THE husband of a nurse killed by her police officer lover has described the heart-breaking moment he had to tell his two children their mother had died.

Andrew Parry said former Dorset Police officer Timothy Brehmer had caused his family immense pain and “he is the worst kind of thief”.

Addressing Salisbury Crown Court, Mr Parry, also a police officer, said Brehmer’s actions had left a “gaping chasm” in his family.

“I’ll never forget telling my children that their mother was dead,” Mr Parry said in his victim impact statement.

“It was about two hours after Claire had passed away, so I was still in shock.

“I remember walking along with them thinking, ‘I’m about to burst your bubble, and bring your whole world crashing down’.

“It was like a physical weight crushing down on my chest.”

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Mr Parry said he chose a quiet spot in a park to tell them.

“Then my son smiled his usual cheeky grin and says ‘You’re pranking me’,” he said.

“His sister put her hand on his arm and said, ‘No, he’s serious’. His face crumpled as he realised that I was serious and he would never see his mummy again.

“He refused to look at me as if it would not be true if you didn’t make eye contact.

“My daughter started crying and said, ‘I want to go home’. It was a simple request and in that moment I would have given anything to be able to grant it.

“But I couldn’t as my home was cordoned off by the police. It was a crime scene.”

Mr Parry condemned Brehmer for putting his family through the public humiliation of a trial.

“This trial has been a whole new level of pain and humiliation for me, listening to Brehmer telling lie after lie,” he said.

“Then having to sit through more of Brehmer’s lies, crocodile tears, while showing no remorse for depriving two children of their mother.

“This trial was Brehmer’s one opportunity to spare his and Claire’s family some pain.

“He took that opportunity and twisted it into a new way to torment us, allowing all of Claire’s shortfalls to be publicly displayed while all of her good qualities and deeds were overlooked.”

He went on: “He also had the opportunity to ease the family’s pain by telling us what has happened to Claire. Instead he chose to tell lie after lie.

“Brehmer will now go to his grave being the only person who knows what happened in that car park, causing further torment to us for the rest of our lives.”

Mr Parry said his family had now lost his wife’s annual £50,000 salary and he had been receiving counselling after being diagnosed with anxiety and depression following his wife’s death.

“I cannot imagine what physical toll this incident will take on me,” he said.

“A year ago, I underwent two heart procedures and as a result I will be taking medication for the rest of my life.

“I have spent the last five months in a perpetual state of stress and anxiety. While I’m not a cardiologist, I cannot imagine that as good for my heart.

“This creates further stress and anxiety because I know that if I die my children will be orphans because Brehmer has robbed them of their mother.

“This is how I feel about Brehmer. He’s the worst kind of thief. He’s stolen a mother, a wife and daughter. Claire meant so much to so many people.

“He has robbed our children of a million hugs and kisses from their mummy. It is simply impossible to quantify what he has taken from us. So much can never be replaced.”

He added: “It is impossible to know exactly what has been stolen from our children, their children will never know their grandmother.

“There will be an empty space at the table this Christmas, this empty table space will echo into the future of Christmases, birthdays, weddings.

“Brehmer hasn’t left a hole in our lives, a hole has edges – a beginning and an end – Brehmer has left a gaping chasm in our lives that will stretch on for eternity.”