Lee Milne has been jailed for eight years after a High Court trial in Glasgow found him guilty of culpable homicide and domestic abuse in the death of his wife, Kimberly Milne. The case centers on events in Dundee in July 2023, when Kimberly Milne, 28, fell from a motorway bridge on the A90 and died after being struck by multiple vehicles. It is the first prosecution of its kind in Scotland, because Lee Milne was held responsible even though he did not physically cause her fatal fall.
Eight-year sentence follows landmark verdict
The sentence was handed down on Friday by Lady Drummond, who also told Lee Milne he will face an additional three years on licence when released. The court had already heard that prosecutors described the abuse as significant and prolonged, stretching across the 18 months before Kimberly Milne’s death. The jury found Lee Milne guilty of culpable homicide and a separate domestic abuse charge linked to conduct at several properties in Dundee.
Prosecutors said the couple got together in late 2021 and married in September 2022. The abuse, they said, began soon after the relationship started and continued until the day Kimberly Milne died. One early incident described in court involved Lee Milne choking her in 2022.
What the court heard about the abuse
Before her death, Kimberly Milne told police that Lee Milne had gone through her phone, seen messages from other men before their relationship, and then shouted and swore at her. Another assault later in 2022 involved him yanking her by the hair and knocking her to the ground before apologising and saying he was not “that type of guy. ”
In late 2022, Kimberly Milne said she discovered her husband had allegedly been cheating on her with other women. The court heard he became angry, hit her on the head, and caused her to fall and lose consciousness. On the night of her death, the court was told the couple were captured on CCTV.
Why the case stands out
The case has been treated as a major legal milestone because Lee Milne was convicted for the death even though Kimberly Milne jumped from the bridge herself. Prosecutors said she had suffered repeated abuse and coercive conduct over time, and the jury accepted that this pattern was central to the fatal outcome. Lee Milne, who was 40 at the time of sentencing, had earlier been placed on the sex offenders’ register after being convicted of sexually assaulting two young boys in 2024.
Lady Drummond said the extended custodial sentence was the only appropriate disposal to protect the public and punish Lee Milne. The ruling leaves the case as a closely watched test of how the courts treat fatal outcomes linked to prolonged domestic abuse, and Lee Milne will remain the focus as the sentence begins and the wider impact of the verdict settles in Scotland.
