This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7015704.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Man murdered and hid his victim | Man murdered and hid his victim |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| A man has been sentenced to life for murdering an Aberdeen drug dealer in his own home and then hiding his body in a cupboard. | A man has been sentenced to life for murdering an Aberdeen drug dealer in his own home and then hiding his body in a cupboard. |
| A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found Derek Carswell, 40, guilty of killing 57-year-old Robert Mair. | A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found Derek Carswell, 40, guilty of killing 57-year-old Robert Mair. |
| Carswell, from Ayrshire, was told that he would serve a minimum of 16 years. | Carswell, from Ayrshire, was told that he would serve a minimum of 16 years. |
| His co-accused, Stephen Rankin, was found not guilty of the murder of Mr Mair in the city's Kettlehills Crescent in January. | |
| Mr Mair's body was found by Grampian Police officers in February. | Mr Mair's body was found by Grampian Police officers in February. |
| Det Supt Alan Smith, who led the investigation, paid tribute to officers involved in the case. | |
| Rather than doing the right thing and contact the police, they saw fit to take the opportunity to scavenge the body for anything of value Det Supt Alan Smith | |
| He said: This was a difficult and challenging investigation in that Carswell had planned and prepared for the crime. | |
| "This allowed him to lay a false trail as to his whereabouts on the night in question and the inquiry team had to work extremely hard to prove he had indeed been in Aberdeen on the night in question." | |
| Mr Smith said the crime scene had also presented challenges for forensic officers. | |
| He said: "The body had lain in a cupboard for around five weeks. But beyond this, others unconnected with the death had happened upon the body. | |
| "Rather than doing the right thing and contact the police, they saw fit to take the opportunity to scavenge the body for anything of value. | |
| "It's a tribute to the expertise of our forensic scientists that they managed to deal with this cross contamination." | |
| Mr Smith said Mr Mair had been a "respected and well-liked member of the Northfield community" but had turned to drugs following the death of his wife. |