Abuser convicted of killing wife who jumped to her death in first of its kind case

A man whose abuse of his wife led to her jumping onto a road to her death has been convicted of killing her in a landmark Scottish case.

Lee Milne, 39, was found guilty on Monday of the culpable homicide of vulnerable Kimberley Milne following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

The 28-year-old died after she climbed over a barrier of the A90 Kingsway West in Dundee before being struck by a lorry.

Prosecutors stated Kimberley had suffered significant domestic violence at the hands of Milne in the 18 months prior to her death on July 27, 2023.

Kimberley Milne: The 28-year-old died after a fall from a bridge. STV News

Milne’s lawyer stated what happened was “a terrible loss” but argued that Kimberley had long-standing mental health issues – including previous suicide attempts – and said he was not guilty of serial “abusive” conduct.

The case was the first prosecution of its kind in this country.

One man was previously found guilty in England in 2017 of an unlawful killing following domestic controlling behaviour of his ex-girlfriend.

Milne, also of Dundee, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in April.

The couple got together in late 2021 and married in September 2022.

Prosecutors stated Milne effectively tormented Kimberley soon into the relationship until the day of her death more than a year later.

Among the list of harrowing incidents was an attack in early 2022 when Milne choked his wife.

Recalling her ordeal to police before her death, she recalled: “Lee and I were in his home and he went through my phone.

“He saw messages from other men before we were together. He got angry and started to shout and swear at me.”

She told police Milne called her derogatory names.

“Immediately after this he put both hands around my neck and pinned me against the kitchen wall,” she said.

“After a while he swapped his hands, pressed his right forearm against my neck.

“A few seconds passed and he let go and started crying, saying how sorry he was.”

‘Not that type of guy’

Another assault occurred months later when Milne yanked Kimberley by the hair to the ground before again apologising, claiming he was “not that type of guy”.

In late 2022, Kimberley said she discovered her husband had allegedly been cheating on her with other women.

He was said to have got “angry” and hit Kimberley on the head, causing her to fall and slip unconscious.

The victim detailed other violence including an incident witnessed by a concerned neighbour.

She later accused him of adultery again leading to Kimberley trying to barricade herself in a room to keep a raging Milne away.

She told police: “Lee repeatedly punched my ribs and I was begging him not to hurt me but he was not listening.

“I felt unsafe so I decided not to leave that night. I slept with a knife under my pillow as I was so frightened of him.”

The next day Kimberley felt she was suffering from “a mental health episode” and she ended up in Carseview Centre at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

While there, she texted Milne: “You berated me last night and choked me until I was nearly unconscious.

“You really don’t care do you? This is over.”

Milne replied: “I am ashamed, you don’t deserve that, I’m sorry”.

A witness told the trial how she spotted a man and woman appearing to have an “argument” outside the night she jumped onto the A90.

Daisy White, 25, initially thought it was a “father-daughter situation”.

Miss White then went shopping before noticing the pair again outside a flooring store at the Kingsway Retail Park in Dundee.

The witness said this time the man was “trapping” the woman against the wall.

Asked what the female was doing, Miss White told the court: “Cowering, scared. She did not really do much. There was not much she could do.

“It did not look like (she was responding to the man) – she was seeming too frightened.”

Miss White stated she had been “concerned” for the female and, asked why, she replied: “It was a man making a young woman scared. It is going to be alarm bells.”

Kimberley’s mother recalled to police how Milne woke her up the next morning to state her daughter had “gone”.

Lynne Bruce, 54, said she was told Kimberley had crashed Milne’s car before he followed her on foot to a bridge.

In a statement read to jurors, the 54-year-old was said to have commented: “I did not know what he was on about. He came in the house.

“He said something along the lines of Kim had pulled the steering wheel and crashed the car.

“He then said Kim had gone up to the bridge and he had chased her.

“He tried to grab her hands and she looked up at him, shook her head before jumping off.

“He then said he lay beside her.”

Asked in court about her reaction to the news, the mum replied: “Devastated.”

Lynne said her daughter had been “infatuated” with the thug, who was her “Prince Charming”.

But, she added the relationship started to “change” amid claims Milne was cheating on his wife.

Lynne recalled seeing injuries on Kimberley and that she was told Milne had done it.

The mum also told the trial her daughter had been acting “erratically” on the day of her death.

In his closing speech to jurors, prosecutor Alex Prentice KC said: “What the Crown say here is that the continuous course of abusive behaviour seriously eroded Kimberley Milne’s personality particularly, as I suggest, she was seriously fragile already.”

Milne knew Kimberley had previously been diagnosed with depression and anxiety so was “aware of her vulnerabilities”.

The advocate depute further stated to jurors that what Milne did had a “causal link” to the tragedy.

He referred to the testimony of Professor Gary McPherson – a leading clinical psychologist.

He had never met Kimberley, but had been asked to consider information known about her including 1,000 pages of medical records.

In a report for the court, Dr McPherson said such behaviour towards a “highly vulnerable female” could have contributed to a “significant worsening” of Kimberley’s “psychological state”.

Milne was also convicted of engaging in a course of abusive conduct towards his wife.

After the verdict, Mr Prentice said relatives of Kimberley had penned emotional victim impact statements for judge Lady Drummond to consider.

He added: “It is obvious the quite far-reaching effect Kimberley’s death has had.

“They recognise that she had difficulties of her own, but the circumstances of the death brought great misery for the family, perhaps unlikely from which they will truly recover.”

The court was told Milne had a number of previous convictions for assault, resisting arrest and driving offences.

Lady Drummond told him: “It will be obvious to you that these are very serious offences which have caused harm and upset to Kimberley’s grieving family.”

Following the conviction, Detective Chief Inspector Craig Kelly stated that the police force is “relentless” in their “focus on tackling domestic abuse”

Detective Chief Inspector Craig Kelly said: “Our thoughts are with Kimberly’s family and friends following this verdict. They have dealt with her tragic loss with great dignity and hopefully this outcome will provide a degree of closure.

“This was an extremely complex investigation and involved very close work with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to ensure that Lee Milne has been held accountable for causing the death of Kimberly.

“Our investigation found that his behaviour in the time leading up to Kimberly’s death was truly shocking and placed his partner in such fear that she took a course of action to get away from him which led to her death.

“She was very clearly terrified of him on that night. It is a tragedy that she lost her life as a consequence.

“Our investigation also uncovered a series of domestic offences against Kimberly over an extended period of time, exposing him as a cruel, manipulative and violent man.

“Our officers are determined to ensure women and girls live free from violence and abuse. We are relentless in our focus on tackling domestic abuse. It will not be tolerated, and perpetrators will be held accountable.”

Milne had been on bail, but was remanded in custody until he returns to the dock on April 10 in Dundee.