The British Airways pilot who hid claw hammer in kid's schoolbag before bludgeoning ex-wife to death
26.02.2024 - 18:53
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
It seemed like the perfect wedding. Handsome British Airways pilot Robert Brown lavishing praise on his beautiful bride Joanna Simpson. Eight years later, he would bludgeon her to death with a claw hammer, apparently furious he had been 'stitched up' by a prenuptial agreement.
New footage has emerged today from the pair's wedding day where Brown is captured saying: "I have to sort of thank my mum and father. I’m sure you never thought you’d see the day when I’d get married, but I can’t help being choosy. You have to go for what’s perfect."
But what followed was a short-lived marriage and an acrimonious divorce that ended in tragedy.
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He initially called police the morning after the mother-of-two disappeared from their house in an affluent area of Ascot on Halloween night in 2010 to report a domestic issue.
British Airways captain Robert Brown bludgeoned his 46-year-old wife Joanna to death with the hammer in their family home in October, 2010, as their two young children cowered in a playroom. He dumped her body in a makeshift coffin in Windsor Great Park.
Brown was acquitted of murder by a jury at Reading Crown Court in May 2011. He had previously admitted manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility. Brown, formerly of North Street, Winkfield, Berkshire, 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 footage of their wedding day, and the 'no comment' interviews he gave to police following his arrested, are being revealed tonight in an ITV documentary The British Airways Killer which airs at 9pm.
When he handed himself in after killing her, Brown