Joanna Simpson was killed with a claw hammer at her home in Ascot
By Marcus White & PA Media
BBC News
A man who killed his millionairess wife with a claw hammer has lost a court bid to be freed from prison.
Joanna Simpson, 46, was bludgeoned to death by Robert Brown in Ascot, Berkshire, in October 2010.
The former British Airways captain was due to be freed in November after serving half of his 26-year jail sentence for manslaughter, but his release was blocked by the government.
The High Court dismissed Brown’s appeal against the government move.
Image source, Thames Valley Police
Brown was due to be released in November after serving half of his 26-year jail sentence
The defendant, formerly of Winkfield, Berkshire, killed Ms Simpson at her 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.
Image source, PA Media
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk blocked Brown’s release by referring the case to the Parole Board
In October 2023, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk referred the case to the Parole Board to decide if Brown could be safely freed from prison, effectively blocking his automatic release the following month.
At the High Court, Brown’s legal team claimed the referral was improperly motivated.
His lawyers said the risk posed by Brown had not increased.
They said he had been “subjected to a high-profile campaign through the media and with politicians that has sought to block his release”.
However, government lawyers said Brown had “persistently refused to engage in the rehabilitative elements of his sentence”.
Image source, PA Media
Ms Simpson’s mother Diana Parkes (left) and best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton welcomed the court’s decision
Dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Ritchie wrote that there were “good grounds for believing” that Brown posed a “high risk to the public of serious harm” and needed full and proper assessment.
Ms Simpson’s mother, Diana Parkes, previously met Mr Chalk and his predecessor Dominic Raab in an attempt to stall Brown’s release.
She commended the court’s decision, saying: “Brown committed the most horrific crime against my loving and caring daughter, Jo. He must be kept in prison.”
Ms Simpson’s best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, who also chairs domestic abuse charity Refuge, said: “This is a landmark decision which has the potential to open up this new power to other dangerous offenders on determinate sentences who chose not to engage in rehabilitation, which is all too common in cases of serious and fatal domestic abuse.”
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