Couple jailed for killing man lured to his death by promise of sex

Paul Balgowan, 24, was found guilty of stabbing Alan Bennett to death after he was enticed down a dark lane. Prostitute Julie Carroll, also 24, pled guilty to culpable homicide during the trial, though she blamed her boyfriend for stabbing Mr Bennett.

Explaining her guilty plea, she told the jury: "At the end of the day, I took the man there to get robbed, so in my eyes, it was my fault he got stabbed."

Mr Bennett, 56, was targeted on his way home for a work night out in Aberdeen on 30 May.

The insurance broker, who had picked up Carroll at the city harbour, was knifed repeatedly because he put up a fight.

The High Court in Aberdeen heard how the pair, both drug addicts, had planned to threaten him with a blade, but he refused to hand over his wallet.

Yesterday, after a two-week trial, a jury cleared Balgowan of murder, but found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

The jurors took just over two hours to find him guilty by a majority verdict.

Lord Matthews said a very lengthy sentence was inevitable and deferred sentence for background reports.

Advocate depute Iain McSporran told the court Mr Bennett's widow was finding it "extremely difficult" to deal with the circumstances of her husband's death.