Jasper
2-10-04, 03:54 PM
Dismembered Body Was 'Teacher Convicted of Sex Attacks'
By Paul O’Hare, Scottish Press Association
The dismembered body of a man found in a garden today is believed to be that of a teacher who was convicted of sexually assaulting three pupils.
The remains were discovered by police in a shallow grave at a tenement in Edinburgh.
A murder investigation was launched after the body was found in a communal garden area in Merchiston Avenue at its junction with Polwarth Terrace.
Lothian and Borders Police declined to give details about the discovery, but it is understood the victim’s legs had been severed.
Police would not comment on reports that the rest of the body had been found wrapped up in a carpet.
The body is believed to have been that of Alan Wilson, 51, a former principal history teacher at James Gillespie’s High School in Edinburgh.
He was jailed for 18 months in 2000 for abusing three boys over a five-year period.
A police spokesman today said murder squad detectives were following a “positive line of inquiry”.
He said: “A post-mortem was carried out to establish the exact cause of death.
“We would appeal to anyone who lives in the area and who may have seen anything suspicious in the last few days to contact us.”
The victim’s name was not being released until the body had been positively identified, police said.
At the scene, one police officer stood guard at the entrance to the tenement at 26 Merchiston Avenue.
The immediate area surrounding the scene was cordoned off.
Curtains and blinds were drawn on the ground floor and the first floor of the four-storey building.
The building is on the end of a block and next door to a small row of shops.
A blue and white police tent stood at the top end of the small back garden.
Police cordons sealed off the scene from public view.
It is understood no door-to-door inquiries have been carried out yet by police.
One local businesswoman, who did not want to be named, said: “I’m quite frightened and I’m a bit alarmed about the whole thing.
“People have been coming and going all morning and it’s just disturbing. I can’t even work because of it.
“I’m just shocked by the whole thing. This is Merchiston Avenue, it’s quite a posh area and I’m just shocked and amazed that it has happened here.
“You read about these things happening somewhere else but you just don’t expect it on your own doorstep.”
By Paul O’Hare, Scottish Press Association
The dismembered body of a man found in a garden today is believed to be that of a teacher who was convicted of sexually assaulting three pupils.
The remains were discovered by police in a shallow grave at a tenement in Edinburgh.
A murder investigation was launched after the body was found in a communal garden area in Merchiston Avenue at its junction with Polwarth Terrace.
Lothian and Borders Police declined to give details about the discovery, but it is understood the victim’s legs had been severed.
Police would not comment on reports that the rest of the body had been found wrapped up in a carpet.
The body is believed to have been that of Alan Wilson, 51, a former principal history teacher at James Gillespie’s High School in Edinburgh.
He was jailed for 18 months in 2000 for abusing three boys over a five-year period.
A police spokesman today said murder squad detectives were following a “positive line of inquiry”.
He said: “A post-mortem was carried out to establish the exact cause of death.
“We would appeal to anyone who lives in the area and who may have seen anything suspicious in the last few days to contact us.”
The victim’s name was not being released until the body had been positively identified, police said.
At the scene, one police officer stood guard at the entrance to the tenement at 26 Merchiston Avenue.
The immediate area surrounding the scene was cordoned off.
Curtains and blinds were drawn on the ground floor and the first floor of the four-storey building.
The building is on the end of a block and next door to a small row of shops.
A blue and white police tent stood at the top end of the small back garden.
Police cordons sealed off the scene from public view.
It is understood no door-to-door inquiries have been carried out yet by police.
One local businesswoman, who did not want to be named, said: “I’m quite frightened and I’m a bit alarmed about the whole thing.
“People have been coming and going all morning and it’s just disturbing. I can’t even work because of it.
“I’m just shocked by the whole thing. This is Merchiston Avenue, it’s quite a posh area and I’m just shocked and amazed that it has happened here.
“You read about these things happening somewhere else but you just don’t expect it on your own doorstep.”