Murder accused went to funfair while body was under bed

Paul Black denied killing Peter Coshan at a flat in Leith

A man accused of murdering a retired teacher suggested a trip to a funfair while an elderly man's body was hidden under a bed in his flat, a court has heard.

Paul Black, 65, is accused of killing retired Fettes teacher Peter Coshan, 75, with his flatmate Paul McNaughton in Edinburgh in August 2022.

Mr Black wept as he told the court he was "infatuated" with 29-year-old McNaughton, who last year pleaded guilty to murder.

He said he helped McNaughton “get rid” of the body and “cover up” the crime, but did not murder him.

'I've killed him'

Mr Black told the High Court in Edinburgh the first he knew of Mr Coshan’s death was when he saw his body in the bedroom of the flat in Leith.

He said he had been told by McNaughton a man was coming to the flat on 11 August 2022. Mr Coshan arrived about 20 minutes later, just before midnight, asking for a man named David.

He told the court that there wasn’t a man called David in the house but he showed him into the bedroom where McNaughton had gone, and thought his flatmate was "going to have sex with the man".

Mr Black said he later heard the flat door shut and thought Mr Coshan had left but when he went into the bedroom, the retired teacher was lying face down on the bed.

He said he recalled McNaughton saying “I’ve killed him” and when he felt his pulse, he was “cold”.

McNaughton told him not to go for help, he told the court.

Mr Black said that he was “scared” of the younger man and did what he was told, but had “regretted it ever since”.

Dumped body

He said that McNaughton told him they were both going to Mr Coshan’s home in Edinburgh’s South Learmonth Gardens.

When they left, Mr Black said they visited a branch of McDonalds before McNaughton went to a shop to pawn a Tag Heuer watch.

He said McNaughton later used Mr Coshan’s TSB bank card to buy 5,000 Euros, which was later converted back into Sterling and used to buy a Vauxhall Vectra car.

The court heard that two days after Mr Coshan's death his body was still hidden under a bed in their flat while the pair went on a trip to a funfair in Burntisland, Fife.

Mr Black said he was "traumatised" at the time.

He added: "I says to Paul, did you want a trip over to Burntisland. It was a nice day, just have a break from Edinburgh, it seemed like a nice thing to do."

They later used the Vauxhall Vectra to transport Mr Coshan’s body to Northumberland and dump his remains.

The court heard that they initially left Mr Coshan’s body hidden by the side of a road, and returned to Edinburgh.

They went back to a layby on the A696 between Otterburn and Belsay the following night with shovels, planning to dig a grave but the ground was too hard.

Mr Coshan's remains were then left at a wall, while Mr Black is alleged to have attempted to dispose of clothing and other items belonging to the victim.

'Infatuated'

Mr Black denies murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

He was previously alleged to have stolen thousands from Mr Coshan’s accounts but the Crown is no longer seeking convictions on fraud and theft charges.

Mr Black said he had been born Joseph Hillary in Lancashire but had moved to Scotland at a young age and later changed his name by deed poll to Paul Black.

He said he met McNaughton after he got a cleaning job at a gay bar in Edinburgh in 2014

He said he had to stop working because of health issues and that McNaughton was his carer for a short time.

Defence advocate Tony Lenehan KC made reference to evidence given by another witness who said Mr Black was “infatuated” with McNaughton.

When Mr Lenehan asked him if this was the case, Mr Black replied: “yes.”

He added: “I liked him a lot. I loved him in a way as well but nothing ever came of it.”

The jury is expected to be sent out to consider its verdicts on Friday.