Member-only story
Family of Halloween Hammer Murder Victim Battles to Keep Killer Behind Bars
Joanna Simpson’s loved ones are doing all they can to ensure Robert Brown serves the rest of his sentence amid fears he may be released early.
The family of a young mother-of-two who was beaten to death with a claw hammer by her abusive and violent estranged husband is lobbying politicians in a bid to keep him in prison.
Joanna Simpson, 46, was murdered within earshot of her two young children in the British county of Berkshire back in 2010. Her ex-husband Robert Brown should still have another 13 years of his 26-year jail sentence to serve for the crime, but an automatic release system means he may be freed as early as November 2023.
Now, Joanna’s loved ones are campaigning to the highest level of government so that the traditional system can be overridden and they do not have to live in fear of reprisals from the man they believe is a psychopath.
A path to horror on Halloween
Joanna met Brown, an airline pilot with British Airways, in 1998 and they married a year later. However, his charming facade soon slipped and he became gradually more controlling and abusive towards his wife.