Man tried to kill ex-girlfriend by driving car into funeral home

A former police officer from Northern Ireland has admitted driving his car through the window of a funeral home in the Borders injuring his ex-girlfriend and her mother.

William McBurnie, 57, pleaded guilty to attempted murder at the High Court in Livingston.

McBurnie had been drunk behind the wheel of his car when he smashed through the glass window front narrowly missing Zoe Turnbull, 46, and her mother Beverley, 71, inside.

The court heard that McBurnie had been struggling to come to terms with the end of the relationship and that he had said he had been drinking heavily for four months.

Ms Turnbull said in a statement that she had been "trapped" in an abusive relationship with McBurnie for about two years.

"I'm glad his true self can now be revealed as a result of this conviction – I'm now determined to stay strong and take back control of my life," she said.

"We as a society can't let evil, manipulative people like this be allowed to inflict their harmful will on others.

"I just want to thank the local community for their support over the last 22 months because knowing you're no longer alone is key to feeling empowered and being able to move forwards."

The two women narrowly escaped serious injury. Ms Turnbull suffered a bruised leg, hearing loss and has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Her mother suffered two cardiac arrests after leaving the badly damaged building.

McBurnie had served as an officer with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and was an advanced driver.

He had been working as a photographer with a local newspaper in the Borders while he was in a two-year relationship with Zoe Turnbull, however that ended in June 2022.

The court was shown CCTV footage from inside the funeral directors in Jedburgh that was run by Ms Turnbull.

McBurnie got out of the car with a slight hand injury and said: "Sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking".

On the day of the attack in December 2022, he had been been drinking since 06:00 and was nearly three times the legal limit.

Judge Lord Mulholland told McBurnie to expect a lengthy prison sentence for what he described as a cowardly and wickedly reckless act.

Det Ch Insp Bob Campbell said such acts of violence would not be tolerated and thanked the victims for assisting the investigation.

Gareth Jones, defending, said his client had expressed "genuine remorse" for his actions and had only a vague recollection of what had happened.

Sentence was deferred until 10 October for background reports.