The partner of tragic Fife murder victim Calum Simpson has described her agony at losing her childhood sweetheart, the father of her three children.
Full-time mum Bobbie Cowan has had to deal with the trauma of losing her partner of six years after he was savagely killed by Dylan Brister and Cameron Allan in November 2021.
Bobbie, now 26, had been with Calum since she was 17 and they had three children – Calum, 8, Mirren, 6, and two-year-old Lyla – born just 11 days before her dad’s death.
She said the young family miss him desperately.
Bobbie told The Courier: “It’s been tough, especially at milestones – things like the kids starting school.
“They do ask about him and it’s quite awkward to tell them.
“They say ‘daddy’s in the sky now’ and they’ve got teddies with his voice in them to keep them going.
“I’ll need to tell them at some point because they’ll go on the internet to look it up so I’ll have to prepare them for that.”
Whirlwind romance for sweethearts
Calum, who was 24 when he died, grew up in Glenrothes and had gone to Auchmuty High School and then Fife College, to study tourism.
It was while an 18-year-old there he met catering student Bobbie at a party.
She said it was a whirlwind romance from there.
“It was quite quick,” says Bobbie.
“Calum said when we met that he knew we would always be really close.
“I was just attracted by his personality – he was just able to make everybody laugh, he was really well-liked.”
The pair quickly moved in together when Bobbie fell pregnant with Calum.
Mirren and Lyla quickly followed.
Bobbie said: “He was just a fun dad – he was the jokey one.
“They totally loved him and he was the soft touch. He did a lot of stuff with the kids.
“Calum was the perfect person for the four of us.
“He enjoyed socialising and really stayed the same as he had been – the life and soul.”
Calum found bar work, which Bobbie said he enjoyed due to the social aspect, while she had catering jobs and they shared parental duties.
Guilty of murder
Family life came to a devastating end in November 2021 when Calum visited murderer Dylan Brister’s house with a friend.
With his partner, Cameron Allan, Brister spiked Calum’s drink and killed him, filming unspeakable acts on a mobile phone.
There was no suggestion Calum knew the pair.
Bobbie and Calum’s mother have both questioned why evil Allan was allowed bail while awaiting the trial, which ended last week with his and Brister’s conviction.
Both are now in custody and they will be sentenced later.
After their Edinburgh High Court convictions, Bobbie wrote on Facebook: “Now Calum can finally be at peace.
“Nothing will ever compare to losing Calum or the kids losing their daddy but it’s a massive relief they haven’t got away with this.”
