Dorset Police officer jailed for killing lover

Timothy Brehmer, 41, killed mother-of-two Claire Parry after she sent a text message from his phone to his wife saying: "I am cheating on you.''

Mrs Parry, 41, died during a "kerfuffle'' in his car in the car park of the Horns Inn in West Parley, Dorset, on May 9 this year.

Brehmer, a constable with Dorset Police, claimed the married nurse accidentally suffered the fatal injury while he was trying to push her out of his Citroen car so he could drive away.

The defendant, of Woodcock Lane, Hordle, was acquitted of murder by a jury following a trial at Salisbury Crown Court but had previously admitted Mrs Parry's manslaughter.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Jacobs said Brehmer would serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison before he could apply for parole.

"This is a case where I should sentence you on the basis you lost your self-control following the sending of the text message to your wife where the affair was revealed, rather than on the basis that you had no intention to kill or cause really serious harm,'' the judge said.

"I am sure that you did deliberately take Claire Parry by the neck, applying significant force with your forearm or the crook of your elbow for a period of time while she struggled against you thereby causing the severe neck injuries which the pathologist described.

"The evidence from the pathologist was that those injuries, which she described as 'severe' on a scale of mild, moderate or severe, resulted from the application of significant force to the neck for a period of a minimum 10 to 30 seconds and possibly longer.

"She said it was difficult to envisage a situation where a struggle in the car imparted the necessary degree of force or could explain the extent and severity of the neck injuries.''

The judge said that, as a "trained and experienced'' road traffic police officer, Brehmer would have known Mrs Parry was seriously injured.

"Yet you did nothing to try to help Claire Parry. You did not ask her how she was. That was because you knew how she was,'' the judge said.

"You could not possibly have thought, as you said in your police interview, that she was simply taking a breath.

"You must have known that her body had gone limp after your assault on her. Before you walked to the car park entrance you must have seen how she was - hanging half out of the car.

"It must have been obvious to you, as a trained police officer with extensive experience of casualties in traffic accidents, that she was not breathing.

"In evidence you said you did not realise she was poorly. I consider that you appreciated that she was much worse than that.''

The court heard that Brehmer, whose wife was also a police officer, and Mrs Parry had been having an affair for more than 10 years.

Brehmer - described in court as a "womaniser'' - said he had planned to kill himself because of the consequences to his family of their affair being revealed.

In the days before her death, Mrs Parry had started to believe that her marriage to Andrew Parry, also a Dorset Police officer, was coming to an end, as well as her relationship with the defendant.

She had carried out research using an alias on Facebook into Brehmer and became convinced he had had at least two other affairs.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Dixey, of the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT), said: “Timothy Brehmer’s criminal actions on Saturday 9 May 2020 have had a devastating impact on a number of people, particularly the family of Claire Parry and her loved ones.

“Our thoughts remain with all those affected and I would again like to thank Claire’s family for their support throughout the investigation and trial process. I can only hope that the conclusion of the court proceedings is of some comfort to them.

“I would also like to again thank all those involved for the professional manner in which this case was investigated and brought to court.”