Witness tells court woman shot partner with air rifle
Last updated 5th Mar 2026
A court has heard a woman fatally shot her partner with an air rifle - while she was jokingly trying to scare him.
The High Court in Edinburgh was today (Wednsday) told Simone Ramage, now aged 40, had been aiming at targets in the back garden of the home she shared with Brian Kowbel in Galashiels before she discharged the weapon inside.
According to a witness, he was leaving the kitchen of the property in Chris Paterson Place, after she shouted him through to the living room, when the gun went off on February 17th, 2023.
A child in the house at the time told police they thought it was the woman's intention to shoot past Mr Kowbel.
After he was hit, the court heard Ramage dialled 999 and performed CPR while covered in blood.
But, despite efforts to save him, the 40-year-old - who worked for R3 Repairs - died from a gunshot wound to his chest.
The evidence emerged on the first day of the examination of facts, which is held when a person is deemed unfit for trial.
In a recorded interview played in court, the child witness - who we are not naming - said: "She (Ramage) was playing about with the gun and talking about wanting to scare him; and said it would be funny because he scares easily. We were all joking about it and laughing.
"She was shouting at him to come through. He said: 'Give me two minutes'. Then the gun went off."
But she added: "I don't blame her. She's going to be blaming herself. It was an accident. We want her to know she's not to blame."
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Temporary Judge, Sheriff John Morris KC will hear evidence about the circumstances surrounding the death and determine whether Ramage - whose attendance was excused - was responsible for causing Mr Kowbel to lose his life.
Prosecutors claim she breached firearms laws by possessing an air rifle without a firearms certificate.
A second charge alleges she "culpably and recklessly" discharged an air rifle by firing it repeatedly towards a fence bordering a car park.
Ramage is also alleged to have assaulted Mr Kowbel by discharging an air rifle at him and shooting him where he was "so severely injured" that he later died at Borders General Hospital in Melrose.
The hearing continues on Thursday.
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