Man jailed for murder after luring former teacher to apartment using dating app | UK News

A 29-year-old man who admitted murdering a retired teacher as part of a catfishing plot has been sentenced to at least 22 years in prison. The judge told him he had “exploited” the victim until his death.

A man has been sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison for the murder of a former Fettes College biology professor in a catfishing plot.

Paul McNaughton admitted luring Peter Coshan, 75, to a flat in Leith using a fake profile on a gay dating app in August 2022 before killing him.

McNaughton, along with his 65-year-old housemate Paul Black, then hid the body for days before dumping it at a layby in Northumberland.

The 29-year-old was sentenced to life in prison at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday.

Black, who was cleared of murder by a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh, was sentenced to a minimum of five and a half years in prison after admitting attempting to pervert the course of justice.

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

Earlier, the court heard this included £38,000 in September 2021 and a further £32,000 in June the following year.

When Mr Coshan discovered the thefts he threatened to go to the police unless McNaughton provided him with free sexual favours.

McNaughton then hatched a plot to kill the retired teacher after becoming “fed up” with the situation.

Following the murder, which took place on August 11 or 12, 2022, the pair hid the body under a bed while on their way to a funfair at Burntisland in Fife and went on a spending spree with the Mr. Coshan's bank cards.

Around August 15, they put the body in a suitcase and drove it to a layby on the A696 between Otterburn and Belsay, depositing it near a wall.

McNaughton, who admitted to murder and attempted perverting the course of justice in 2023 before Black's trial, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation to serve a minimum term of 22 years.

McNaughton and Black showed no emotion as they were led away from the dock in handcuffs.

Judge Lord Scott said it had been “clear” to him during Black’s trial that Mr Coshan was “a beloved brother, uncle and friend” to those who knew him.

Mr Coshan had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his final years, the judge added, and said McNaughton had “exploited” the former teacher's health before “deciding he should die”.

“Having exploited Peter Coshan in his life, you continued to do so until his death,” he told McNaughton.

“His family did not know and may never know what happened in their loved one’s final moments.”

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Mr Coshan's family said they were “horrified” that someone could have “treated a vulnerable 75-year-old man in such a despicable way”.

In a statement released by police at the end of the trial, they said: “Our lives will never be the same and we will always ask ourselves the question: what if?

“There is of course no answer to the question of whether, because events have passed us by and there is no turning back in time.

“However, we have fond memories of Peter and can reflect on the positive impact he had on the lives of so many.”