William McBurnie: Horrifying moment former cop ploughs car into ex Zoe Turnbull’s shop to kill her

This CCTV footage captures the horrifying moment a former policeman drunkenly ploughed his car into his ex-girlfriend’s funeral home business in a bid to kill her and her mother.

William McBurnie, 57, was on Monday facing jail after admitting the attempted murders of Zoe Turnbull, 46, and Beverley, 71, who were both injured in the attack.

A court heard that McBurnie had been drinking whisky since 6am on the day of the crash in December 2022.

He was nearly three times over the limit when he deliberately drove ‘at speed’ through a give way sign towards Miss Turnbull’s shop.

He mounted the pavement in a silver Suzuki and smashed through two flower planters and the shop window, sending glass flying everywhere and hitting the office desk so hard it was impaled in a wall.

The footage shows McBurnie came within inches of hitting both women, but they spotted him just in time. As he climbed out of the wreckage, they could be seen hugging outside the funeral home.

Prosecutor Alex Price Marmion said McBurnie, a former advanced driver with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, had been seen stopping his car at the junction opposite the shop in the Scottish Borders on two occasions the previous week.

On the day of the attack, he was again seen pausing at the junction before driving off after a customer left the undertakers. Moments later, after driving around a triangle of roads in the town centre of Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, Miss Turnbull spotted McBurnie’s car.

She shouted to her mother, who was standing behind a door at the front of the shop: “He’s coming through the window.”

She stood against the side wall of the office just before the car crashed through. McBurnie suffered a burn injury to his wrist as the airbags went off and immediately said: “Sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Miss Turnbull, who had been in a relationship with McBurnie for two years, said: “I never wanted to be in a relationship, but when I tried to tell him, he would kick off.

“Behind closed doors, he controlled every aspect of my life, yet he would act charming in public. He exerted a continuous reign of terror on me and my family.”

The High Court in Livingston heard Miss Turnbull suffered a bruised leg and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

She has also suffered two cardiac arrests caused by extreme stress. Her mother had experienced an irregular heartbeat, breathlessness and fatigue.

The court heard McBurnie bombarded Miss Turnbull with unwanted texts, phone calls and emails and turned up at her office begging to be in a relationship.

Gareth Jones, defending, said McBurnie had expressed “genuine remorse” but admitted he had intended to kill her.

Judge Lord Mulholland warned McBurnie he would be sent to prison for “a very long time”. The case has been adjourned until September 19.