I’m living in perpetual fear of my father being freed after he killed my mum with hammer
Son tells of trauma as jailed BA pilot loses release bid
the son of killer British Airways captain Robert Brown last night revealed he is living in fear of his father, after the former pilot lost his bid for prison release yesterday.
Brown, who bludgeoned his estranged wife to death with a claw hammer in 2010, will remain behind bars after losing his court case against the Justice Secretary.
the brutal attack on Joanna Simpson, 46, at their former marital home in Ascot was carried out within earshot of their two young children Alex and Katie, then aged ten and nine.
he had been due for automatic release from prison last year after serving half of his 26-year sentence for manslaughter, but Justice Secretary Alex Chalk blocked the move over fears for public safety. Brown took the decision to the high Court for judicial review, claiming it was ‘unreasonable’ to keep him in prison.
Alex, now 23, said he had feared for his grandparents – Joanna’s parents – if Brown was released on licence, and said he never wanted to see his father again. In a statement revealed in an ItV1 documentary, he said he would
‘Never want to see him again’
live in ‘perpetual fear’ for their safety if Brown was freed.
he and his sister Katie were raised by their grandmother Diana Parkes after their mother was killed and their father jailed. Mrs Parkes, 84, led a high-profile campaign to keep Brown behind bars and yesterday said she was relieved the high Court had rejected his bid for freedom.
In his statement, written before yesterday’s ruling, Alex said: ‘For the last 13 years I have not spoken about my thoughts on my father’s release.
‘I am most of all concerned for my maternal grandparents, who cannot defend themselves. I do not want to live with this perpetual fear that I will lose yet more of my close family.
‘I never want to see my father again, but if he is released now then that power is entirely in his hands.’
Brown, now 60, was jailed in 2011 after he was acquitted of murder but admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
he said he was suffering from a stress-related ‘ adjustment disorder’, which he blamed in part on his acrimonious divorce from Joanna.
he attacked her inside their former marital home while their children were in another room. the couple’s daughter Katie, then nine, said she could hear ‘ banging’ during the brutal assault which killed her mother.
Brown then dumped his estranged wife’s body in a grave he had previously dug in woodland in nearby Windsor Great Park.
After his manslaughter conviction in 2011, Katie wrote a letter to the trial judge, saying: ‘ My father killed my Mummy and I’m scared if he comes out of jail too soon he might come back and hurt me because I heard him killing my Mummy. he is the most evillest man I have ever known and I wish he wasn’t my father.’
Katie and Alex’s statements were revealed in the ItV1 documentary about the case, the British Airways Killer. they were voiced by actors because of fears for the siblings’ safety if their father won his judicial review.
the programme also featured videos of Brown’s police interviews following his arrest, in which he could be seen wearing a t-shirt with ‘ Grim survivor’ written on the front and ‘play dirty’ written on the back.
Brown claimed that ‘political motivation’ and a media campaign against his release meant Mr Chalk’s decision to block his automatic release was unfair.
the Justice Secretary 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 or not they can be released.
Brown’s lawyers told the high Court that he poses no risk, but recent prison assessments warned he could present a ‘significant risk of serious harm’ to the public and to his victim’s family.
Joanna’s mother Mrs Parkes last night welcomed the judge’s ruling against Brown, saying: ‘Brown committed the most horrific crime against my loving and caring daughter, Jo. he must be kept in prison.’
Joanna’s best friend hetti Barkworth-Nanton said Brown would now serve his full sentence unless the Parole Board decided he was safe, meaning he would remain behind bars until 2036.
She said it was a ‘landmark decision’ which could block similar attempts by other dangerous criminals to secure their release from prison.
▪ The British Airways Killer continues on ITV1 at 9pm tonight and is also available on ITVX.
‘I heard him killing my Mummy’