Suicide girl’s family in fury as boyfriend avoids prison
THE family of a Glasgow student who committed suicide after a campaign of abuse at the hands of her boyfriend have been left disappointed after he avoided jail.
Emily Drouet, 18, was found dead in her halls of residence at Aberdeen University on March 17 last year.
Her death was initially not thought to be suspicious but it later emerged that 21-year-old Angus Milligan had subjected her to a campaign of verbal and physical abuse over a number of weeks.
Emily’s parents, Fiona and Germain Drouet, of Glasgow, said the imposition of 180 hours of community service on Milligan was not an acceptable punishment for his actions which they believe directly contributed to their daughter’s suicide.
Milligan, a psychology student at the university, pleaded guilty to verbally and physically abus- ing Emily over a two-month period last year.
Following sentencing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Mrs Drouet said: “Nothing will bring Emily back but knowing that the monster responsible for her death was behind bars would have been some comfort.
“It’s just over a year since we lost Emily and, with every day that passes, the sense of loss for our beautiful, precious daughter, seems to grow. There is no end in sight for the agonising grief we feel. Meanwhile Milligan has never expressed a word of remorse for his actions and his arrogant, entitled behaviour appears to have continued.
“We will never give up on our fight to make sure no other young woman suffers at the hands of Milligan and other sick predators. The criminal justice system has done its work but ours is just beginning.”
She added: “We feel saddened that in court Milligan sought to justify his actions by blaming Emily.
“There can never be any justification for violence against women.”
During his tirade of abuse, Milligan assaulted Emily by seizing her by the neck, choking her, pushing her against a desk, repeatedly slapping her, threatening her and sending her offensive, indecent, obscene and menacing texts.