British Airways killer escaped murder conviction thanks to chilling explanation

29 February 2024 , 19:55

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British Airways killer Robert Brown beat his ex-wife to death with a hammer

The chilling story of the 'British Airways killer' is back in the headlines as Robert Brown fights to be released from jail after just 13 years.

The killer pilot used a hammer to callously beat his estranged wife, Joanna Simpson, 46, to death on Halloween night 2010 in their family home in Ascot, Berkshire. He hit Joanna 14 times as their two young children cowered in the playroom.

His trial heard how after wrapping her bloody body in plastic sheeting, he bundled her body into the boot of his car and the kids into the back seat before dumping her body in a makeshift plastic coffin in Windsor Great Park. He had dug a grave in preparation.

Yet despite the pre-meditated element, Brown was sensationally cleared of murder, having admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. According to new ITV documentary, The British Airways Killer, gasps broke out in the court as the verdict was read out, and in an unprecedented move, the judge did not dismiss the jury but instead kept them behind to watch the sentencing, where he handed down 26 years.

Speaking after the hearing, Joanna's mother, Diana Parkes, told a reporter: "Robert Brown got away with murder in name only."

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Joanna Simpson was bludgeoned by her estranged husband (PA)

Robert Brown was a British Airways captain (PA)

So what swayed the jury? Brown claimed he was suffering from adjustment disorder due to the divorce at the time of the killing. A psychiatric report for the defence supported his claim, one the prosecution disagreed with.

At the trial, the ex-captain, who was 47 at the time he was jailed, told jurors he had been "stitched up" by a prenuptial agreement and was affected by stress linked to his divorce. The court heard that he attacked his estranged wife after she made him feel like "an idiot". Brown, who sobbed openly in the hearing, said: "I just lost it. I blew up and the next thing I was standing over Jo and blood was all over the place."

Brown was due an automatic release from prison in November 2023, but this was blocked by the Lord Chancellor after campaigning by Ms Simpson's friends and family. They are terrified he would kill again if he were to be freed.

The court heard how Joanna once told a friend that Brown had held her at knife point. In the documentary, Joanna's mum says: "She [Joanna] said to me, and I've heard it from so many victims subsequently, that 'His eyes went dark, almost black, cold, dark, black eyes.' And he said, 'I'm going to do it'. So she was saying, you know, 'What will happen to the children?' He didn't care about what would happen to the children."

After Joanna told Brown she wanted to end their marriage, Ms Barkworth-Nanton claimed: "She genuinely believed that he was going to kill her, she was of no doubt whatsoever." Meanwhile, reflecting on the moment she was called about Joanna's disappearance, her mum remembered: "A friend rang and said, 'Have you spoken to Jo this morning?'

"And I said 'no', and he said, 'I've had a worrying call...' I was told there's police tape around the house, and I just said, 'He's killed her.' I just said that straight away, 'He's killed her.'"

The morning after she went missing, Brown made a 999 call to report a domestic issue, but despite handing himself in, he then refused to help the police with their investigation. The documentary shows a clip from his subsequent police interview in which he would only answer "no comment". Eventually, he confessed to the killing and revealed where he had dumped the body.

Thames Valley Police handout photo of the scene in Windsor Great Park where the body of Joanna Brown and other pieces of evidence were found (PA)

Judge Mr Justice Cooke handed down one of the harshest prison terms for manslaughter available to him. In May 2011, he told the pilot: "Your responsibility, though diminished, remains substantial. You intended to kill, you intended to conceal the body and to hide the evidence of the killing."

Outside court, Joanna's mother described the verdict as a "gross miscarriage of justice". Seeing as the killer was instead convicted of manslaughter, not murder, he was set to be automatically freed on licence halfway through his sentence in November 2023. But last October, Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk confirmed he would use powers to stop the automatic release and instead get the case reviewed by the Parole Board.

"Joanna Simpson was bludgeoned and buried at the hands of Robert Brown, which left two children without a mother and caused irreparable harm to her family and loved ones," said Mr Chalk. "I made a commitment to Joanna's family that I would give this case my closest personal attention.

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"Having reviewed all the information available to me, I have blocked Brown's automatic release and referred this case to the Parole Board using powers we introduced to protect the public from the most dangerous offenders."

However 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.

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) rejected his allegations, arguing Mr Chalk "in no way seeks to 'go behind' or 'disapply' or 'fail to respect' the sentencing court's decision". Lawyer Iain Steele, for the Justice Secretary, told the Daily Mail : "The Secretary of State can decide not to release a prisoner on licence if he has reasons to believe he will be dangerous if released." He added: "His [Brown's] risk is not manageable … We are dealing with a very dangerous individual."

The scene in Windsor Great Park where Ms Simpson's body was found (PA)

Just yesterday, on February 28, Brown's High Court challenge against the move to block his automatic release from prison was dismissed by Mr Justice Ritchie. For now, Brown remains inside, but a ruling on the decision is expected later this year.

In a previous appearance on Good Morning Britain in May 2023, Diana spoke of her concerns should Brown be released from prison. She said: "Well, he told my daughter when he attacked her with a knife in 2007 he hated our family for the whole of their marriage.

"I worry about women he might get involved with. The public. He’s going to seek revenge. He’s going to blame everybody else but himself. He shows no remorse whatsoever. He said he would tell the children why he killed their mother. It is just unbelievable how foul he is."

*The British Airways Killer continues tonight at 9pm on ITV

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