My date with the Gaydar killer: I met future assassin in a bar

Paul McNaughton was this week sentenced to life in prison for murdering a retired Fettes College teacher in a catfishing plot. 

The shop worker killed 75-year-old Peter Coshan in a flat in Leith, Edinburgh, in August 2022 – after using a fake profile on gay dating site Gaydar to lure him to the address. 

McNaughton murdered the former teacher then broke into the former biology teacher’s house and used his bank cards for a spending spree before dumping his body by a layby in Northumberland. 

Among those reading the news with horror was freelance journalist Paul Smith, who was horrified to realise he had once met McNaughton on a night out in Edinburgh and gone back to the home where he was then living. 

Below, he details the disturbing encounter for the first time – 

It was only a matter of time before someone fell victim to Paul McNaughton. I got that feeling the night I met him.

I was on a night out in Edinburgh for a friend’s 30th birthday in August 2019 and met Paul in a bar toilet. He sparked up a conversation with me while I was washing my hands – asking where I was from and what brought me to the Scottish capital.

He introduced himself to me as ‘Ryan’ while shaking my hand. 

The conversation continued as we left the toilet – I asked him if he was a local and where was good to go for cocktails. But he didn’t seem too interested in my questions. Instead he asked me if I was gay and on Grindr. I told him yes to both questions.

We walked towards the bar to order a drink and he asked what my profile was on the gay dating app. I showed him and he sent me a thumbs up emoji, saying: ‘We’ll chat more later.’ 

As I walked away from him to return to my friends, he shouted at me asking if I had ever paid for sex. I told him ‘No, no way would I do that.’ 

‘Ryan’ then proceeded to tell me he was an escort and sold videos and pictures online to men, as well as getting paid to meet straight men. 

He asked if I wanted to see his ‘content’, to which I replied, ‘No thank you, not in the middle of a bar anyway.’ 

I nervously laughed as I didn’t know what to say to him after that. ‘Ryan’ kept looking at me from the other side of the bar and a short time later he sent me another message on Grindr asking me back to a flat nearby. I told him I wasn’t ready to leave the bar and that I might catch up with him later. I carried on drinking with my mates.

Towards the end of the night, we met in the toilet again. I asked him if that offer was still on and he said ‘yes, of course’, so we left the bar and headed back to a flat. While we were walking, I made it clear I would not be paying for sex and if that’s what he wanted I’d be leaving him in the street.

‘Ryan’ said to me ‘I’m a little desperate tonight, so let’s just go and forget about money’. At that point, I really should have just walked away, but I didn’t. I did think it was a little strange, what escort hands themselves out for free? 

We got back to the flat and I was offered a drink, we had a few drinks, and eventually had sex. But ‘Ryan’ started to make me feel extremely uncomfortable. He pinned me down a number of times to a point I didn’t feel safe. I eventually asked him to stop and he asked ‘why?’

I told him I was feeling very uncomfortable and wanted to leave. He stopped, and then asked if I wanted to stay overnight and try again in the morning, to which I replied ‘thanks, but I just want to leave’.

‘Ryan’ started to become quite erratic… shouting and telling me I was a ‘c***’ and that I was just ‘using him for sex’ because he was ‘hot’ and I knew I was ‘getting a free s*** from an escort.

I told him this wasn’t the case and that he needed to calm down – but he continued shouting and storming about.

At one point he screamed: ‘I don’t even f****** fancy guys, I only do this s*** for the money and you’ve just taken advantage and wasted my f****** time. I could have made 200 quid tonight. F*** you, f*** you.’ 

‘Ryan’ left the room. I quickly put on my jeans and trainers and headed towards the door, while he walked back into the room as I was leaving and asked where I was going. 

I told him I was leaving and that he was scaring me, but he laughed and said: ‘Scaring you? You’re a f****** pussy. All you wee p**** are the same, that’s why I like real men who can put up a fight.’ 

I continued to walk towards the door and he said: ‘I better not see you back in that pub again, in fact, I better not see you back in Edinburgh again or you’ll be sorry.’

As soon as I got out the door, I ran down the stairs and onto the street. I didn’t look behind me, I just kept going. I had numerous missed calls from mates and voicemails asking where I was and if I was okay. 

I called them back and told them I was fine and was on my way to meet them at the train station. I got to the station and put on a front, I didn’t mention to them about what had happened as they were angry enough I had left to meet someone without telling them.

When I got home, I reported ‘Ryan’ to Grindr, informing the app he was dangerous. I did also think about reporting this to Police Scotland, but I didn’t. It was his word against mine. I couldn’t stop thinking about what vulnerable person he might stumble across though.

The meeting really put me on edge about hooking up with anyone else on the app and I did consider deleting it. But Covid came along months later, and I stopped using it anyway. 

It took me a while to get over what happened that night, but to this day, I’m still extremely cautious about meeting people. Fast forward a few years and news broke about Dr Peter Coshan being reported missing and later his body being found. 

I’m a journalist and cover missing people and deaths almost daily, so I took little notice. 

A murder investigation was then launched and later announced a man had been arrested and charged in connection with Dr Coshan’s death. 

It wasn’t until Paul McNaughton was named in the press that I searched him on Facebook. 

My heart sank when I clicked on his profile and realised ‘Ryan’ was actually Paul McNaughton. I searched Paul McNaughton on Facebook again – I thought I was seeing things. I felt physically sick… but then again, I wasn’t shocked he had been arrested and charged with murder given how he reacted that night I met him.

I felt a small sense of responsibility though. Had I called the police and reported him, would Dr Coshan still be alive? 

I then had to tell myself that many others had probably come across McNaughton, I wasn’t the only one. 

I felt embarrassed I had met him, and slept with him – and for obvious reasons I’ve kept this to myself until now. 

He was sentenced earlier this week at the High Court in Glasgow and it’s taken me a few days to actually be able to admit to myself I slept with him. I had sex with a killer.