Former police officer admits breaking into funeral home to kill his partner

A former police officer has been convicted of attempting to murder his former partner and her mother by driving his car through the window of their funeral home.

William McBurnie left Zoe Turnbull with life-long scars and seriously injured her 71-year-old mother Beverley in the incident in Jedburgh in December 2022.

At the High Court in Livingston, Judge Lord Mulholland described the defendant's deliberate attempt to kill his former partner as a “cowardly and selfish act”.

He urged the 67-year-old not to be under the illusion that he would be sent to prison for a “very long time”.

Delivered

The court heard that McBurnie, a former advanced driver and driving instructor with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, had been drinking whisky since 6am on the day of the attack.

He had almost three times the legal blood alcohol content when he deliberately accelerated on an adjacent street and drove towards the store on Market Street at high speed despite a yield sign.

His car drove onto the sidewalk, smashed through two large flower pots and the glass pane of the window, sending shards of glass flying through the air and hitting the office desk so hard that it got stuck in a back wall.

Video footage of the incident shows how close McBurnie came to hitting the two women as they desperately pressed themselves against the side walls of the office.

Digby Brown

As he climbed out of the wreckage, the two women could be seen in the background hugging each other in front of the store.

Assistant solicitor Alex Price Marmion said McBurnie was seen stopping his car at the intersection opposite the store twice last week.

On the day of the robbery, he was again observed stopping at the intersection before turning right and driving off after a customer had left the funeral home.

Moments later, after driving through a triangle in Jedburgh town centre, Ms Turnbull spotted McBurnie's car speeding straight towards the glass-fronted office.

She called to her mother, who was standing behind a frosted pane of the front window, “He's coming. He's coming. He's coming through the window.”

She pressed herself against the side wall of the office as the defendant's car broke through, narrowly missing the two of them.

The defendant, who suffered a burn to his wrist when the car's airbags were deployed, immediately said: “I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.”

The deputy counsel said Ms Turnbull, 46, suffered a bruised leg and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident.

She also suffered from tinnitus, was deaf in her right ear, had a low tolerance to noise, and had suffered two cardiac arrests due to broken heart syndrome, which was triggered by extreme stress.

Her mother suffered from atrial fibrillation, shortness of breath and fatigue. Both women submitted victim impact statements to the court.

The deputy counsel said the defendant had been drinking heavily for several months since the end of his relationship with Ms Turnbull and had been behaving increasingly worryingly towards her.

He bombarded her with unwanted text messages, phone calls and emails and repeatedly appeared at her office begging her to resume the relationship.

Defence lawyer Gareth Jones said McBurnie, who worked as a freelance photographer for a Borders newspaper, had expressed “sincere remorse” for his actions.

He added that the defendant had only a vague memory of what was going through his mind regarding Zoe Turnbull at the time of the offence.

However, he admitted that his actions were “completely reckless” and that he did it with the intention of killing her.

The court requested background reports and adjourned the case to September 19 in Livingston. McBurnie was remanded in custody until then.

“Reign of Terror”

Ms Turnbull spoke of the abuse she suffered following McBurnie's court appearance.

The 46-year-old said the former police officer “invaded her life” and she was trapped in the relationship because she feared for her own safety and that of her children if she left the relationship.

In a statement released through her lawyer Digby Brown, the undertaker said: “I never wanted a relationship with him, but when I tried to tell him or stand up for myself, he freaked out.”

“He grabbed me and abused me physically and sexually. I was trapped in my own home.

“Behind closed doors he controlled every aspect of my life through his mental and physical abuse, but in public he was charming to everyone. It made me sick.

“This man aggressively interfered in our lives. He has brought constant terror to me and my family.

“I am glad that this conviction has allowed his true self to emerge. I am now determined to stay strong and regain control of my life.

“We as a society cannot allow evil, manipulative people like these to impose their harmful will on others.

“I just want to thank the local community for their support over the last 22 months, because knowing you are no longer alone is key to feeling empowered and being able to move forward.”

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