28 February 2024 , 16:26
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A British Airways captain who bludgeoned his millionaire wife to death has lost his bid for freedom.
Robert Brown killed 46-year-old Joanna Simpson with a claw hammer in their family home on Halloween 2010 while their two young children cowered terrified in a playroom. The sick killing was the subject of a recent two-part ITV documentary The British Airways Killer.
Brown had launched a High Court challenge against a Government move to block his automatic release from prison, which was dismissed by Mr Justice Ritchie on Wednesday.
Brown, who was jailed for 26 years in 2011, claimed that “political motivation” and a media campaign against his release improperly contributed to a decision to refer his case to the Parole Board. His lawyers argued at a hearing in London earlier this month that Justice Secretary Alex Chalk’s referral was unlawful.
Robert Brown was sentenced to 24 years for manslaughter and a further two years for an offence of obstructing a coroner
Joanna Simpson, 46, was bludgeoned to death by Brown in October 2010 (PA)The former airline pilot was cleared of murder after a trial, but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, with a psychiatric report saying he suffered from an “adjustment disorder”. Aged 47 at sentencing, Brown believed he was “stitched up” by a prenuptial agreement and was affected by stress linked to his divorce, a judge was told.
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He was due to be automatically freed on licence halfway through his sentence in November last year - but friends and family of victim Ms Simpson urged Mr Chalk to intervene. In October 2023, the minister used new powers to have Brown’s case reviewed by the Parole Board, an independent body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released.
The killing took place just one week before the finalisation of their divorceBrown’s lawyers argued that the Justice Secretary's referral was motivated by "conscious or unconscious political bias”. His legal team said 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”.
But the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) rejected his allegations, arguing that Mr Chalk “in no way seeks to ‘go behind’ or ‘disapply’ or ‘fail to respect’ the sentencing court’s decision”. Lawyers for the department said Mr Chalk believed Brown “would pose a significant risk of serious harm to the public if released on licence”, adding that the offender had “persistently refused to engage in the rehabilitative elements of his sentence”.
Mr Chalk’s referral, enabled through a new “power to detain” provision introduced through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, overrode Brown’s automatic release. Ms Simpson’s mother, Diana Parkes, has previously urged the Parole Board to “keep him in jail” and was made a CBE in December for services to vulnerable children suffering from domestic abuse and domestic homicide.
Brown, formerly of Winkfield in 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. He killed Ms Simpson one week before the finalisation of their divorce and dumped her body in a makeshift coffin in Windsor Great Park.