Man jailed for killing abused wife who jumped from bridge
Man Jailed for Killing Abused Wife Who Jumped from Bridge
Lee Milne, 40, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of his wife, Kimberly Milne, 28, after she leapt from a motorway bridge in Dundee. The incident occurred in July 2023 when she was struck by multiple vehicles on the A90. The prosecution argued that Milne’s actions led to her decision to end her life, marking the first time Scotland saw such a conviction.
Kimberly’s death was attributed to her taking a “course of action to escape him,” as stated by police. The court heard that she had endured severe mistreatment from Milne over 18 months, including choking, hair-pulling, and physical strikes, alongside verbal abuse. Prosecutors emphasized the emotional toll, noting her fear of him.
“Kimberly was clearly terrified of Lee, and her death was the result of her trying to flee from him.”
Milne’s conviction included culpable homicide and domestic abuse charges linked to properties in Dundee. The trial revealed the couple met in late 2021 and married in September 2022. Abuse escalated rapidly, with incidents like a 2022 attack where he choked her, and a later episode where he dragged her by the hair to the ground, then claimed he was “not that type of guy.”
Months before her death, Kimberly discovered Milne had allegedly been unfaithful. She reported feeling “angry” and “terrified” during a confrontation, which ended with him hitting her head, causing her to lose consciousness. Witnesses described her as cowering and fearful, with one testimony stating: “She was seeming too frightened to act.”
“It did not look like (she was responding to the man) – she was cowering, scared. She did not really do much. There was not much she could do.”
CCTV footage from the trial showed Kimberly trailing behind Milne as he drove toward her, hiding behind a wall, and shouting at her. The jury also heard from Kimberly’s mother, Lynne Bruce, 54, who recounted how Milne arrived at her home the morning after her daughter’s death, claiming she had crashed the car and jumped from the bridge.
“I was woken up by Lee at my door. He said something along the lines of Kim had gone. He came in the house and told me she had pulled the steering wheel and crashed the car. He then said she 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.”
Judge Lady Drummond highlighted Milne’s pattern of emotional and physical violence, as well as his attempts to shift blame onto Kimberly’s vulnerabilities. She added that the victim’s family described her as a “one-in-a-million” individual, deeply loved and devastated by her loss. “Nothing I can say or do today will bring her back and ease their grief,” the judge remarked.
Det Chf Insp Craig Kelly, who led the investigation, praised the conviction, calling Milne a “violent bully” who exerted coercive control. He noted that witness accounts and video evidence depicted “horrendous domestic abuse,” with Kimberly’s fear evident in her actions. Milne will serve three years of community supervision after his release.
While this case is the first in Scotland, similar convictions have occurred in English courts. Nicholas Allen was jailed for 10 years in 2017 for manslaug…