A police officer who killed his lover after she exposed their affair will be freed early under Labour’s release scheme, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
In a scandalous move, Timothy Brehmer, who was jailed for strangling Claire Parry to death in 2020, could be free to walk the streets by this time next year after serving just over half his sentence.
It adds to growing anger over plans to release two of PC Andrew Harper’s killers.
The news comes despite the fact that Brehmer, a constable with Dorset Police, had three years added to his sentence by the Court of Appeal as it was found to be ‘unduly lenient’.
Brehmer, then 41, killed mother-of-two Mrs Parry in a pub car park after she told his wife of their ten-year affair. He initially lied about the crime, claiming the nurse practitioner had died accidentally during a ‘kerfuffle’.
He was controversially cleared of murder, and was jailed for ten-and-a-half years for manslaughter.
But the sentence was increased to 13-and-a-half years when Brehmer applied to the Court of Appeal for leniency. A judge found ‘too little weight’ had been given to ‘aggravating factors’ such as his ‘lies’ and ‘conduct’ in the aftermath of the attack.
It meant he would have stayed behind bars until at least 2029.
But now, Brehmer could be among thousands of other killers and violent offenders due to be released under the Government’s early release scheme as early as June 2027.
Timothy Brehmer (pictured), who was jailed for strangling Claire Parry to death in 2020, could be free to walk the streets within weeks after serving just half of his sentence
Brehmer, then 41, killed mother-of-two Mrs Parry (pictured) in a pub car park after she told his wife of their ten-year affair
Tory home affairs spokesman Chris Philp said last night: ‘This vile criminal killed an innocent young woman. Releasing him early is an insult to her memory and sends a signal that this Labour Government doesn’t take domestic killings and domestic abuse seriously.’
Mr Philp added: ‘The Government must urgently cancel their early release Act and introduce emergency legislation to ensure dangerous and serious criminals stay in prison.’
It adds to fury over Labour’s early release scheme, which is designed to relieve prison overcrowding but which will see eligible prisoners released after serving as little as a third of their sentences.
Around 5,000 inmates were set to be freed in September, but this has been paused until at least October amid mounting anger. Andy Burnham says it will now be subject to an ‘urgent review’.
PC Harper, 28, was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road in Berkshire as three teenagers fled the scene of a quad bike theft. Two of the passengers in the car, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, were sentenced to 13 years but could be released next year.
Brehmer’s trial heard that Mrs Parry had become suspicious that he was also involved with other women and had asked him to meet her outside a pub in West Parley, Dorset, on May 9, 2020.
During the meeting in his car, she took his phone and texted his wife, saying: ‘I am cheating on you.’
Brehmer said he then strangled Mrs Parry by accident in his car, and claimed that his arm ‘must have slipped in all the melee’.
He later attempted to cover up the crime by using a knife to wound himself, claiming he had been stabbed by Mrs Parry, a statement he later retracted. She died the day after the attack, at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
Brehmer, of Hordle, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, before a jury at Salisbury Crown Court cleared him of murder.
Mrs Parry’s husband, Andrew, said he was ‘incredibly disappointed’ in the verdict.
In a statement at the time, Mr Parry, who was also a Dorset Police officer, said: ‘He’s the worst kind of thief. He’s stolen a mother, a wife and daughter.’
The MoJ said: ‘We inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. We are fixing this by building 14,000 new prison places, expanding electronic tagging and investing in probation services.’
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