Teenage soldier was held hostage, beaten mercilessly and scalded by Edinburgh thug

A man who attempted to murder a soldier in Edinburgh after holding him hostage in a flat has been jailed for seven years.

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Dylan Rigby, 20, had previously pleaded guilty to attacking 18-year-old Cobhan McLelland with scissors, knives and boiling water in a two-hour ordeal at a flat in Kidlaw Close in the Gracemount area of the city in March.

Rigby flew into a rage after discovering Mr McLelland in bed with his sister after returning from a night out at around 6am on Saturday March 22, prosecutor Stephanie Ross told the High Court in Edinburgh.

Cobhan McLelland joined the Army aged 16. (Pic: GoFundMe)

The thug threw Mr McLelland to the ground, and repeatedly stamped on and kicked him, before attacking him with a bottle, scissors and a knife and then pouring boiling water over him.

He put a knife to the squaddie’s back and scissors in his mouth, threatening to cut off his tongue, as well as terrorising him by making threats to rape and kill him, the prosecutor added.

She said: “Mr McLelland was crying, begging for his life. The accused was saying ‘don’t f*** with me, do you know who I am?’

“Throughout the assault the accused was saying he was going to kill the complainer and said he could rape him if he wanted to.

Cobhan McLelland suffered horrific injuries in the attempted murder. (Pic: GoFundMe)

“The accused was laughing and dancing.

“At one point he took him to the window with a knife at his back and put the scissor blades over his tongue, threatening to cut off his tongue.”

Dylan Rigby: A man has admitted attempting to murder a soldier in Edinburgh after holding him hostage in a flat

Police stormed the flat and Rigby was arrested by armed officers at around 8.22am, the court heard.

Cobhan McLelland was left cut, scalded battered and bruised. (Pic: GoFundMe)

Mr McLelland was rushed to hospital with a fractured nose and wrist, and a deep cut to his forehead and burns to his shoulder, arm and back, before being discharged a week later.

He was treated at a specialist burns and has suffered from flashbacks and nightmares, Ms Ross told the court.

The charge states the attack was to Mr McLelland’s “severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger of his life” and that Rigby “did attempt to murder him”.

READ MORE: Soldier stabbed, slashed, bludgeoned and scalded in Edinburgh flat attack

Rigby was initially remanded in custody for a criminal justice social work report to be prepared before sentencing as he is not yet 21.

Jailing him, judge Lady Carmichael said: "You pled guilty to a prolonged and exceptionally violent attack on another young man.

"The offending on this indictment is so serious there is no alternative to a custodial sentence. Your record of offending demonstrates escalating violence."

The judge told Rigby, who was 19 when he carried out the murder bid, that she had to take into account his age and immaturity in sentencing him.

She said: "It is clear that in the interests of your own rehabilitation and the protection of the public you will have to do a great deal of work."

She ordered that Rigby should be kept under supervision for a further three years following his sentence of detention.

The victim from Doncaster, Yorkshire, left his base at Dreghorn Barracks in the capital after arranging a meeting through the a dating app.

He serves with 3 Rifles, a Regular Infantry Battalion of around 650 Riflemen which is scheduled to move to Catterick, North Yorkshire, as one of the selected units in the Army’s new Strike Brigades.

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