Man slept in flat where he kept body of fiancée for 13 months
Shop worker Alan Cameron, 56, kept Heather Stacey’s decomposing body at her Edinburgh flat for more than a year then scattered the parts across the north of the city.
The severed head of Stacey, 44, a mother-of-four was found by a dog walker near a popular footpath in the Newhaven area in 2008.
Cameron, who admitted dismembering her body, denied murder and claimed she died while he was out buying chips.
But a jury at the High Court in Livingston took three hours to convict him of murdering Stacey at her Royston Mains Place home between November 29 and December 11, 2007.
He was also found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and of stealing nearly £5,000 (€5,900) over 11 months from his victim’s post office card account.
Lothian and Borders Detective Chief Inspector William Guild welcomed the verdict.
“Today’s verdict is testament to the hard work carried out by the police and prosecutors, who worked tirelessly to piece together the circumstances of this case.”
Stacey was described in court as a “vulnerable” woman who had been in violent relationships in the past.
The court heard that her remains were so decayed it was hard to tell how she died. But the jury hearing the circumstantial case against Cameron found he murdered her towards the end of 2007.
Cameron, said to be a “fantasist” and a “liar”, then embarked on an elaborate scheme to cover his tracks.
He failed to report his fiancée’s death and led people to think she was still alive.
Cameron, from Edinburgh, hid her dead body at the flat for 13 months.
The killer, who sometimes slept in the same flat as the rotting body, decided to dispose of it when the council moved to repossess the property.
The court heard that, at some point after Ms Stacey died, Cameron made a botched attempt to chop up the body. It was likely the limbs were eventually pulled apart after they became badly decayed.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
