Domestic abuser jailed for killing wife who took her own life in Scotland

A man convicted of killing his wife, who took her own life after repeated domestic abuse, has been jailed for eight years in a case seen as a significant legal milestone.Kimberly Milne, 28, died when she jumped from a bridge in July 2023. Her estranged husband, Lee Milne, was found guilty of culpable homicide last month after a trial at the high court in Glasgow.The 40-year-old, from Dundee, is the first person in Britain to have been convicted by a jury of killing an ex-partner after prolonged domestic abuse, despite not physically causing her death.Milne, who met Kimberly online in 2021 and married her the next year, was also convicted of engaging in abusive conduct towards her, isolating her from her family, controlling her finances and repeatedly choking her. When Kimberly tried to end the relationship, Milne threatened to kill himself.Kimberly Milne. Photograph: Police ScotlandOn the night of her death, witnesses described seeing a “distraught” Kimberly “trapped” in Milne’s arms a short distance from where she died. The court heard she was in “distress, fear or alarm” when Milne followed her on to a bridge over the A90 road, from which she fell to her death.Sentencing Milne on Friday, the judge, Lady Drummond, told him he would face an additional three years on licence when released from prison. She said an extended custodial sentence was the “only appropriate disposal” to protect the public and punish Milne.Kimberly’s family hugged each other and cried in the public gallery as the sentence was delivered. Drummond said she had read and considered their victim impact statements.“They describe [Kimberly] as one in a million, a much-loved daughter, sister and aunt. They are devastated by her death. Nothing I can say or do today will bring her back or ease their grief.”Scotland has a different legal system to England and Wales, and the offence of culpable homicide is similar to manslaughter.In 2017, at Stafford crown court, the stalker Nicholas Allen admitted the manslaughter of his former partner, Justene Reece, who hanged herself after a six-month campaign of threats and harassment. However, Milne’s conviction marks the first time a jury anywhere in Britain has reached such a verdict in a case of this nature.Milne met Kimberly on the night of her death despite being subject to bail conditions that meant he was banned from contacting her. The couple had been living separately for several weeks.The judge added that, while Milne repeatedly choked and attacked Kimberly during their relationship, his abuse was “not only physical”.“You bullied her by shouting and swearing at her,” she said. “You tried to cut her off from her family.”Police had begun investigating domestic abuse allegations against him several months earlier, after Kimberly confided in a mental health nurse that he had subjected her to physical abuse and “mental torture” over about 18 months.In one incident, in early 2022, Milne became angry after going through Kimberly’s mobile phone. He then choked her and spat in her mouth.Describing another attack, which took place in 2023, Kimberly 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.”In mitigation, Milne’s defence counsel, Mark Stewart KC, asked the judge to consider Kimberly’s longstanding history of mental health issues. The trial heard that these dated back to her childhood and involved previous suicide attempts.Stewart said the offence of culpable homicide was “framed against an extremely unusual and unique background where there were a number of competing factors”. He added that Milne had been affected by “emotional neglect” in childhood and had “suffered the trauma of seeing his wife killed in terrible circumstances”.However, Drummond said Milne posed a “high risk of further offending and causing further harm”. She added that Milne had accepted some of his abusive behaviour, but had “continued to minimise” aspects of his conduct.She said Kimberly had “reached a point of despair” on the night she took her own life and that Milne had known she was “in distress”.The court heard that Kimberly was “fragile” and suffering from mental health difficulties in the hours before she died.Drummond told Milne: “Your response to her that day – driving erratically and at speed whilst she was in the car with you, shouting at her and throwing an item at her, acting aggressively and intimidating her – was further abuse carried out by you at a time when she was in a fragile state.”Laura Buchan, the legal director at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “This prosecution sought to answer a complex question: can a partner be held criminally responsible for the death of a victim who has taken their own life following a course of domestic abuse?”She said the evidence showed Milne’s physical and psychological abuse was a significant contributing factor in Kimberly’s death.“He deliberately and ruthlessly exploited Kimberly’s vulnerabilities which makes him culpable for her decision to end her own life,” Buchan said. “His coercive and controlling behaviour escalated throughout the relationship. On the night that Kimberly died, his abuse was carried out in full public view.”Buchan said the case illustrated how women could get “trapped in relationships in webs created by an abuser”.“Today we are thinking of the family and friends of Kimberly who have suffered such a terrible loss and unimaginable trauma.” In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org