ROBERT Brown killed his ex-wife Joanna Simpson in a crime that rocked Britain. His horrifying killing will be explored in Channel 5’s A Killer Makes a Call, which airs on February 4, 2025. Brown is thought to have been born in either 1964 and 1965 and was raised in Edinburgh. His father worked in shipyards while his mother worked at the Bank of Scotland. While growing up in Scotland, Brown became a three-time UK trail-running champion.

He grew up to become a pilot, having wanted to fly planes since he was a child. Brown piloted long-haul flights between San Francisco, Los Angeles and Hong Kong while working for British Airways. Brown met Joanna Simpson after she divorced her first husband. Her parents immediately took a dislike to Brown when they met him on the Isle of Man, having reportedly found him “rude” and “arrogant”. Joanna and Brown moved in together in September 1998 and got engaged on Christmas Day that year.

They tied the knot in Ascot on February 13, 1999, despite Joanna’s parents protesting the match. Joanna reportedly phoned her parents from her honeymoon in Cape Town and said that the marriage had been a mistake. Two months later, Brown discovered that she was pregnant and gave birth to her first child in December 1999. Joanna had another baby in May 2001. In January 2007, Joanna went to a solicitor after Brown accused her of having an affair.

Eventually, the couple split and Joanna was encouraged by the outcome Radmacher v Granatino case which saw prenups being seen as enforceable in the UK. Her parents had encouraged her to sign a prenup with Brown. However, Joanna was killed by Brown on October 31, 2010. Brown buried his Joanna in Windsor Great Park, after dropping his children off at his pregnant girlfriend’s house. The killer phoned the police about a “serious domestic incident” and was arrested on suspicion of being involved in Joanna’s death.

He accompanied police when they recovered Joanna’s body from the woodland area in Windsor Great Park. Brown was diagnosed by the defence psychiatrist as having an adjustment disorder, which involves a “maladaptive response” to a stressor. He was eventually found guilty of manslaughter, but not guilty of murder. The killer became eligible for parole halfway through his sentence but was met with a widespread campaign against his release.

Labour MP Jess Phillips was one of the most prominent people leading the charge to keep Brown behind bars. Eventually, it was stated that Brown would not be automatically released and he was unable to overturn the decision. Brown’s terrifying crime will be examined in the Channel 5 documentary A Killer Makes a Call. The hour-and-a-half episode will feature exclusive interviews with people who helped bring Brown to justice.