Mother told of daughter's death by alleged killer

The mother of a woman who died after jumping from a motorway overpass learned of her death from the man accused of killing her, a trial had heard.

Prosecutors allege Lee Milne, 39, threatened, intimidated and followed Kimberley Milne which led to her climbing over a barrier and jumping onto the road below.

The High Court in Glasgow heard Milne later told her mother that "Kim has gone" and claimed he had tried stop her jumping.

The 28-year-old was hit by multiple vehicles on the A90 in Dundee on 27 July 2023 and was pronounced dead at the scene. Milne denies culpable homicide and a separate charge of domestic abuse at properties in Dundee.

The jury at Milne's trial heard details of a statement given to police by the Kimberley's mother Lynne Bruce, 54 in which she described Milne turning up at her house the morning after her daughter's death.

The statement read: "I was woken up by Lee at my door. When I answered he said something along the lines of Kim has gone.

"I didn't know what he was on about and he came in the house.

"He said something along the lines of Kim had pulled the steering wheel and crashed the car.

"He then said Kim 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."

The trial was told that that Milne and Kimberley had spoken to each other online before starting a relationship.

Bruce told jurors that her daughter was "starting to bloom" at the time.

She said that Kimberley was "infatuated" by Milne who was her "Prince Charming."

The couple married in October 2022.

The witness said things had started to "change" and said Milne began speaking to other women.

Bruce told the court that she saw injuries on her daughter's body which included a bite mark.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC asked the witness if Kimberley said who did it and she replied: "Lee."

Jurors previously heard that Kimberley was diagnosed with mental health conditions and had spent time in hospital.

Bruce recalled that Kimberley behaved "erratically" on the day of her death.

She asked Milne for help despite him having bail conditions against her daughter.

The witness said that she asked them both to leave the house after an hour.

Bruce claimed she received a phone call from Kimberley some time before 22:00.

She allegedly said: "Thanks a lot mum you made us crash the car."

Prentice asked Bruce what her reaction was when Milne told her the next day that her daughter had jumped from the bridge. She replied she was "devastated".

Jurors heard that Bruce asked Milne to leave her home after she became aware that one of Kimberley's sisters had heard the news.

Mark Stewart KC, defending, asked the witness why her siblings would think that their sister might have killed herself.

Bruce replied: "They knew the carry-on the two of them were having that day."

Stewart asked her about a section of her police statement in which she said that Milne was trying to "calm" her daughter down.

Bruce said: "Once they left he wasn't trying to calm her down."

The trial before Judge Lady Drummond continues.