Aberdeen inquiry finds four precautions could have prevented torture victim’s death

James Forbes, 37, died after falling from a 12th-floor window in Aberdeen in January 2024 whilst being tortured by Lee Smith. A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) has ruled that police were sent to the wrong part of the building due to a 999 emergency call error, and that four reasonable precautions could have prevented his death. The tragedy has prompted his sister to campaign for legal changes to how emergency services handle welfare concerns.

Key details include that a witness told call-handlers screams came from around six floors below the top of the building, but this was recorded as six to eight floors from the bottom, directing officers to the wrong location. No attempt was made to recontact the 999 caller to confirm the information. Sheriff Principal Andrew Miller made recommendations for improved call-handler guidance and new procedures for concern-for-person incidents. Smith, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, admitted culpable homicide and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in December 2024.