Musselburgh man stabbed friend 18 times and torched his body after motorbike crash

A man murdered his friend then set fire to his body after a row about a minor motorbike accident.

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Jordan Dickson left Craig Sneddon, 41, with at least 18 wounds after a brutal knife attack on January 17 this year.

The 25 year-old then fled the scene - but later confessed to a woman he had left the dad-of-one "burnt to a crisp".

Horrific death: Craig Sneddon was stabbed and set on fire.

A couple walking their dog later that morning made the grim discovery of Craig's charred remains under Dickson's burning bike on Fordel Path in Dalkeith, Midlothian.

Dickson - who was on a curfew at the time - has now been jailed for a minimum 19 years after he pled guilty to murder at the High Court in Glasgow.

The thug had gone to Craig's home in Wallyford, East Lothian the night before the killing.

In the early hours, the pair were spotted on Dickson's Kawasaki bike.

They eventually ended up at Fordel Path sometime after 12.30am.

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Prosecutor Eric Robertson then told the court: "There are no eyewitnesses to what happened there, but Jordan Dickson accepts that while there had assaulted Craig Sneddon in terms detailed in the charge."

The indictment stated Dickson murdered his friend by repeatedly striking him with a knife and then set fire to his body.

Dickson phoned a taxi to collect him around a mile from the scene to get him away and he headed to his home in Musselburgh, East Lothian.

He went on to speak to a number of people in the hours after.

This included claiming to his sister Bianca that he had been in a "fight" with Craig and "said something about a bike".

Around 4.30am, he stated to a friend: "I need help. I cannot talk on the phone."

Dickson added to this man there allegedly had been a confrontation between him and Craig.

READ MORE: Craig Sneddon: Death of East Lothian man, 41, found near burnt out motorbike in Midlothian now being treated as murder

Mr Robertson said: "He told the man that after he stabbed Craig Sneddon in the neck, he poured petrol on top of him, placed the motorcycle on top and set fire to him."

Dickson then went to the home of a friend of his other sister yelling he was "in trouble" and had "killed someone.

"She did not believe him...he said he had 'burnt the guy to a crisp'. He said he was referring to Craig Sneddon."

Dickson then boarded a bus in Wallyford and confessed to a passenger: "I am going to get done with murder."

Craig’s body was discovered the following morning by a couple out walking who noticed rising smoke and the smell of burning.

He was so badly burned that DNA was used for a formal identification after he had been reported missing.

Mr Robertson said he had suffered at least 18 wounds to his face, head and neck.

Pathologists said they could "not fully rule out" the possibility of other stab injuries.

After initially being held the next day, Dickson told police: "I do not understand. No comment."

Lady Stacey handed Dickson a life sentence.

She told him: "What you did was wicked and cruel. After what happened, you did nothing by way of reporting or trying to get help.

"You did nothing apart from setting fire to his body. The family of Craig Sneddon will find that extremely hard to deal with."

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