KILLER police officer Timothy Brehmer was found not guilty by a jury of eleven after a two-week murder trial at Salisbury Crown Court.

Brehmer, 41, of Hordle, New Forest, admitted manslaughter after causing the death of Claire Parry, whom he had been having an extramarital affair with for eleven years.

Mrs Parry, 41, a nurse from Bournemouth, died of a brain injury due to compression to the neck at the Horns Inn pub car park in West Parley on May 9. Brehmer said this happened after a “kerfuffle” trying to get the nurse out his car.

But what happened in the lead up to Mrs Parry’s death?

Brehmer met Mrs Parry in 2005 while on a job with the police force. He told the court their relationship between 2006 and 2011 was “sexually flirtatious” and “infrequent”.

The relationship then developed to an “on and off” affair. Brehmer said they wouldn’t talk when big events occurred in their respective lives but would pick up contact in the down time.

Father-of-one Brehmer and mother-of-two Mrs Parry shared a relationship for 11 years, the court heard, which they “compartmentalised” from their marriages. The affair, in Brehmer’s words, went “bonkers”, when Mrs Parry’s marriage started to break down as a result.

Bournemouth Echo:

After growing suspicious of the affair, and speaking to Brehmer, Andrew Parry attended marriage counselling with Mrs Parry. Mr Parry had decided he was going to leave his wife in March this year and they were only living together due to the coronavirus lockdown, the court heard.

On May 6, three days before Mrs Parry’s death, Brehmer, while at work at NPAS at Bournemouth Aiport, visited Mrs Parry at her home and had sex.

Brehmer described everything as being “normal”, however that evening Mrs Parry engaged in a conversation on Facebook with Kate Rhodes, a former partner of Brehmer’s.

This conversation “opened Mrs Parry’s eyes” and she then began “relentlessly” messaging Brehmer accusing him of cheating on her and threatening to tell his wife Martha about the affair.

On May 8, Brehmer worked a night shift and on his way home the next morning spoke to Mrs Parry. He then gave Mrs Parry access to his social media sites and she became “vindictive”, laughing at his “perfect life”.

She asked him to meet at the Horns Inn pub at 3pm. Brehmer said he had formed the decision to kill himself after seeing “no way out”, he went to Screwfix in Lymington to pick up rope to kill himself but failed due to click and collect, he then went to see Mrs Parry to see why she wanted to meet.

At 2.41pm on May 9, Brehmer arrived at the Horns Inn, Mrs Parry arrived a few minutes later.

At 3.02pm, a text was sent to Mrs Parry on Brehmer’s phone reading “I’m cheating on you”. The text was sent by Mrs Parry.

Bournemouth Echo:

Brehmer then stabbed himself in the arm “to show how desperate he was” and factory reset his phone “so nobody could find him” after he killed himself.

He claimed he asked Mrs Parry to get out the car and when she refused he walked around the front of the car to the passenger door and tried pulling her out.

After failing, he “bundled in” to push her out. He said he had his arm around the top of her chest and it “must have slipped up in the melee” which resulted in Mrs Parry dying of a brain injury due to compression to the neck.

Brehmer is then seen at around 3.20pm walking to the entrance of the pub and sitting on the ground.

Mrs Parry was left “half in, half out” the car unconscious, she died in hospital the next day.