'I lived in fear in flat with ex who helped hide murdered teacher's body'

The former partner of a man jailed for covering up the murder of a retired teacher in Edinburgh has said he left the relationship because of fears for his own safety.

Allan White used to live with 65-year-old Paul Black at the flat in the Seafield area where former Fettes College biology teacher Dr Peter Coshan was killed.

“It sends a shiver down my spine knowing that I lived in that house and all of that happened there,” Mr White told STV News.

Retired Fettes teacher Peter Coshan, 75, was lured to his death in a flat in Leith in 2022. Police Scotland

Black has been sentenced to five-and-a-half-years in jail after being found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

His co-accused Paul McNaughton, 29, was given a life sentence after admitting murder.

The prosecution said the crime was motivated solely by financial gain.

Murderer Paul McNaughton buying shovels to bury Peter Coshan's body. — Murderer Paul McNaughton buying shovels to bury Peter Coshan’s body. Crown Office

Black and McNaughton kept the body under a bed for several days in August 2022 before buying a car and transporting Dr Coshan’s remains to Northumberland, where they dumped him near a lay-by.

Reflecting on his time with Black, Mr White said: “On a few occasions he did assault me and I had to phone the police. It got to the stage where I had to move out because it was just getting too overwhelming.

“He was constantly aggressive, he was constantly drinking. I was terrified at the time because I never had anywhere else to live at that point.”

Allan White used to live with 65-year-old Paul Black at the flat in the Seafield area where former Fettes College biology teacher Dr Peter Coshan was killed. STV News

Mr White left the flat several years prior to the murder but was later contacted by police looking into Black’s background.

During the trial, Black wept as he told jurors of how the man he was infatuated with had killed the retired teacher.

He broke down as he said he didn’t take Mr Coshan’s life but admitted he helped to “get rid” of the pensioner’s body and “cover up” the crime.

75-year-old Dr Coshan was lured to the flat by a fake account on the hook-up app Gaydar which had been set up by McNaughton.

He proceeded to steal tens of thousands of pounds from him after gaining access to his bank accounts.

When Mr Coshan found out about the thefts, he threatened to go to the police unless McNaughton provided him with free sexual favours, and McNaughton hatched a plot to kill the retired teacher after becoming “fed up” with the situation.

In a statement Dr Coshan’s family said: “We remain horrified that anybody could have treated a vulnerable 75-year-old in such a despicable manner.”