The former pilot admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility
Robert Brown and Joanna Simpson on their wedding day(Image: ITV)
A documentary about the The British Airways Killer is airing on ITV tonight, but what did he do and where is he now?
Initially airing in 2024, ITV is airing the first installment of their two-part series The British Airways Killer on Monday night (February 16).
The series synopsis reads: “Part one of two. Documentary examining the disappearance of Joanna Simpson in 2010, telling the story of an investigation that changed British legal history and led to a tragic discovery.
“The morning after she went missing, her British Airways captain husband Robert 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.”
Robert Brown beat his wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer in their family home in October 2010, hitting her 14 times. Their two young children were together in a playroom.
Brown went on to bury his 46-year-old wife in a makeshift coffin in Windsor Great Park. The next day saw Brown call the police to report a domestic incident.
However, he initially refused to cooperate with their investigation, claiming that he was ‘stitched up’ by a prenuptial agreement, which gave him no claim over his wife’s trust fund.
Robert Brown during his police interview(Image: ITV)
The couple were due to settle their financial disputes and finalise the divorce prior to Ms Simpson’s death. Their family home was in her name.
Eventually Brown confessed that he had killed Joanna and told officers where to find the body in woods in Windsor Great Park.
The former British Airways captain was initially cleared of murder, having admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Reading Crown Court in May 2011.
He 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. The court heard that Brown had an adjustment disorder, a strong emotional or behavioural reaction to stress or trauma that can rarely lead to outbursts of violence.
Brown was due to be released from prison in November 2024 after serving 13 years of his 26-year sentence. However, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk blocked the move, with the Ministry of Justice saying that the Parole Board will make its decision in due course.
“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.
“I made a commitment to Joanna’s family that I would give this case my closest personal attention.
“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,” Mr Chalk said.
Ms Simpson’s family, including her mother Diana Parkes, and her best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton campaigned to block Brown’s release. The campaign was backed by the wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson Carrie Johnson.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain in February 2024, Ms Parkes said: “I’ve said I hope he comes to kill me first so that all my family, and in fact women in general will be safe, because he’s a psychopath in my opinion.
“And unfortunately, when he took a knife to my daughter in 2007, he told her that he’d hated our family for the eight years they were married.
“I’m going to be 85 in May, and I’ve lived my life and my family, they’re fearful. My granddaughter, my grandson, my son, his family, we’re all terrified, and if he killed me, he would obviously be sent to prison, I would think, for a whole lifetime, really.”
The British Airways Killer airs on ITV1 on Monday, February 16, at 10.45pm and is avalible to stream now on ITVX
