An abusive husband whose wife leapt from a Dundee road bridge to escape him has been jailed for eight years in a landmark Scottish case that holds him criminally responsible for her death.

Lee Milne, 40, was convicted of culpable homicide after a jury found that his sustained campaign of physical and psychological abuse was a significant factor in the death of his wife, 28-year-old care worker Kimberley Bruce. She fell from an overpass onto the A90 in Dundee and was struck by several vehicles.

Over 18 months, Milne subjected Kimberley to escalating violence and coercive control. The court heard how he punched and spat at her, throttled and bit her, and repeatedly humiliated and intimidated her. He forced her to move in with him and marry him, cut her off from friends and family, and tightly controlled her finances.

On one occasion in November 2022, Milne struck Kimberley so hard she fell and hit her head on a wall, knocking her unconscious. In May the following year, when she asked to be taken home, he grabbed her by the throat, choked her and shouted at her. Terrified, she barricaded herself in a room with a table, but Milne forced his way in, repeatedly punched and bit her and threatened to hit her with a mirror before smashing it against a wall.

In the hours before her death, witnesses described Milne driving erratically with Kimberley in the car, shouting at her and seizing hold of her. Prosecutors said his behaviour left her so frightened that she saw no escape other than to flee him on the bridge.

Laura Buchan, legal director at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said the case addressed a crucial question: whether a partner can be held criminally responsible when a victim takes their own life after prolonged domestic abuse. She said evidence showed Milne had ruthlessly exploited Kimberley’s vulnerabilities and trapped her in a web of coercive control.

Detective Chief Inspector Craig Kelly described Milne as a cruel, manipulative and violent man whose conduct on the night of Kimberley’s death was “truly shocking”. He said Kimberley was “very clearly terrified of him” and that her death was a direct consequence of his abuse.

Police and prosecutors said they hoped the conviction would send a powerful message that domestic abusers will be pursued and held to account, even when their actions drive victims to take their own lives.