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The dismembered body of a former teacher jailed for abusing pupils has been found in a garden in Edinburgh. Lothian and Borders Police have named the victim as 51-year-old registered sex offender Alan Wilson. It is understood his legs had been severed.
Detectives launched a murder hunt after the discovery was made on Tuesday.
The body was found at the rear of a communal garden area in Merchiston Avenue at its junction with Polwarth Terrace.
Mr Wilson, of North Bridge, Edinburgh, was a principal history teacher at Edinburgh's respected James Gillespie's High School until he was suspended in February 1999 when a mother complained that he had plied her son with drink.
"It's shocking anyone should end up like that" Det Supt Bert Swanson. He resigned from his job after an investigation revealed repeated sex abuse on boys after making them drunk.
He was jailed for 18 months in 2000 after being convicted of carrying out homosexual acts on three of his pupils.
The court heard that he committed eight sex assaults on the boys, aged 16 or 17, over a period of five years.
Detective Superintendent Bert Swanson, of Lothian and Borders Police, said it was one of the most brutal crimes he had encountered.
He said: "The body was dismembered and found in several parts, concealed in bags and it's shocking anyone should end up like that.
"It's brutal and distressing, particularly for the relatives, for them to realise that their beloved person, someone they love dearly, has been found in such a way."
Mr Swanson added that police were "keeping an open mind" and said it was too early to tell whether the fact Mr Wilson was a registered sex offender was related to his death.
Officers were carrying out door-to-door enquiries in a bid to piece together the events surrounding the murder.
Forensic specialists completed their scene of crime investigation on Tuesday afternoon.
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said detectives were following a "positive line of enquiry".
He added: "A post-mortem was carried out to establish the exact cause of death.
"We would appeal to anyone who lives in the area and who may have seen anything suspicious in the last few days to contact us."