Detective tells murder trial how he discovered body of retired Fettes teacher Peter Coshan

A detective has told a murder trial that the body of retired Fettes College teacher Peter Coshan was discovered near a road and was “well hidden” in undergrowth.

Steven McLean, 42, told jurors on Wednesday how Mr Coshan’s remains were found on the side of the A696 road in Northumberland in August 2022.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how police officers were conducting a missing persons inquiry for Mr Coshan, who lived in the city’s South Learmonth Gardens.

Detective sergeant McLean said that officers had been searching for Mr Coshan on a stretch of the road between the villages of Belsay and Otterburn.

He said that on August 16, 2022, he had been involved in obtaining a search warrant for the property in Leith, Edinburgh, where murder accused Paul Black, 65, and Paul McNaughton, 29, stayed.

Giving evidence via video link, DS McLean said he then travelled south to a layby on the road England on September 2, 2022.

He said that officers found a “turquoise, blue” suitcase lying in farmland behind a dry stone wall at the side of the road.

They also discovered a blue disposable glove and DS McLean said he also noticed something else.

Speaking to prosecutor John Keenan KC, DC McLean said: “There was a noticeable, strong smell in the area.”

When Mr Keenan asked him what the smell was, the police officer replied: “Decomposition”

DC McLean was giving evidence on the fifth day of proceedings against Paul Black who denies murdering Mr Coshan, 75, on August 11 or the early hours of August 12, 2022.

He is also standing trial on charges of fraud, theft and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

His former flatmate McNaughton pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Coshan at a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow last year.

McNaughton, who was described in court on Wednesday as being a “sex worker” – told jurors on Tuesday how he and Black had “lured” Mr Coshan to their flat on August 11, 2022.

The court heard how McNaughton had created a fictitious account on dating app Gaydar and pretended to be another man on the account.

McNaughton said he and Black wanted to kill Mr Coshan to get their hands on his £102,000 savings.

McNaughton also told the court that Black suffocated Mr Coshan with a plastic bag. After Mr Coshan’s death, the court heard how Black and McNaughton placed his body in a suitcase and drove to the area in Northumberland where police later conducted their search.

On Wednesday, DS McLean told the court that he and colleagues declared the area a crime scene after coming upon the smell.

Black denies all the charges against him.

The trial, before Lord Scott, continues.