Man given life sentence for killing Edinburgh mother-of-two and dumping her body in a wheelie bin

A man who brutally killed an Edinburgh mother-of-two with a claw hammer and dumped her body in a wheelie bin has been jailed for life.

Tragic Nicola Stevenson and killer Richard Canlin

Richard Canlin showed no emption when appeared before Hove Crown Court for sentencing after being found guilty of killing Nicola Stevenson, 39, by a majority verdict following a two-week trial

The 42-year-old was ordered by trial Judge Shani Barnes to serve 22 years in prison, less 334 days already served.

A moving statement from Nicola’s parents, Jennifer and Peter Ashby, was read out in court.

Wheelie bin at the spot where Nicola lay undiscovered for up to five weeks

Jennifer said: “No parent should ever have to bury their child. It’s difficult enough for any parent to express how the death of a child will impact on their lives.

“For me, personally, this last year has been surreal, I felt as if I drifted into a TV crime drama and I’m still waiting for the credits to roll but of course this is real life.

“All I can do is pray that with God’s help my lasting, loving memories of my fiesty, determined daughter will overcome those brutal memories that this act of horror has created.”

Peter added: “It is impossible to express the full impact of how Nicola’s death has and will in the future impact our lives.

Hammer used by Canlin to bludgeon Nicola Stevenson to death

“It is far too soon to try and put everything into words – maybe we will never be able to do that.”

A statement from the adopted father of former Balerno High School pupil Nicola’s two children was also read out.

It said: “The children are now eight and six and were removed from Nicola’s care when they were two-and-a-half and six months old.

“The children always spoke about her and were aware that she was their mum. They often wondered what she was doing and hoped she was OK.”

He said Nicola kept in touch with the children and sent them cards for their birthdays and at Christmas.

Nicola had expressed that she would like to meet them when they were older, he said.

He added: “It is a huge loss for both of them to know that this choice has been taken from them.”

He said the children wanted to know what had happened to their mum and he had to tell them that ‘someone had hurt her very badly’.

The children are having therapy, he said, adding that this was a ‘genuine and life-changing grief for them’.

Sentencing Canlin, Judge Shani Barnes said his actions ‘showed complete and utter contempt’.

She said: “Nicola Stevenson was a 39-year-old woman when she died. We mustn’t forget that in the midst of all of this case there is a young woman who died and shouldn’t be forgotten.

“She was a daughter of clearly loving parents who have endured this entire trial listening to horrific evidence.

“We now know she was the mother of two young children and her family and friends will mourn her loss for the rest of their lives

“It is always extremely sad when someone so young dies – but to have been murdered in such a brutal manner and to have been disposed of in such a cruel and callous way.”

Judge Barnes noted the photograph of Nicola’s two children in her flat that was removed when she went missing. She said the photograph ‘‘showed how much being a mother to those two children meant to her and how she missed them’.

She said she was a vulnerable woman who was supported in her community because of her disabilities.

Judge Barnes said had Nicola called 999 on October 10, she had no doubt officers would have appeared straight away, but, she said, Nicola sadly did not think she was in danger.

Judge Barnes told Canlin he was ‘quick to tell everyone and anyone that he had the mental age of six’, but his police interviews and a phone call of him speaking to a utility company changing over Nicola’s energy supplier to his name ‘showed a very different man’ – who was ‘manipulative and calculating’.

She told him Nicola had shown him great kindness to allow him to live in her home when he was homeless – but there was a ‘great deal of tension and resentment towards her’.

“You were certainly jealous that she had a flat and was cared for by social services,” Judge Barnes said.

“I feel when she decided you had to go as she had her tenancy secured you decided that you were not going to leave.”

She said she was suspicious, but not to the high standard required, that Canlin decided his attack on Nicola was going to happen, especially in the last few days when Nicola was telling him to meet with a housing officer.

“The plan may have entered your mind then,” Judge Barnes said.

“And the brutality you displayed – having compressed her neck so violently, fracturing bones in her tiny neck, you then took a hammer and rained blow after blow after blow in a brutal manner.

“She was so physically vulnerable that she couldn’t run, she couldn’t escape when you started to attack her.

“She was completely at your mercy.

“You used your full strength to destroy her literally.

“Having tried to conceal her in a suitcase, you took her tiny frail body and threw her into a rubbish bin and then wheeled her into the bushes and just left her there while you started your new life.

“She rotted in that bin week after week.”

The judge told told Canlin that blaming another man, John Parish, was a ‘serious aggravating factor’ in his crime.

“You blamed an innocent man, a man who hadn’t seen her for weeks and weeks,” she said.

“He was arrested because of you, he was interviewed repeatedly, he was investigated thoroughly for some time, he gave intimate samples for DNA and eventually the police acknowleded there was no evidence against him, that he was forced to come to this trial and be cross examined and accused of murder.”

After seeing Canlin jailed, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Friday of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, who led the investigation, said: “Our thoughts at this time are with Nicola’s family and friends and we hope that we have provided some answers as to how Nicola met her death, and crucially who was responsible.

“Ultimately, we sought to identify who committed what is the most serious crime of all.

“I would like to thank the jury at Hove Crown Court for their time, commitment and due diligence in bringing about this verdict.

“Canlin killed Nicola in a brutal attack. She had allowed him to stay at her address, and when she asked him to leave he took advantage of her kindness, and attacked her about the head with a hammer, killing her in her own home.

“He then disposed of her body in a callous way, dumping her in a bin, in the nearby park. Unbelievably, he then carried on as if nothing had happened, assuming Nicola’s life, spending her money on things for himself, living in her property and telling friends she had gone away.

“Despite substantial circumstantial, financial and forensic evidence against him, he continually lied to police during interviews about his whereabouts during October and chose to blame another man for her murder, for which police could find no evidence.

“From the moment that Nicola’s body was discovered, this has been a fast moving and dynamic investigation, where my team worked tirelessly over many days, to maximise the amount of time we could hold Canlin, whilst securing evidence to charge him.

“I would also like to recognise the courage of the witnesses who came forward to support us in achieving this result.

“Nicola was a well-known figure in the local community and Canlin took advantage of her good nature and sought to exploit it, whilst looking to blame others.

“The murder of Nicola remained my focus throughout and I would like to acknowledge the huge effort that has been made by my team in achieving this.

“Particular mention should go to the case officer, Detective Constable Dawn Robertson’ for her professionalism and dedication to this case.

“All involved in achieving this result have demonstrated their commitment to the investigation, making personal sacrifices, of which I am very proud of them all.”

Canlin must serve a minimum term of 21 years and 31 days in prison before he is eligible for parole.

He was also ordered to pay £171 victim surcharge and will remain on license for the rest of his life.

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