The sister of a torture victim who plunged from a high-rise flat said her brother "didn't deserve to suffer" after a sheriff ruled his death could have been avoided.
Jamie Forbes, 37, was abducted and tortured by Lee Smith, also 37, at the property on Elphinstone Court in Aberdeen for two days in January 2024. He was repeatedly struck with a hammer, punched and kicked during the terrifying campaign of abuse. He jumped from the 12th floor flat window to escape his torturer and fell to his death.
Despite witnesses reporting his screams to 999, police were unable to locate the property and left the scene. A Fatal Accident Inquiry found four reasonable precautions could have been taken to prevent his death.
Family's anguish
Jamie's sister Lyndsay-Anne Forbes said: "It's been 998 days since Jamie died and since then I have campaigned to get answers for him. He did everything you're supposed to do, he called for help when he was in trouble and would have believed the police would help.
"I can't bear to think how he felt when he realised no one was coming and he was alone. Hearing the evidence from the witnesses who tried to save Jamie when he was crying out for help broke my heart.
"My brother didn't deserve to suffer like that he was a kind and gentle man who loved his family."
FAI recommendations
Following the FAI, Sheriff Miller set out two recommendations for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, including improving guidance for call handlers to reduce the risk of recording errors. He also called for new guidance for Police Scotland call handlers to prevent a repeat incident.
He also ruled that the recording of information from a 999 call, follow-up contact with a key witness, communication between officers and supervisors, and acting on information about Mr Forbes' desperate pleas for help coming from higher floors of the building could have prevented his death.
Reacting to the outcome, Lyndsay-Anne continued: "The recommendations show there needs to be changes made to how calls from the public are recorded and how police deal with those calls. I will forever be traumatised by what happened to my big brother. I just hope the recommendations are taken seriously so no other person has to suffer like Jamie did."
Jamie's Law campaign
Lyndsay-Anne has been campaigning for a change in the law regarding how emergency services handle 'concern for person' call-outs.
She said: "This proves there is a need for 'Jamie's Law' which would ensure officers called out to concerns for person can't leave until they find the person in distress.
"We went through a lot of torment after Jamie's death. When I think back to him sitting in that house alone, thinking that somebody was going to save him and then realising nobody was coming, and the pain he must have felt.
"Today, that pain has been taken away from him. This judgement takes that pain away. Jamie's Law will make sure that nobody else suffers the same way he did. We hope that the police will accept the recommendations and follow through with them.
"Today, Jamie is James Alexander Robert Forbes. He gets his dignity back, he gets his name back and he's free."
The ordeal and aftermath
Jamie plunged to his death while trying to flee his torturer at the high-rise flat block. During the ordeal, witnesses had repeatedly called 999 after hearing screaming and seeing a man with blood on his face at the window of the property. One neighbour on the 10th floor reported a man shouting, "Please help me". Officers attended the building and made door-to-door enquiries on the 6th, 7th and 8th floor but were not able to trace the source of shouting and left.
Smith admitted culpable homicide and was jailed for eight years at the High Court in Edinburgh in December that year. The court heard how when officers attended his flat, the property was discovered soaked in bloodstains. They found that the lock to the house had been "reversed", which would have prevented the victim from leaving. They discovered Smith, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, washing up in his kitchen.
A witness told the court that officers left and advised construction workers to call back if the shouting started again. Two further witnesses attended Smith's flat and noticed the handle had been reversed. Smith told both men that Mr Forbes had stolen £40 from him and he was keeping him there for three days so he could 'atone' for what he had done. He also said he had 'battered' the deceased because of the stolen money. Mr Forbes was then spotted by the men and was lying on the livingroom floor in a puddle of blood. He had multiple visible injuries including bruises and lacerations, and his face was bloodstained. The court heard how the two witnesses left. Mr Forbes then jumped from the property shortly afterwards.
Richard Pitts, Partner with the firm's Non-Accidental Team, has been supporting Lyndsay-Anne throughout the process of the FAI. He said: "What happened to Jamie was utterly horrendous and I commend Lyndsay-Anne for her strength and resolve during her fight to uncover the truth of what happened and help protect others. The determination will now be considered in full and we will continue to support Jamie's family with their next steps."
