MARTEL MAXWELL: Tragic story of Dundee woman Kimberly Milne will change and save the lives of others |
Look up when driving along the Kingsway in Dundee and you will see flowers.
Flowers tied to an overpass in tribute to and in memory of Kimberly Milne.
It’s a story many of you will know.
Kimberly was just 28 when she jumped onto the dual carriageway from that footbridge, to be hit by a lorry, on July 27 2023.
And this week, a man – in the loosest form of the word – was found guilty of her death.
He may not have physically pushed Kimberly in those final, tragic moments of her life, but in a landmark case making Scottish legal history, Lee Milne was found guilty of culpable homicide.
A jury at the High Court in Glasgow agreed that Kimberly’s death was the result of his sustained and horrific domestic abuse from January 2022 up to her death.
Looking up to that overpass as we drive through our daily lives, it feels so sad – such a waste of young life.
But where Kimberly’s life ended, it is not the end – for this case and her life will change the lives of many to come.
Kimberly could never have foretold the profound effect of her story, one which has been told with quiet dignity by her family.
How many women reading of Kimberly’s fate will think, “There but for the grace of God go I?”
Many have experienced abuse covering such a vast range of behaviour, from the unseen acts of control, whether over bank accounts or wardrobes, to inflicting injuries that hospitalise – and many, thankfully, look back one day with overwhelming relief they escaped.
Kimberly had a future, one that was taken from her.
And for every landmark – birthdays, friends’ weddings and births of their babies – an unbearable pain will hit fresh for her loved ones.
Kimberly can give women the power to leave abusive relationships
Learning Kimberly’s story of not escaping the clutches of evil before it was too late will hit hard for anyone still in an abusive relationship.
It only ends well if you leave, and Kimberly can give them the power to do just that.
To any cretin who abuses like Lee Milne – let the lesson be that they can be held to account, not for a final blow but for the months or years of physical and mental torture that led to it.
In Kimberly’s case, we know much of the detail because she was brave enough in life to document it.
She told medical and police staff how Milne would abuse her, including knocking her unconscious, spitting on her and grabbing her by the throat.
She once slept with a knife under her pillow because she was so scared of him.
She also said she was bullied and coerced into their September 2022 marriage.
Her family tried to intervene and support her, to persuade her to leave, but Milne clawed her back by crying and apologising – a story all too familiar to anyone who has found themselves in the hands of a master manipulator.
The statistics for domestic abuse in Dundee do not make easy reading.
In the latest available figures published by the Scottish Government from 2023-24, 183 incidents per 10,000 population were recorded by police.
This is the highest rate of any local authority in Scotland and about 1.6 times higher than the Scottish average.
Comparing the numbers nationally, 116 incidents per 10,000 population were recorded in the same period in Scotland.
Some say our high rates are partially explained by successful campaigning in the field – and the people who work tirelessly to help those in need can change and save lives.
Kimberly had a force behind her in death that would not stop until justice was served
Nationally, about 81% of cases involved a female victim and male suspected perpetrator, though the number of men abused at 19% is not insubstantial with too many embarrassed to speak out.
For Kimberly’s case to be proven – that her death was caused by her husband – would have involved a Herculean mountain of work.
But this young woman, who was vulnerable in life, had a force behind her in death that would not stop until justice was served.
The police, Alex Prentice KC, who prosecuted the case aided by his team, Kimberly’s sisters Lyndsay Anderson and Nicky Bruce, and her mother Lynne Bruce – who provided witness impact statements – and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, all fighting for her truth.
The presiding judge Lady Drummond locked Lee Milne up until sentencing, which will happen at the High Court in Dundee in April.
It is not just those who loved Kimberly who will be haunted by this forever.
What of the emergency services first called to that unimaginable scene; the jury members who sat through sickening detail day after day?
Lee Milne’s actions destroyed one life, but shattered how many more?
Nothing will bring Kimberly back, but her life will change and possibly save those of others.