Joanna Simpson: Wife killer set for parole hearing

A former British Airways captain who was jailed for killing his estranged wife is due to face a parole hearing.

Robert Brown killed Joanna Simpson, 46, in Ascot, Berkshire, in October 2010.

He was due to be freed in November 2023 after serving half of his 26-year jail sentence for manslaughter, but his release was blocked by the government.

In early 2024, Brown launched a legal challenge against the government's decision to block his release, claiming the intervention was politically motivated. The High Court dismissed Brown's judicial review in February 2024.

Brown, formerly of Winkfield, Berkshire, killed Simpson with a claw hammer at her Ascot home within earshot of their two children, then aged nine and 10, a court previously heard.

He buried her body in a pre-dug grave in Windsor Great Park before confessing to the police the following day.

The former pilot, then aged 47, was found not guilty of murder after a jury was told the couple's bitter divorce proceedings had put him under great stress.

He was sentenced to 24 years for manslaughter and a further two years for an offence of obstructing a coroner.

In 2024, Simpson's family made an application for the parole hearing to be held in public, rather than private, due to the strong public interest in the case.

They believe that Brown should have been convicted of murder rather than manslaughter and the verdict was symptomatic of a lack of concern about domestic violence within the justice system.

Brown's legal team argued that a public hearing would be an unjustified interference in his right to privacy and the privacy of others involved in the case.

They also said there could be pressure on members of the panel and witnesses might be concerned about giving their true opinions because of media coverage.

Sir John Saunders, on behalf of the Parole Board for England and Wales, ruled that it would stay private, citing Brown's right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

He went on to say: "This hearing will not be a re-sentencing exercise, nor will it consider whether the verdict of the jury was correct.

"The panel will act on the basis that it was and it will not consider how the criminal justice system deals with domestic violence cases.

"The panel will only consider whether Mr Brown meets the test for release."

Simpson's mother Diana Parkes CBE and campaigner Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE said: "We knew this day was coming after the previous Justice Secretary Alex Chalk referred Brown's release to the parole board in 2023. This is therefore exactly as we expected.

"Joanna was a kind and loving daughter, mother and friend. She was taken from us in the most brutal way and is deeply missed every day."

The parole hearing is scheduled for two days and the panel has 14 days to make its decision.