Tortured man's death in high-rise flat plunge could have been avoided - inquiry

The death of a man who plunged from a high-rise flat - after the possible location of screams for help were wrongly recorded in a 999 call - could have been prevented, a sheriff has ruled.

Jamie Forbes, 37, was held against his will and tortured in Elphinstone Court, an 18-storey building in Aberdeen, for two days in January 2024.

When police carried out door-to-door inquiries they were unable to trace where the cries had come from. Forbes then fell from a 12th floor window.

Following a fatal accident inquiry (FAI), Sheriff Principal Andrew Miller said the death "might realistically" have been prevented. He called for new guidance for police call handlers in the hope of avoiding a repeat.

The victim's sister said the recommendations proved the need for changes to be made to how calls from the public are recorded.

"I can't bear to think how he felt when he realised no-one was coming and he was alone," she said.

Lee Smith, 37, was jailed for eight years in December 2024 after admitting culpable homicide in relation to the case.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lady Hood had heard the abuse inflicted on Forbes was so bad that he had no other option but to jump from the window.

Police later discovered the lock of the flat's door had been tampered with, meaning the window was the only route of escape.

Officers had found Smith washing up in the kitchen, and bloodstains throughout the flat.

He had repeatedly hit his victim with a hammer, and punched and kicked him during the attack.

The FAI was held earlier this year in Aberdeen.

A call handler told the inquiry he had wrongly recorded information from a caller about which storey the screams were coming from.

Callum Scott, a Police Scotland service adviser, said he took an emergency call about screams being heard.

The caller, Gail Thomson, said she thought the screams were coming from about six floors down from the top of the building.

However, Scott instead recorded the information as six to eight floors up.

He accepted there had been a "recording error" and that there had been a "miscommunication" between himself and the caller.

Scott explained that the incident had been flagged as needing an immediate response due to the fact someone was shouting for help.

PC William Bayliss was called to the scene. He said information from people there led him and a colleague to go to the seventh floor of Elphinstone Court.

They also knocked on doors on the fifth, sixth and eighth floors. However, he said they found no evidence of anyone in distress.

Jamie Forbes was later seen falling to his death.

The FAI had heard a post-mortem examination revealed multiple internal injuries as a result of the fall from height. There were also sharp-force injuries to his hands which were described as "classic defence-type injuries".

The sheriff principal's determination, running to almost 100 pages, has now been published.

He found there were precautions which could reasonably have been taken that might realistically have resulted in the death being avoided. The determination says:

• Information provided during 999 call could have accurately noted
• An attempt could have been made to contact the caller in order to confirm the information she had provided
• A sergeant could have confirmed what witnesses were being referred to when speaking to officers at the scene, before they were stood down
• Two officers at the scene could have acted on information they received from workmen that cries heard earlier had come from the upper floors.

The sheriff has made two recommendations for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, which "might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances".

He said guidance should be developed and introduced for Police Scotland service advisers to minimise mistakes in recording information from members of the public.

This could include repeating potentially important information.

He also said guidance should be introduced to clarify when an attempt should be made to contact someone who has called the police to report a concern for a person, and who should be responsible for doing it.

He concluded: "I wish to join with all of the other participants in the inquiry in expressing the court's condolences to Mr Forbes's family, who have suffered the untimely loss of Mr Forbes in these most tragic and distressing circumstances."

The victim's sister, Lyndsay-Anne Forbes, has been calling for a new law to protect others.

She said a "Jamie's Law" would ensure police could not leave similar situations until they had found the person and made them safe.

Reacting to the findings, she said: "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.

"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."

She added: "The recommendations show there need to be changes made to how calls from the public are recorded and how police deal with those calls.

"I just hope the recommendations are taken seriously so no other person has to suffer like Jamie did."