Watch chilling moment Joanna Simpson’s killer BA pilot husband Robert Brown sees daughter describe horror attack on mum
“KATIE needs to know where her mum is,” Robert Brown is told as he sits in a sterile interview room in Maidenhead police station.
Two days prior he had hit his ex-wife Joanna Simpson with a claw hammer at least 14 times before burying her body in the middle of the night in a pre-dug grave in Windsor Great Park.
His daughter Katie was nine years old when she watched her dad carry her mum’s body out on to the drive and into the boot of his car.
She had heard the “bang, bang, bang” of the attack as she and her brother Alex, aged 10, hid in the playroom while her parents were in the kitchen of their home.
After answering “no comment” to every question about Jo’s whereabouts, Investigating Officer Melanie Savage was making one final attempt to crack Brown’s arrogant silence.
In never-seen-before police tapes, she placed a laptop in front of him and hit play on a video of Katie describing what she had seen on October 31, 2010.
Brown then watches as his daughter, who is extremely distressed and sobbing uncontrollably, tells an interviewer that she does not know where her dad had taken her mum.
“They got into a fight and they were hitting each other,” Katie said, adding that all she could hear was “just banging”.
She said: “And then dad put mum in the car and said he had hurt her. He said he was taking mum to the hospital but I don’t know what happened.”
“He came back at seven in the morning,” Katie added through tears. “But I don’t know about mum.”
Hearing a young girl in such a state of pain, having just witnessed her mum being killed, is harrowing.
But British Airways pilot Brown sits calmly and stares straight ahead while the clip is shown to him.
When Melanie tells him that Katherine needs to know where her mum is, all he can say is: “I’m sorry, no comment.”
Is there anything he would like to say about what Katie has said, Melanie asks, “No comment.” Is she lying? “No comment”. Has she made that up? “No comment”.
‘No remorse’
He had calmly called in on November 1, the day after his ex-wife Joanna had been reported missing, and said he would like to come in voluntarily to talk to officers to talk about a “domestic”.
Despite coming in of his own accord, Brown refused to answer questions – until the subject turned to his career and how he thought he had been aggrieved by his failed marriage.
In police tapes obtained for the first time for a new ITV documentary, The British Airways Killer, airing tonight, Brown sneers and calls Jo a “spoilt child” and “princess perfect”.
They got into a fight and they were hitting each other… And then dad put mum in the car and said he had hurt her. He said he was taking mum to the hospital but I don’t know what happened
Katie Simpson
Just hours after killing her and concealing her body, Brown brags about being a “champion” runner and boasts that he gets to pick which flights he does as a top commercial pilot.
He moans about finances – claiming to have seen a letter stating that Jo’s trust fund was worth £25million and she had kept it from him.
The female police officers in the room are watching the clock and are aware that with every minute gone, they are less likely to find Joanna alive.
But instead of answering their questions, he bemoans that he was kept in the dark over money, claiming: “She obviously didn’t tell me, I had no idea.
“You’ll have to look at her dozens of bank accounts, it’s a money trail.
“I had nothing to do hide. I get my salary, it’s in black and white. I had no assets whatsoever, everything entirely of my money, each month is going into a bank account and being spent.”
On the prenup he was asked to sign by Jo’s father, Brown said: “I said no. And she said, ‘You best do what he wants, it’ll be bad in the long run’.
“You have the father there. It was just to please everybody in a way. That’s why I signed it. And then I went off to Antigua the next day for six days [for work].
“That’s why this divorce is taking so long because it involves prenups and it’s being delayed and delayed.”
‘I lost control’
Four days after Jo went missing, and after three days of Brown complaining to police officers over his marriage and his finances, he finally confessed to killing her.
Even then his admission was more about him than about what he had done to Katie and Alex’s mum.
He said in a statement read by his lawyer: “When I returned the children I had an argument with Jo concerning schools. This was after three years of acrimonious court hearings and a long history of interference with my contact with the children.
“Eventually I lost control and pushed her. What happened next I do not clearly remember. She was injured. I placed her in my car in the back and took the children to my house where my girlfriend was in to look after them.
“I was intending to take her to hospital. I do not know why I did not call an ambulance. I discovered she was dead and panicked.
“I tried to hide her in a box from the garden centre and buried her in Windsor Great Park. I will be prepared to show officers where this is.”
What happened to Joanna Simpson?
On Halloween in 2010, ex-BA pilot Brown killed Joanna, 46, at their family home in Ascot, as their two children played nearby.
Brown hit Joanna 14 times over the head, before placing her body into the boot of his car.
This had followed a sustained period of domestic abuse which included coercive control, isolation, intimidation and severe violence.
Joanna’s body was found five days later buried in a pre-dug grave.
The tragic death of the mother-of-two took place just one week before the finalisation of their divorce.
Following her death, the Joanna Simpson Foundation was set up in her memory.
The foundations work is based on her beliefs, values, and the love of her children.
On Bonfire Night 2010, five days after Jo’s disappearance, Brown led police to the secluded spot in Windsor Great Park where he had buried a large garden box which contained her body.
When asked how he had taken Jo’s body to the makeshift grave, he said without emotion: “Carried, dragged, it’s downhill. I think what you’ll find is that it’s all leaves everywhere so I would be extremely surprised if there’s any marks.”
The location was at least a mile from the nearest road and was so remote, experts estimated that without Brown’s confession, she would never have been found.
I was intending to take her to hospital. I do not know why I did not call an ambulance. I discovered she was dead and panicked
Robert Brown
He was charged with murder and prosecutors argued that it had been a premeditated attack as the grave had been dug several months before.
The jury at Reading Crown Court acquitted him of murder and he was given a 26-year sentence for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
Brown had argued that he was suffering from an acute mental condition called adjustment disorder at the time of the attack.
Just 13 years later, Brown was due for automatic release in November, despite refusing to engage in any rehabilitation programmes while in prison.
Joanna’s family, including her mum Diana Parkes and her children Alex and Katie, are terrified that if Brown gets out of prison he will kill again, or seek them out.
Katie and Alex, who were raised by their grandmother after Joanna’s death, are careful to keep their identities a secret and do not want their dad to know what they look like now they are grown up.
The Sun launched its Justice For Joanna campaign last year to urge the Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to use his Power To Detain provision to block his release.
The minister referred the case to the Parole Board but Brown launched his own Judicial Review against the decision.
After finally confessing in November 2010, Brown put his head on the table and said: “It’s a horrible mess. I’m not proud of myself.”
But he quickly returned the focus to himself, adding: “It’s like a cup isn’t it. You know, everybody’s got their tipping over point.”
From the moment we met him, Brown was always a cold man who showed no affection towards Jo’s family and friends. These tapes clearly show that and also demonstrates narcissistic qualities
Diana Parkes, Joanna's mum
Last week the High Court heard arguments that Chalk’s actions to block Brown’s automatic release had been unlawful.
Among the evidence given by the Ministry of Justice in defence it was revealed that, much like in his first police interview almost 14 years ago, Brown has showed “no remorse” for his actions.
He has been “hostile, superior, defensive, dismissive and grandiose” towards professionals during his time behind bars.
He has also “refused to undertake any offender behaviour programmes” including courses on healthy relationships and risk of intimate partner violence.
An assessment by a psychologist in September 2023 identified that Brown “presented with traits of narcissism, a tendency to ruminate, grievance thinking and nihilism, and concluded that a personality disorder was partially present”.
They added that he “has not expressed remorse for his offences and has in face demonstrated victim blaming and expressed grievance thinking in respect of both the victim and her family and friends.”
The outcome of the Judicial Review is expected in the coming weeks, with the possibility of Brown being released from prison still looming over Jo’s family and friends.
‘Uncomfortable watch’
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Diana Parkes, Joanna’s mum, told The Sun: “Having never seen them before, the police tapes were an uncomfortable watch, as Robert Brown shows no emotion for the horrific crime that he committed in the brutal killing of my daughter.
“From the moment we met him, Brown was always a cold man who showed no affection towards Jo’s family and friends. These tapes clearly show that and also demonstrates narcissistic qualities.
“It was incredibly important to Katie that the section where her father sees her giving the interview to the police was included in the documentary, as both she and Alex remain in fear of his potential release.
“This section of the police tapes also reinforces the fact that he has no emotion.
“What kind of father doesn’t display emotion when he sees a video of his daughter upset?
“We hope the public now see for themselves through these police tapes and the wider documentary the dangerous man that my family and Joanna’s friends are dealing with.”
The British Airways Killer is on ITV1 and ITVX from 9pm on Monday February 26 and Thursday, February 29.