Man jailed over Peebles postwoman murder (Details)

A man who murdered a postwoman in the Scottish Borders has been jailed for at least 16 years.

Nicholas Rogers stabbed Alexandra Stuart, 22, at a house party in Cuddyside, Peebles, last August.

He had admitted killing her but claimed he was suffering from an “abnormality of the mind” at the time.

A jury rejected that claim and convicted him of murder last month. Lord Summers jailed him for life at the High Court in Glasgow.

The judge said it was clear the killer had been in “possession of his faculties” and had ignored warnings not to mix alcohol with drugs.

He added the stabbing was not a “spur-of-the-moment” crime.

Lord Summers said: “You said, ‘I may as well kill somebody’. That is what you did.

“Alex Stuart was a popular figure and her death is a tragedy for her family and the whole community.”

Victoria Dow, defending, said her client was at pains to make clear that he suffered from “revulsion for his conduct”.

The advocate added Rogers wanted to study psychology while in jail to “better understand” how he had found himself in such a situation.