Grieving family slam behaviour of "bully" who abused their daughter
Emily Drouet took her own life last year
A devastated family yesterday slammed the violent behaviour of a "bully" who abused and assaulted their young daughter before she took her own life.
Angus Milligan, 21, attacked his 18-year-old girlfriend Emily Drouet and shouted offensive language at her during their relationship while she was studying law at Aberdeen University.
On March 10 last year he turned up at the teenager's student accommodation at Hillhead Halls, seized her by the neck and choked her leaving the teenager in fear of her life.
She was sadly found dead in her apartment a few days later on March 18 after committing suicide.
The initial police investigation concluded there were no suspicious circumstances but it later emerged that Milligan had subjected Emily to a campaign of abuse in the days leading up to her death.
The 21-year-old psychology student from Edinburgh admitted three charges when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
He pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, sending grossly offensive messages to his former girlfriend and injuring her in an assault at her apartment.
Following the hearing, her parents, Fiona and Germain Drouet, called for the sheriff dealing with the case to jail their daughter's attacker.
Fiona, of Glasgow, said: "This boy came into our beautiful daughter's life and, within a matter of months, he drove her to suicide. His actions were those of an animal and a bully and he has shown no remorse for what he did.
"Violence against women and girls is a hugely important issue and the sheriff needs to send out a clear message that his actions cannot and will not be tolerated.
"Angus Milligan showed no mercy to our daughter through his vicious and relentless campaign of abuse. Nothing will bring Emily back but we hope that he feels the full force of the law and that his sentence reflects the devastating consequences of his actions."
The court heard yesterday that the young couple met through studying at university and began dating at the end of 2015.
They became inseparable, spending most of their time together. But their relationship soured after Milligan was told his girlfriend had engaged in an episode of infidelity, although she was believed to have been pressurised into it.
During the hearing, assistant procurator fiscal for Grampian, Christopher MacIntosh, said: "The accused reacted badly and was very upset and angry when he found out.
"At that point the relationship between the accused and the complainer began to break down."
Mr Macintosh said that at the beginning of March last year Milligan shouted from the window of his student flat calling Emily offensive names and sent a similar message on the WhatsApp Messenger site.
He also threatened to send an email to his victim's mother telling her what her teenage daughter had been up to while studying at university.
Milligan then turned up at Emily's accommodation a few days before she died where he choked her and smacked her head against a desk and slapped the teenager.
Emily was upset and crying when he left the room and told friends that she feared she was going to die when he choked her.
Milligan later told police that he had visited Emily at her flat the day before her death and described her as hanging on to him as he tried to leave with him trying to push her off him.
Defence lawyer Susan Duff described the case as tragic and described the young couple's relationship as "intense".
She said her client was deeply sorry for his behaviour and understood the impact of Emily's death on her family realising that there was nothing he could do to change that.
Ms Duff said: "His behaviour to Emily Drouet, in particular on the 10th of March, was unacceptable. He will live with the knowledge that he assaulted her for the rest of his life."
The court room was filled with Emily's emotional relatives who had travelled long distances to attend each court hearing.
Mrs Drouet said: "Emily was a daughter, a sister, a grand-daughter, a niece, a cousin and a friend. She was kind, caring, loving, intelligent and beautiful, beautiful inside and out.
"She left for university full of excitement at the bright future ahead of her. In her first few months she was flourishing, making lots of new friends, partying and loving learning. We were excited for her, excited to hear her adventures and watching her become the amazing adult we always knew she would be.
"That all ended when she met Angus Milligan. Today he has admitted relentlessly abusing Emily, emotionally, verbally and physically until she could take no more.
"Angus Milligan stole Emily's future leaving a gaping wound in all our lives that will never ever heal. We miss her every second of every day.
"We hope that the court will impose a custodial sentence to show that our society won't tolerate such evil.
"Our thoughts today are also with everyone affected by the tragic events in Manchester last night."
Sentence was deferred until later this year.