-old man who admitted to killing a retired Fettes College professor in a catfishing plot has been sentenced to life in prison with the recommendation that he serve at least 22 years in prison.

Paul McNaughton killed Peter Coshan, 75, at a flat in Leith on August 11 or 12, 2022, after using a fake profile on a gay dating site to lure him to the address.

McNaughton first met the retired biology teacher online in 2021 and stole tens of thousands of pounds from him after gaining access to his bank accounts.

When Mr Coshan discovered the thefts, he threatened to go to the police unless McNaughton provided him with free sexual favours, and McNaughton hatched a plot to kill the retired teacher after becoming “fed up ” of the situation.

After the murder, McNaughton and his roommate Paul Black, 65, hid the pensioner's body until around August 15, when they put it in a suitcase and drove it to a parking area on the A696 between Otterburn and Belsay in Northumberland, where they dumped it. next to a wall.

McNaughton, who admitted to murder and attempted to pervert the course of justice in 2023 before Black's trial, was sentenced to life imprisonment with the recommendation that he serve at least 22 years behind bars when he was sentenced Monday by the High Court in Glasgow.

Black was cleared of murder following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in May, with the jury returning a not proven verdict.

However, during the trial he admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice and was sentenced to five and a half years for this.