Scotland: Abusive man gets 8 years prison for wife's suicide

Trigger warning: This article contains references to physical abuse and suicide. A 40-year-old man, Lee Milne, was sentenced to eight years in prison by the High Court in Glasgow on Friday for driving his wife to suicide with his abusive behavior. He had been found guilty in March of culpable homicide. Milne's 28-year-old wife, Kimberly, jumped to her death from a bridge in Dundee, Scotland in July 27, 2023. Lee was married to Kimberly for 18 months, and subjected his wife to both physical, emotional and financial abuse. It's the first case in Scotland where jurors were tasked to determine whether a spouse was criminally responsible for the suicide of his partner. CCTV footage showed abuse on day of Kimberly's suicide Evidence of the abuse was presented by prosecutors, with Lee choking, dragging and punching his wife unconscious. CCTV footage from the day of Kimberly's suicide showed Lee yelling at Kimberly and shouting at her in a Dundee supermarket prior to her death. Another video showed Lee on the same day driving his car at Kimberly and swerving away to miss her at the last moment. She threw herself off the nearby bridge just moments later. "Lee Milne physically and psychologically abused Kimberly Bruce (Milne) and our evidence showed that this abuse was a significant contributing factor in her death," prosecutor Laura Buchan said. "He deliberately and ruthlessly exploited Kimberly's vulnerabilities, which makes him culpable for her decision to end her own life." Lee sometimes also locked Kimberly in their apartment without food and restricted her access to money. Filipina domestic staff in UK combat abuse via mental healthTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Domestic abuse 'builds over time,' judge says "Domestic abuse is rarely about one incident," Judge Lorna Drummond said. "It's not only about violent acts, it includes more subtle, but nonetheless as harmful, exertions of power and control in a relationship. And it builds over time, each act, whether physical, psychological or financial, adds to the next, increasing pressure and fear, eroding confidence and independence." "By the jury's verdict, you must bear responsibility not only for all of your abusive acts, but also for causing her death," the judge said. Kimberley's sister said she had urged her to leave her husband four months before her death, but Kimberley responded that Lee had threatened to "do himself in without me." The couple did eventually break up but were still seen together, as on the day of Kimberley's death. Members of Kimberly Milne's family were in court as the sentence was handed down to Lee. Family members of Kimberly said she was "one in a million" and they were "devastated" over her death. Editor's note: If you are suffering from serious emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate to seek professional help. You can find information on where to find such help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website: https://www.befrienders.org/ Edited by: Alex Berry