A man will stand trial for the murder of a chef whose body was discovered in a burning flat.

Frank Moore, 43, is accused of killing Stewart Taylor on February 7 this year at a property in Chalmers Crescent in Edinburgh's Grange area.

Moore is said to have entered the flat uninvited before assaulting Mr Taylor. It is alleged he then set fire to bedding or other material before locking the 33 year-old inside.

Moore also faces an accusation that he tried to kill Mr Taylor's partner Lynsey Anne Methven at the flat on the same day. He is accused of then attempting to defeat the ends of justice by hiding Mr Taylor's mobile phone and disposing of its sim card.

The charge includes claims that Moore set fire to pair of his own boots and washed clothing all worn during the alleged offences.

At a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, Judge Lord Brailsford set a trial date of August 24. The case, which will be heard at the High Court in Edinburgh, is expected to last up to three weeks.

Mr Taylor, originally from Aberdeen, worked at the Maison Bleue restaurant in the capital's Old Town.

Moore also faces a number of other allegations. These include a claim that he previously assaulted Mr Taylor and Miss Methven at the flat in Chalmers Crescent on December 6 last year.

Moore also allegedly attacked Mr Taylor at the Elm Bar in the capital's Elm Row in January this year.

He is accused of repeatedly contacting Miss Methven by phone earlier this year in a way that was “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character” between January 18 and February 6.

Moore is also said to have committed a breach of the peace during the same dates in that he harassed Miss Methven and “watched her movements”.