Man shouted flat number where he was being tortured before plunging to death

A man who was being held hostage and tortured shouted the flat number where he was being held before plunging to his death, an inquiry has heard.

Jamie Forbes fell from a flat window in Elphinstone Court, Aberdeen after being abducted and held against his will for two days by Lee Smith.

The 37-year-old was struck with a hammer and punched and kicked during the ordeal on January 14 and 15, 2024.

Witnesses had called 999 after hearing cries for help, but police conducting door-to-door inquiries were unable to trace the source of the pleas and left.

Mr Forbes’ body was found on the ground near the flat block on January 15.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry into his death heard that one neighbour heard him shouting the number of the flat he was trapped in.

Police attended the flat block after being contacted by concerned members of the public and nearby neighbours, and took witness accounts of cries for help and reports of a male at a window of a flat with blood on his face.

Door-to-door enquiries were made on the sixth, seventh and eighth floors, but officers were not able to trace the source of the shouting and left.

Mr Forbes’ sister, Lyndsay-Anne, said she was “heartbroken” over the evidence.

In a statement released via law firm Digby Brown, she said: “For 29 months we have campaigned for a fatal accident inquiry into what happened when Jamie died.

“Now we are here and heard the evidence I feel like his soul is free.

“He was the kind one of my mum’s kids. He would have given you the shirt off his back, and when it came to big brothers, no one could have loved their siblings more than Jamie.

“My heart broke when a witness said they heard my brother crying out for help and shouting the number of the flat he was trapped in.

“There needs to be change so this never happens again. I want to see a law called Jamie’s Law which would ensure that when police are called when there is concern for a person they don’t leave the area until that person is found and made safe.”