Prison staff should have protected paedophile who was disemboweled by inmates

10-4-2011 United Kingdom:

Paedophile Mitchell Harrison met a macabre and grisly end after being disemboweled in a prison attack by fellow inmates.

Look away if you’re squeamish, but the serial sex attacker was butchered with makeshift weapons, thought to be razor blades melted into toothbrush handles, after allegedly boasting about his sick crimes

Our gut instinct may well scream that a man who brags about raping a 13 year-old girl may have deserved such a bloody and hideous death. That this was justice in its most primitive sense.

However, this is England, 2011, a so-called civilized society where the rule of law still governs. And though it may be hard to swallow, what’s morally right and legally acceptable can be mutually exclusive.

The authorities at Frankland Prison in County Durham should face a full criminal investigation and Harrison’s family have a right to claim compensation for his unlawful death .

Every prisoner is entitled to full state protection, however horrible their crimes – indeed the greater the horror the more they need protecting.

How on earth can such a violent atrocity ever occur in one of Her Majesty’s prisons? Especially when this place has previous – Soham killer Ian Huntley had his throat slashed in the same jail only last year.

Defendants like this are prime targets for in-house vigilantism. Have the authorities learnt nothing?

Last year I supported Ian Huntley’s right to sue for £100,000 when he was attacked.

And that’s why I support Harrison’s family in suing the prison for every penny it can get.

Breaking the law is a costly business.

This mistake will probably cost the hard-pressed tax payer millions.

Only the other day the High Court ruled that banned extremist Sheikh Raed Salah could claim compensation for unlawful detention by immigration officers because they failed to explain to him ‘in a language he could understand’ precisely why he was being detained – a technical breach of the rules. The pro-Palestinian hardliner, described in the Commons as a ‘virulent anti-Semite’ is banned from this country.

His entry was illegal. But nevertheless now he is here, is entitled to being protected by the law of the land.

It’s essential that those responsible for those protecting us uphold that law. Otherwise we have to pick up the tab.

And until State protectors do their job properly, we’ll keep on paying. Now, where’s the morality in that? ..Source.. by Nick Freeman

Sex offender found stabbed to death in his caravan

12-8-2008 United Kingdom:

A convicted sex offender was stabbed to death and had his genitals mutilated during an attack in the caravan where he lived on an industrial estate in south London.

Andrew Cunningham, 52, died of multiple stab wounds to the head, neck and chest on Wednesday. Police confirmed he had previously been on the sex offenders register for an offence committed in 2000 but his name had been removed in March. He was convicted in 2001 and served a four-month prison sentence.

Detective chief inspector Nick Scola, the officer leading the investigation, said Cunningham had been the victim of a "vicious and brutal attack" and he had been stabbed in the groin. Reports that he had been killed by a vigilante mob were unfounded. It is understood that Cunningham had been convicted of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl. Police said it was clearly possible that this was a motive for the murder.

Scola confirmed that the Wandsworth home where Cunningham had previously lived with his now-estranged family had been attacked five years ago but that the incident involved a binliner being set fire outside the door.

"The fact that his genitals were mutilated, and that there was damage to the groin, is one consideration, but it could have been done to confuse the investigation," Scola said. "People in the local area did know of his past. He had been living in that caravan for some months."

The Sun reported that Cunningham had been targeted by a mob of angry locals who chanted "die, paedo die" but officers have discovered no evidence that this was the case. The paper claimed that drinkers in a local pub accused him of fondling the landlady's two-year-old daughter.

"There are no reports whatsoever of a group of people being seen in the area, no reports of anyone chanting, shouting or unusual activity," said Scola.

Cunningham was last seen alive at 6.10pm on December 9 when he was seen in his caravan, which was parked on a private road. He was known to frequent pubs in the local area but yesterday local drinkers refused to talk about the case.

A lorry driver for a haulage company, Cunningham lived next to the yard from which he worked. Alan Hawkins, the owner of a neighbouring yard, said: "He was like your average bloke. I didn't know too much about his history but there were whispers."

Cunningham is known to have locked his caravan from the inside. Scola said: "There was no forced entry and he could well have invited his killer into the caravan."

He added that the killing could never be justified, in spite of Cunningham's history. Police had no reports of further sexual offences committed by him.

"Regardless of who he was or what he may have done, Andrew was the victim of a vicious assault which ended his life," said Scola. "This was a vicious and brutal attack on him and whoever did it is still out there and could easily attack someone else."

A father of five, Cunningham had separated from his family and it is believed that they declined to identify his body.

He was found by his employer when he failed to turn up for work on Wednesday morning.

Police are studying CCTV footage from cameras around the industrial estate which is sited next to Wimbledon dog track.

Scola said he was particularly keen to find out more about Cunningham's movements last Tuesday evening and aspects of his daily life.

He said: "It is vital we establish where he was and who he was with. Many people knew him and he used several pubs in the area."

Sara Payne, the campaigner whose daughter Sarah was murdered by a convicted paedophile in 2000, said the attacker or attackers were "no better" than the man they had killed and that his murder would set back her campaign for the names and addresses of sex offenders to be made available to the public. ..Source.. by Audrey Gillan

Arm found on beach belongs to missing rapist

3-31-2011 Ireland:

Police in the Republic of Ireland have identified a human arm, found on Dollymount Strand last November, as belonging to a convicted rapist.

The man was named last night as 46-year-old James Nolan, of Fairlawn Road, Finglas, in west Dublin. He has not been seen since he was released from Portlaoise jail last November after serving a three-year sentence for a burglary in Booterstown, south Dublin, in 2005.

Nolan was arrested for the burglary as a result of fingerprints taken 19 years earlier when he was detained for the rape. He was jailed for 14 years in 1988 for the rape and false imprisonment of a woman.

Gardai said last night that his disappearance after his release from jail had not been notified to them and he had not been listed as a missing person.

Last night, officers were trying to contact members of his family to inform them of the find.

The limb was found on the beach on February 8 last. As part of their inquiries, gardai sought international co-operation from other police forces through the Interpol network.

As a result of assistance from British police, a DNA match was made recently which confirmed that it was Mr Nolan's arm.

Investigators acknowledged last night that they had no information yet on the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, when exactly he went missing and whether he had been killed.

One officer said their inquiries could now become more focused as a result of the positive identification through the DNA tests on the arm.

During Nolan's trial for burglary, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that it was a fingerprint taken from him when he first went into custody in the 1980s that led to his arrest for the later offence.

The court was also told that he had other previous convictions for larceny and road-traffic offences.

Judge Katherine Delahunt noted that a probation report had shown a high risk of re-offending due to Nolan's use of alcohol and drugs.

She said that she had taken into account his "significant previous convictions" and the fact that he had twice opted for trial before pleading guilty.

But she said he would be given limited credit for not putting the victim of the burglary through the ordeal of a trial.

The judge suspended the final 18 months of the sentence and imposed 12 months' probation. She also ordered him to undergo alcohol and drug treatment. ..Source.. by Belfast Telegraph

Killeshandra pensioner dies after horrific attack at home

10-19-2010 Ireland:

Funeral of attempted castration victim Johnny Golden delayed for tests on body

The funeral of a pensioner who died from what’s believed were injuries sustained in a vicious assault a month ago has been postponed so that the State Pathologist can carry out further tests.

John Golden (73) was attacked in his home at Nedd, Doogary, Killeshandra, on Tuesday, September 7, and was found in an unconscious state the following morning by a neighbour.

His funeral was due to be held on Sunday last at Killegar Parish Church but Dr. Marie Cassidy made the request for a further examination of the body in a bid to determine precisely the nature of his injuries and the exact cause of his death.

It’s understood that Mr. Golden was the victim of an attempted castration and that pliers and a poker may have been used in the assault. It’s believed that he suffered head and internal injuries.

Rumours have been circulating that Mr. Golden was gay or a paedophile but these have been strongly denied by neighbours who claim that John’s name was being blackened by others.

Superintendent Tom Maguire from Ballyconnell Garda Station, who is leading the investigation into the attack, confirmed to The Anglo-Celt this week a young male was arrested on Saturday, September 11, and detained under the provision of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. He was later released without charge.

Mr. Golden’s body was discovered in an unconscious state by his neighbour Seamus Galligan, who lives quite close, at about 9.40am on Tuesday, September 7. Mr. Galligan alerted the gardaí and ambulance services.

Mr. Golden was taken to Cavan General Hospital, where he remained in an unconscious state until he was pronounced dead at 7.50pm last Wednesday, October 6.

A post mortem was carried out on his body at Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, last Thursday by assistant State Pathologist Dr. Khalid Jabbar.

Mr. Golden was an orphan and had lived in the Doogary area for the past 35 years. He was raised in Sunbeam House in County Wicklow and it’s believed he never knew his parents. In Leitrim he worked as a farm labourer and a mechanic.

Lily Galligan, wife of Seamus, said: “We are devastated at the death of John who was a good neighbour and a lovely gentleman.”

His death came as a shock to the whole community and he was well liked. He lived in Killegar before moving to Doogary.

When Seamus discovered John in his home, he thought he had suffered a turn. “He saw the door open and went into the bedroom and found John on the floor.”

The Galligan family are annoyed that rumours have been circulating since Mr. Golden’s death that John was gay or was a paedophile.

They claim he was neither. “John was never the subject of any complaint of a sexual nature to the gardaí.” He was a private individual who kept himself to himself. He was most happy when repairing vintage tractors and machinery.

Mrs. Galligan said he would visit them regularly, as well as other neighbours, and he was not a heavy drinker though he did take the odd bottle of stout. He was a good living man who also liked music.

Rumours that he screened pornographic films at his house 10 years ago have been vehemently denied by local sources.

It is understood that an investigation was launched at the time but no charges were ever brought due to the lack of evidence.

Superintendent Maguire has appealed to the public for their assistance.

He would not confirm if Mr. Golden had been sexually assaulted.

Gardaí are particularly interested in hearing from any witnesses that may have been in the vicinity of Nedd, Doogary between 8pm on Monday, September 6, and 11am on Tuesday, September 7.

They are asked to contact Ballyconnell Garda Station on 049-9525580. People are also asked to ring the Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800-666-111 or contact any garda station. Mr. Golden’s body has not been released yet and his funeral will not take place until Thursday or Friday. ..Source.. by Anglo Celt

Murder accused suspected ex of abusing daughter

2-27-2009 New Zealand:

The woman accused of the body-on-the-bonnet murder decided to kill her ex-partner because she suspected him of molesting their little daughter, a Crown lawyer told the High Court in New Plymouth yesterday.

Cindy Fairburn, 38, is alleged to have deliberately driven into the path of an oncoming car as Darin Paul Maxwell, 42, clung on to the bonnet.

The story of the 13km wild, crazy ride on State Highway 3 on August 6, 2007 unfolded in the High Court in New Plymouth yesterday.

The impact with the Isuzu was so severe, Mr Maxwell was flung from the bonnet and through the windscreen of the Isuzu.

His extensive injuries included bleeding lungs, a foot almost amputated, fractured legs and a deep cut on his shoulder.

Mr Maxwell died in the ambulance on the way to Taranaki Base Hospital.

The Isuzu's driver also suffered life-threatening injuries but survived after weeks in hospital.

Fairburn herself was knocked unconscious and critically injured, spending 15 weeks in hospital.

An infection resulted in a return to hospital where a leg was amputated.

Fairburn, who quietly wept as the jury trial started yesterday, has denied murdering her former partner and dangerous driving injuring the Isuzu driver, whose name is suppressed.

Fairburn's lawyers argue that her actions on the night were solely those of a woman defending herself from Mr Maxwell.

In opening, Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke said Fairburn had been angry and upset since the Saturday before the fatal impact.

In response to her child's unusual cry after she was put to bed, Fairburn had gone in to her baby's room to find her tucked up in her cot, but without nappies and her nappy and pants neatly folded at the end of the cot.

In her mind, he had sexually abused their two-year-old daughter, Miss Clarke said.

The accused told others she wanted to either poison him or use a stun gun.

She reported the incident to police, taking them a cot sheet, hairs she said were pubic hairs she had found on the floor next to the cot and the underblanket so they could use them as evidence.

When told by police that Mr Maxwell would not be arrested immediately, she was angered, saying he should not be allowed to get away with it.

The accused had told a friend that if police were not going to do anything, she would.

On the Monday, the baby was examined by a paediatrician who found no evidence of a sexual assault and ESR tests weeks later found no evidence of semen on the baby's bedding, Miss Clarke said.

That night, she encountered Mr Maxwell at the Heritage Bar in Inglewood.

She had left the bar and he had somehow ended up on the bonnet of her car, Miss Clarke said.

Other drivers on the road that night described how Mr Maxwell was slipping and sliding across the bonnet as she veered across the white line on the main road in Inglewood, cars on the opposite side having to steer hard left to avoid her.

She then drove at speeds up to 120kmh on the open road with Mr Maxwell still clinging to the bonnet, Ms Clarke said.

At 9.53pm, nearly at the Mangorei Rd intersection, she suddenly and violently swerved her car directly into the path of the Isuzu which was travelling towards Inglewood, Miss Clarke said.

At the time, the accused's car was estimated to be travelling between 83 and 133kmh.

Weeks later, Fairburn told police that she had got a fright when he jumped on the bonnet outside the hotel yelling and screaming.

She had not wanted to stop the car in case he jumped into the car.

She said she had no memory of the collision.

The couple's history included a charge of Mr Maxwell threatening to kill her and the toddler in 2006.

But she withdrew her allegations saying she was concerned about his suicidal tendencies and she was charged with making a false statement.

Mr Maxwell had been convicted of assaults against two other women in 2002.

Defence lawyer Pamela Jensen said self-defence would be argued.

The accused did not murder Mr Maxwell nor did she intend to injure the Isuzu driver.

When she drove her car that night, the sole purpose was to defend herself against the actions of Mr Maxwell, Ms Jensen said. ..News Source.. by LYN HUMPHREYS

Primal rage: 'pedo' stomped to death

7-22-2008 Australia:

A convicted pedophile represented everyone who had ever abused the young Adelaide man who killed him in a primal rage, a court was told today.

Timothy Hemi Schaefer, 19, went to the home of Jeffrey Edwin Payne, 56, in Adelaide in April 2007, called him a "pedo", punched him and stabbed him in the leg.

Drunk and taunting his victim, Schaefer followed Payne across parklands before strangling and stabbing him and stomping on his head, the South Australian Supreme Court has heard after Schaefer pleaded guilty to murder.

Prosecutor Jane Powell said there was an element of "sanguinary" to the crime, with Schaefer stopping to smoke a cigarette during the brutal and prolonged attack.

Schaefer had never expressed remorse for killing Mr Payne, who was an extremely thin man, weighing just 47 kilograms, with ulcers and emphysema, she said.

"In fact, during his interview with police he referred to Mr Payne as a sack of shit," Ms Powell said.

"He would have had to hear and feel the sounds of the bones fracturing under foot."

Schaefer's lawyer Greg Mead said there was no clear motive for the crime.

But it appeared that, in Schaefer's drunk and enraged state, Payne had come to represent all the people who ever had abused him.

"He snapped ... he said to police, 'I just got heaps angry,' " Mr Mead said.

One of nine children, Schaefer suffered "a living hell" at the hands of a violent, alcoholic father who beat him every day, his lawyer said.

After his mother left, his father would abandon the children for weeks at a time, leaving them at the mercy of two friends who would sexually abuse some of them.

"He was fed rotten meat, his father would have to scrape the slime off," Mr Mead said.

"It was the cruelty and brutality of those early years that led to this almost primal expression of rage."

Judge John Sulan said the crime had "all the characteristics of a frenzied attack" and Schaefer could expect to be jailed for a long time.

He also said Schaefer had been "destroyed" by his appalling early life.

He ordered a neurological report to investigate possible damage from Schaefer being beaten with hammers in an earlier, unrelated attack.

Schaefer, who faces a possible life term, was remanded in custody for sentencing at a date to be set. ..News Source.. by smh.com

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Abused teenager jailed for murdering pedophile

10-7-2008 Australia:

STATE welfare authorities "failed" an abused and damaged teenager who went on to viciously murder a convicted pedophile, the Supreme Court has heard.

Timothy Hemi Schaefer was today described as a "damaged little boy" whose pent-up anger erupted in a prolonged and barbaric attack on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Edwin Payne, 56.

Schaefer, 20, will spend at least 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to Payne's murder outside his Northfield home in April 2007.

The convicted sex offender had been throttled unconscious, stabbed in the leg and face and had his skull crushed in the late-night attack.

Schaefer took time to smoke a cigarette during the brutal assault and later described his victim as a "sack of shit" during a police interview.

Justice John Sulan said Schaefer and a number of other boys had regularly gone to Payne's home in the years leading up to the murder.

"For a number of years (Payne) was regularly visited by young boys and he provided them with cigarettes alcohol and marijuana in exchange for sexual favours," Justice Sulan said.

"He had convictions for offences of a sexual nature against teenage boys and had been imprisoned in the past for sex offences against young boys."

Payne was mentioned during sentencing submissions for convicted Snowtown serial killer James Vlassakis, who is serving a life jail term for four murders.

Justice Sulan said Schaefer was drunk and angry when he went to Payne's home on the night of the killing and found there were "sexual connotations behind the attack."

Justice Sulan said Schaefer had endured a chaotic and dysfunctional childhood with an alcoholic mother and an abusive father, who routinely beat his five children and fed them rotten meat.

The judge referred to a letter from Schaefer's aunt, who described him as "a bright and intelligent child who grew up in circumstances of chaos and dysfunction" and became a "damaged little boy."

"In my opinion the state failed him as a child," the letter said.

Justice Sulan said Schaefer's problems were compounded when he suffered serious head injuries when assaulted with a hammer as a 17-year old.

He said Schaefer needed intensive psychiatric help to overcome his many problems.

"Sadly, it appears that you will not receive the treatment that you require while you are in custody," he said. ..News Source.. by ANDREW DOWDELL, COURT REPORTER

Man bullied to his death, court hears

6-13-2007 United Kingdom:
A man with severe learning difficulties was subjected to hours of violent torture before being forced to eat 70 paracetamol tablets and bullied off a viaduct where he fell to his death, a British court heard today.

Steven Hoskin was beaten, forced to wear a dog collar and "walked" around on a lead and forced to confess to being a paedophile before he was killed on July 6th last year.

Mr Hoskin, 39, who was illiterate and had the reading ability of a six-year-old, suffered hours of "terrifying torture" at the hands of Darren Stewart, Martin Pollard and three teenagers who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Mr Hoskin, from St Austell, Cornwall, had taken an IQ test three years before his death and came in the bottom 0.4% of the country.

Stewart, 30, Pollard, 21 and a 17-year-old girl, all from the St Austell area, deny murder. The three have pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and Stewart and Pollard have pleaded guilty to a charge of false imprisonment.

Two teenage boys, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, deny assault occasioning actual bodily harm and all three teenagers deny false imprisonment. Stewart also denies one charge of intimidating a witness.

At Truro Crown Court, Cornwall, prosecutor Sarah Munro QC said that Mr Hoskin's death "came at the end of an evening during which he was subjected to hours of humiliating, painful and terrifying torment, violence and abuse in which all five played a part."

"These five treated Steven Hoskin like a slave in his own flat," she said. "They literally treated him like a dog, forced to wear his own dog's collar and lead, they found it funny."

Ms Munro told the court that Mr Hoskin was forced to confess he was a paedophile and made to sit on the floor under graffiti that read "nonce" and "should be hung".

After the initial violent abuse had finished, the court heard that the two teenage boys and Pollard left the flat.

Stewart and the teenage girl then forced Mr Hoskin to eat the tablets, the court heard. Ms Munro said that when Pollard returned to the scene, and with Mr Hoskin clearly sick, the three then hatched a plan as to how he should die.

The court heard that at about midnight they took him on a 20-minute walk to the top of a viaduct.

Ms Munro said: "Steven Hoskin fell 35 metres, 100 feet, from a viaduct.

"He was forced and bullied into falling to his death.

"Add to that the fact that over the months his will, his ability to stand up to anyone, had been completely overridden by the treatment he had received.

"He was easy pickings for bullies, he was the perfect target."

The trial was adjourned until tomorrow. ..more.. by The Irish Times

Blaze attack victim was a child abuser

TRAGIC AFTERMATH: The scene at the house in Foley

11-8-2006 Ireland:
THE man who died from burns on Friday, following the horrific incident in which a gang burst into his home in south Armagh last week, was a convicted sex offender who was suspected locally of abusing an eight-year-old boy.

Thomas O'Hare, 33, was in the bungalow in Keady on Monday night with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Lisa McClatchey, when four men burst in and doused the couple and their living room with petrol.

McClatchey, who knew nothing of O'Hare's past, was described by local people as a complete innocent caught up in the apparent revenge attack. She is critically ill in hospital suffering from 80 per cent burns.

She and O'Hare were at home in his house near the village of Keady on Monday night when the four men burst in.

A struggle ensued in which the petrol was ignited, and all six were engulfed in flames. Neighbours said they heard an explosion, then saw Miss McClatchey running from the house with her clothes and hair on fire. One witness said she was like a fireball.

Four men were then driven off towards the border by two others.

Some hours later, four men, all brothers, were admitted to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. Two of them, aged 24 and 34, were transferred to St James's Hospital in Dublin where their conditions yesterday remained serious. All four are from Newtownhamilton in south Armagh, but two have been living in Dublin.

Gardai are investigating the case in co-operation with the PSNI, but have yet to make any arrests. They are awaiting the recovery of the two less-critically injured brothers before they are questioned.

According to some sources, their injuries were sustained at a site about a mile and a half away from the house, and the two incidents were a terrible coincidence.

On Friday, the PSNI arrested a 43-year-old man. A spokesman said the man was arrested in Co Armagh and was being questioned about murder, attempted murder and arson.

Thomas O'Hare had been placed on the PSNI's sex offenders list following a conviction in 1999 relating to the sexual assault of a young boy from south Armagh. He served a three-year jail-term, and had been living in the Craigavon area until recently. It is understood that while in Craigavon he struck up a relationship with Lisa McClatchey. Miss McClatchey's uncle, Harold Gracie, was the local senior Orangeman who led the Drumcree protest for several years until his death last year.

Local people said yesterday that O'Hare and McClatchey had only moved into the house at Foley, outside Keady, in recent months. It is understood that O'Hare inherited the bungalow from a relative who died earlier this year. Locals said the couple only stayed at the house a few days a week, and that O'Hare was believed to be refurbishing the house with the intention of selling it.

A local SDLP councillor, Sharon Haughey, said she believed that Mr O'Hare was the target of a vigilante attack, and it is understood that he may recently have had a "confrontation" in the area. ..more by JIM CUSACK


Four men to be quizzed over Armagh attack
11-15-2006 Ireland:
The PSNI is seeking to interview four men, currently undergoing treatment in St James's Hospital, in connection with the death of a couple in an attack in Co Armagh last week.

Thomas O Hare, 33, and 21-year-old Lisa Mc Clatchy, died as a result of burns they received when a group of masked men doused her house in petrol and set it alight.

The gang beat the couple with a sledge hammer and doused them with petrol before setting them on fire.

Mr O'Hare died three days after the attack, and Ms McClatchy succumbed to her injuries in the Royal Victoria Hospital this morning.

Four men, who are believed to be brothers from the same area in Co Armagh, presented themselves at a hospital in Dundalk with serious injuries an hour after the attack.

They were transferred to St James's Hospital in Dublin where they are described a being 'seriously ill'.

The four suffered burns ranging from 35% to 55%, and it is expected that they will require treatment for some time.

The PSNI also confirmed it is still looking for at least two other individuals in connection with the double murder.

It is seeking information on a dark coloured Vauxhall Vectra car, a Rover 200 series car and a BMW 3-series car seen in the in the Foley Road area of Ballymacnab on the evening of 6 November. ..more.. by RTE News

PERV CHOPPED UP: Body parts of abuse teacher found in garden grave

2-11-2004 Scotland:
THE dismembered corpse of a pervert teacher was found in a shallow grave yesterday. Disgraced Alan Wilson's body was discovered in a garden in Edinburgh's posh Merchiston area.

It had been wrapped in a black plastic bag and dumped in a shallow grave in the undergrowth. His severed head, arms and legs were found tied up in separate bags and hidden beside it. Wilson, 52, was the former principal history teacher at James Gillespie's School in the city.

Hewas jailed for 18 months in May 2000 on eight counts of sex abuse against teenage pupils over a five-year period. He plied his victims with drink before abusing them.

The divorced father-of-two's torso was discovered by police early yesterday after they received a tip-off. A nearby house where it is believed the body was cut up was sealed as forensic teams moved in to gather evidence. Residents in the expensive suburb were shocked by the bloody killing.

One elderly woman who lives in flats overlooking the garden told how she heard digging in the garden nearly a week earlier. She said: 'I was up in the early hours and I heard what sounded like digging but when I looked out the window, I couldn't see anything.

'Now, the thought of what it could have been is simply horrifying.' Detectives found the torso had been partially buried but described it as a 'shallow and ineffective grave'. Last night, they were trying to piece together his movements in the days leading up to his brutal murder.

A friend who Wilson met in prison was helping police with their inquiries. And a post-mortem was being carried out to discover exactly how he died. A police spokesman said:'A body has been recovered in a rear garden at Merchiston Avenue. 'We are following a positive line of inquiry.'

On his release from jail, Wilson had returned to live in his flat in upmarket Royal Mile Mansions in the city. He went missing nearly two weeks ago and it is thought his dismembered body lay undiscovered for up to six days. Yesterday, his neighbours in the posh block refused to discuss Wilson, saying they had 'held a meeting' and decided not to comment.

Wilson had become awell-respected school figure in his 20-year career, even advising education authorities about teaching matters. But he was suspended in February 1999 after a mother complained he had plied her son with drink. An investigation revealed his sex attacks on the pupils who were supposed to be in his care.

Wilson was also a director of Mercat Tours, who provide guided historic walks through the capital. He had abused one boy after giving him a job distributing leaflets. Wilson had always been fascinated with death, gore and grisly murder.

Dressed in black, hooded cloaks, he would teach his tour guides to recount macabre tales of death and torture to tourists in candlelit underground vaults, including the once plague-ridden street of Mary King's Close.

Together with his then friend and colleague, Des Brogan, he co-wrote a book, Ghostly Tales and Sinister Stories of Old Edinburgh. It revels in the tales of dismembered bodies that the guides still tell nightly.

A former guide who worked for Wilson, who did not wish to be named, said: 'He loved all those gruesome tales of the grisly side to old Edinburgh and, in particular,stomach-churning murders. The book he wrote is dripping with guts and gore.

'He would make sure all the stories we told were full of all the grisly details too blood, pain and torture. 'There are all the famous tales like the one of the infamous bodysnatchers Burke and Hare.

'But after Wilson was sent to prison, he cut all ties with the company and I never knew what happened to him. 'So it seems incredible that he ended up as murdered like that, as though he were in one of his very own stories.

'It sounds horrible to say, but I suppose in years to come people will be telling tales of how he was killed.' ..more.. by Jack Mathieson