- Joanna Simpson was bludgeoned to death with claw hammer by Robert Brown
This is the chilling 999 call a British Airways pilot made after he bludgeoned his wife at their home on Halloween, telling officers there had been a ‘domestic issue’.
A new ITV documentary revealed the previously unheard call Robert Brown made after he killed his wife Joanna Simpson, 46, before repeatedly telling police officers ‘no comment’ as they quizzed him in an interview.
Brown beat his wife 14 times with a claw hammer while their two young children cowered in a playroom at their house in leafy Ascot before burying her body in the middle of a night in a pre-dug grave in Windsor Great Park.
Speaking to the call operator as his wife lay dead, Brown calmly said he wanted to arrange an ‘appointment’ with police officers to discuss ‘a serious domestic’ with his ‘ex-wife’.
When the call handler asks more information about how serious the incident was, reassuring Brown that their conversation was confidential, the blood-blooded killer responded: ‘I really don’t want to say anything actually.’
Robert Brown answered ‘no comment’ when interviewed by police about what had happened to his wife
Joanna Simpson was killed by Brown at their home in Ascot in Autumn 2010 after the couple’s acrimonious divorce
Brown (pictured here in his police mugshot) was jailed for 26 years after admitting to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility
‘Well I mean it’s extremely serious,’ he continued. When probed on whether Brown and his wife had been harmed, the murderer stumbled telling the operator ‘Well, one of us is.’
When asked if the injured person needed medical attention the father-of-two responded emotionlessly ‘err no’.
The recording of the emergency call was released as part of The British Airways Killer on ITV1 and ITVX.
It comes as footage showed Brown repeatedly answering ‘no comment’ when being interviewed by police who were desperately searching to find Ms Simpson.
Throughout the interview Brown is probed by Detective Constable Melanie Ward but he continues to calmly give non-answers to their questions.
The DC is heard saying: ‘Joanna is missing. Blood has been found at her home in Tun Cottage. Robert, tell us everything you know about the whereabouts of Joanna.’
But the killer just repeatedly responds ‘no comment’ to each of her questions.
DC Ward questions his reason for being here, saying: ‘But you’ve continued to want to speak to police and to come to the police station, is that correct?’
Once again, Brown only responds ‘no comment’.
Ms Simpson (pictured here with her two children) told one friend that Brown had held a knife to her chest during their relationship
In the interview the killer is asked repeatedly what has happened to Joanna Simpson, only to answer ‘no comment’ every time
Joanna (pictured) was initially reported missing from her home the morning after Halloween in 2010, with Brown eventually leading police to where he had dumped her body
Speaking to filmmakers, DC Ward said she was hopeful of gaining answers from the BA pilot as she walked into the interview.
She said: ‘In my head at that time because he had handed himself in to speak to police, I was thinking something’s happened, he’s done something to her and he’s going to come and tell us where she is.
‘It was a remorseful “oh my God I’ve done this, this happened. Please help us, please help me, please help Jo”.
‘The first thing that came out of his mouth was “no comment” and I remember being very taken aback.’
In another part of the interview Brown was played recordings from the call he made to 999 before attending the police station.
DC Walker asks ‘who was harmed’ to which the killer responds ‘no comment’. When asked whether the individual did not need medical attention because they were unharmed or because they are dead he responds ‘no comment’.
Speaking more than a decade after the killing, DC Ward explained: ‘What “no comment” says to me, it’s control. It’s easy to hide behind it but I don’t think Robert was hiding behind no comment, I think he was, that was his element of control.’
He would eventually confess to having killed her and dumped her body in Windsor Great Park.
Detective Constable Melanie Ward (pictured) said she was ‘taken aback’ by the killers behaviour in the interview
Throughout the harrowing documentary, interviews with Ms Simpson’s mother Diana Parkes and her friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton reveal the moment they discovered Brown was not all he seemed.
Ms Barkworth-Nanton claimed that Ms Simpson had revealed to her Brown held a knife to her chest during their relationship.
She said: ‘She [Joanna] said to me, and I’ve heard it from so many victims subsequently, that “His eyes went dark, almost black, cold, dark, black eyes,” And he said, “I’m going to do it.”
‘So she was saying, you know, “What will happen to the children?” He didn’t care about what would happen to the children.’
After Ms Simpson said she could no longer be with Brown she thought he would eventually kill her.
‘She genuinely believe that he was going to kill her,’ the friend said. ‘She was of no doubt whatsoever.’
Ms Parkes told the filmmakers that she realised something was wrong when she received a phone call from a family friend.
She said: ‘A friend rang and said, “Have you spoken to Jo this morning?” And I said no, and he said, “I’ve had a worrying call…”
The footage shown in the documentary shows the couple’s picture perfect wedding in 1999
In a speech at the wedding Brown was heard saying ‘you have to go for what’s perfect’. He would later bludgeon his wife to death
Video footage showing the wedding of Robert Brown and Joanna Simpson is being released as part of a new documentary
‘I was told there’s police tape around the house, and I just said, “He’s killed her.” I just said that straight away, “He’s killed her.”‘
Bittersweet footage of the couple’s wedding, during which Brown said he ‘can’t help being choosy’, while his father-in-law says Ms Simpson’s killer is a ‘very lucky man’.
Brown later admitted to manslaughter, but was cleared by a jury of murder after claiming he was suffering from an adjustment disorder brought on by their divorce.
He was sentenced to 26 years in prison and became eligible for automatic release after half of that, despite not expressing any remorse for his actions.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk blocked the ex-captain’s release from prison last year, sparking legal action from Brown who claimed it was unlawful.
Earlier this month lawyers for the Ministry of Justice said Mr Chalk had referred the case to the Parole Board because of ‘reasonable’ fears that Brown could offend again.
They included fears he could commit murder, manslaughter or make threats to kill, the High Court heard.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk (pictured) blocked Brown’s automatic earlier release last year
Lawyer Iain Steele, for the Justice Secretary, said: ‘The Secretary of State can decide not to release a prisoner on licence if he has reasons to believe he will be dangerous if released.’
He added: ‘His [Brown’s] risk is not manageable … We are dealing with a very dangerous individual.’
Since he was jailed in 2011 he has refused to cooperate with prison psychiatrists and psychologists, the High Court heard, and officials warned of his ‘arrogance and narcissism’.
Lawyers for Brown said Mr Chalk’s decision to block his release was unlawful and appeared to have been politically motivated, because of the campaign to keep him behind bars.
A ruling is expected later this year.
- The British Airways Killer airs on ITV1 & ITVX at 9pm on Monday, February 26.