Male prostitute killed university lecturer by stabbing him 114 times

A male prostitute killed a university lecturer by stabbing him 114 times before trying to cause an explosion to cover his tracks.

Pawel Rodak, 21, snapped when having consensual sex with Roger Gray at the Heriot Watt lecturer’s home in the affluent Merchiston area of Edinburgh.

The 64-year-old’s body was discovered by his upstairs neighbour on March 19 last year after he smelt gas coming from the flat.

The police were called when an engineer could not enter the ground floor property and they found Mr Gray lying dead in his dressing gown in the hallway. The flat had also been ransacked.

At the High Court in Livingston on Friday, a jury found Rodak guilty of culpable homicide.

He has been on trial for murder after his plea of culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibly was rejected by the Crown.

Rodak claimed his post-traumatic stress disorder had been sparked by Mr Gray slapping him during a sex act. The 21-year-old told the court he has been raped when he was 15 and the slap had reminded him of the rape, which triggered the violence.

Once he had killed Mr Gray, Rodak left a lit candle next to four gas burners in the kitchen and fled.

Police caught him after his Polish bank card was found lying in the debris in the flat.

After the verdict, Mr Gray's brother Fred said the family would "never forget" the lecturer.

He said: "I came here to observe justice being done and to obtain closure on my brother's death. In my view, the evidence presented has shown beyond any reasonable doubt that my brother was killed by Pawel Rodak.

"There is nothing that can bring my brother back. He spent his working life in academia where he was recognised as a gifted teacher and ambassador for his university.

"His killer will have plenty of time to reflect on his actions, and will hopefully devote the next phase of his life to make himself a better person fit to contribute to society.

"Our family can move on, but we will never forget Roger, who helped many people during his life.

"Finally, I would like to put on the record the excellent support provided to me by the two Lothian and Borders Police Family Liaison Officers who assisted me during the police investigation."

The officer in charge of the investigation, Chief Superintendent Gill Imery, welcomed the result.

She said: "Roger Gray suffered an extremely violent death at the hands of Pawel Rodak, who is clearly a dangerous individual. After killing Mr Gray he attempted to cause an explosion at his home in a bid to cover his tracks, putting neighbouring properties at risk, as well as the workers who were called to deal with the gas leak.

"The discovery of Mr Gray's body led to a full-scale murder enquiry which led to the arrest of Pawel Rodak in Princes Street days later.

"It is my sincere hope that Roger Gray's family can draw some comfort from today's conviction, and I would like to pay tribute to them for their courage during what has been a harrowing ordeal. I would also like to thank them for the assistance they provided to officers during the investigation into Mr Gray's death."

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