Robert Brown beat his wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer in their family home in October 2010, as their two young children cowered in a playroom. He then buried the 46-year-old’s body in a makeshift coffin in Windsor Great Park.
The ex-British Airways captain was cleared of murder by a jury at Reading Crown Court in May 2011. He had previously admitted manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility.
Brown, formerly of North Street, Winkfield, Berkshire, was sentenced to 24 years for manslaughter and a further two years for an offence of obstructing a coroner in the execution of his duty.
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The footage of their wedding day, and the ‘no comment’ interviews he gave to police following his arrest, are being revealed tonight in an ITV documentary The British Airways Killer which airs at 9pm tonight.
When he handed himself in after killing her, Brown initially refused to help police with their missing persons investigation. Eventually Brown confessed that he had killed Joanna and told officers where to find the body in woods in Windsor Great Park.
At his trial, the court was told Brown suffered from an adjustment disorder – and he was cleared of murder. He admitted the charge of manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
The Simpson family are terrified at the prospect that Brown could be released from prison imminently as he reaches the half-way point of his sentence when he becomes eligible for release on licence. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk asked the Parole Board to review his automatic release but this is now the subject of a judicial review.
At a hearing in London earlier this month, Brown’s lawyers argued the referral was unlawful, while the Government says his legal action should be dismissed.
Speaking during proceedings, Joanna’s mother Diana, who led a campaign to block his release from prison with her friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, said she would fear for her family’s safety should he get out, reports MailOnline.
Brown’s lawyers argue the Parole Board referral was “an obvious attempt to seek to reverse engineer justification for a decision that was in reality prompted and obtained through conscious or unconscious political bias”. They added the risk posed by Brown had not increased and that he had been “subjected to a high-profile campaign through the media and with politicians that has sought to block his release”.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) rejects his allegations, arguing Mr Chalk “in no way seeks to ‘go behind’ or ‘disapply’ or ‘fail to respect’ the sentencing court’s decision”. A ruling on the decision is expected later this year.
