POLICE in Edinburgh have launched a murder inquiry after a man was killed in a flat.

Emergency services were called to the Morningside area in the early hours yesterday, after neighbours reported hearing screams from a ground-floor flat.

Witnesses reported seeing two men being carried out of the building, yards from the Dominion Cinema in Newbattle Terrace.

It was also claimed a male was seen leaving the flat and was picked up by a taxi shortly before police arrived on the scene.

Police later confirmed that a 20-year-old man had died and that they were treating his death as suspicious.

Two females, including the 22-year-old tenant of the flat, understood to be a hairdressing student, were reportedly taken away by police.

Neighbour Ryan McLeod, 21, said he heard screams coming from the flat.

"At about 4am there was a loud bang and then people screaming.

"It sounded like someone was being dragged into a room and then someone shouted: 'Don't stab him, put the knife down'."

Mr McLeod added that police officers arrived about 45 minutes later.

Amy Bennell, 20, who lives in the same building – Cunningham House, which is owned by a housing association – said she could often hear shouting coming from the flat.

She said: "There is always a lot of arguing coming from there. They often throw all-night parties and there is a lot of wild shouting and music coming from behind their doors."

She said she was shocked when she heard that a man had been killed.

"This is one of the poshest, most upmarket parts of Edinburgh," she said. "This is Morningside and you just don't expect this sort of thing to happen here."

She said other neighbours had told her that two men had been taken by an ambulance crew.

"They carried one man out in an ambulance chair. He had a blood-soaked blanket over his head and the other man they carried out on a stretcher," she said.

Mary Austin, 65, who also lives in the building, said: "I'm really quite frightened by all of this. I'm meant to have my wee grandson over to stay, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do now."

She added: "I'm an elderly woman and I feel very alarmed by all of this."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said the body was discovered just before 6:30am.

He added that officers are treating the death as suspicious, but they could not confirm how the man died until a post-mortem examination has been carried out.

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Victim named as 20-year-old Alexander Thomson

Police can confirm that the man who died in suspicious circumstances in Edinburgh yesterday (January 13th), is 20-year-old Alexander Thomson, of Burwell Avenue, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

A 23-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man have been arrested and charged in connection with his death, and will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court tomorrow (January 15th).

Monday, 14th January, 2008

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Couple in court over death

A WOMAN and a man were due to appear in court today charged in connection with the death of a man outside a Morningside flat.

Laura King, 23, and Peter Tarwinski, 25, were expected to appear in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

A murder investigation was launched after Alexander Thomson, 20, was found unconscious in Newbattle Terrace at 6am on Sunday. His father, also Alexander Thomson, 44, yesterday laid flowers at the scene beside a tree in the garden of the flats.

The victim was an apprentice electrician who had moved to Newcastle to be closer to his sister, Charlene, 24, a receptionist.

Mr Thomson had travelled back to Edinburgh to spend Christmas and New Year with his family. He spent time with his father, as well as Alexander's mother, his ex-wife Wendy Barbour, 43, and their other two sons.

Edinburgh Evening News, Tuesday, 15th January, 2008

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Grief Of Party Death Victim's Dad

The victim's father, also Alexander, 44, who identified the body, said his son was so savagely attacked that he "could hardly recognise him".

He added: "His face was smashed in. He had been slashed to pieces."

Alexander senior paid tribute to his "beautiful son" as he laid flowers, a Rangers scarf and a Scotland flag in the flat garden.

He added: "Our whole family has been devastated by Alexander's death.

"His brother and sister are inconsolable. His youngest brother doesn't even know. He will fall apart. How do you tell something like this to an 11-year-old?"

Alexander had recently moved to Newcastle to be closer to his older sister Charlene, 24.

But the apprentice electrician took time off to spend with his mum, Wendy Barlow, 43, and two younger brothers, Claye, 16 and Ben, 11.

His dad added: "He was only supposed to be here for a holiday and to visit his family and friends.

"He was a beautiful laddie, very popular, and the women loved him."

Alexander, a keen footballer and boxer, was nicknamed Blue because of his passion for Rangers.

Some reports of the incident at the Newbattle Terrace flat claimed that Alexander, of Leith, and another man had stabbed each other as part of a game after getting high on drugs.

But the victim's father denied this, saying: "I have just visited my son in the morgue. His face was smashed in. He has been slashed to pieces. This wasn't a game. He had no chance."

Eyewitnesses on Sunday said that the flat where Alexander was killed has been the scene of regular latenight parties since a student moved in nearly two years ago.

Neighbour Amy Bennell, 20, said: "They brought two injured people from the flat - both young guys. One was wheeled out in a chair with a blanket round him. He was covered in blood. The other guy was on a stretcher. He was out cold."

Mary Austin, 65, who has lived for seven years in the flat next to the crime scene, said: "There's always comings and goings to that flat."

Yesterday, the building was still sealed off for forensic examination.

Neighbours have been forced to sign in and out of the block and have been banned from having visitors.

Morningside is one of Scotland's most affluent areas. Chancellor Alistair Darling lives there and writer JK Rowling has a house nearby.

Lauren Crooks Daily Record, Wednesday, 15th January, 2008

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Two charged in court over party death

TWO people have appeared in court charged in connection with the death of a young man after a late-night party in Morningside.

Peter Tarwinski, 25, and Laura King, 23, appeared in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with assault to severe injury and to the danger of life.

Tarwinski, described in court papers as of no fixed abode, and King, of Newbattle Terrace, made a brief appearance on petition in front of Sheriff James Farrell.

They made no plea or declaration and were remanded in custody for further examination.

Mr Thomson, 20, known as "Blue", was found unconscious outside a flat in Newbattle Terrace around 6.30 on Sunday morning. He was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary but died a short time later.

The apprentice electrician, a former Drummond Community High School pupil who recently moved away to Newcastle, had spent the festive season with family in Edinburgh. His father Alexander, 44, described him as a "beautiful" son.

Edinburgh Evening News, Wednesday, 16th January, 2008

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Date for Blue's funeral

THE funeral of a young man who died following an alleged attack in Morningside will take place on Saturday.

Alexander Thomson – known to family and friends as "Blue" – was found in the garden of flats in Newbattle Terrace following a late-night party. He died later in hospital. His funeral will be held at Warriston Crematorium and all friends are invited.

Edinburgh Evening News, Thursday, 24th January, 2008

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