Claire Parry death: Husband tells of 'crushing weight' telling children

Claire Parry died in hospital after being strangled, a court has heard

The husband of a woman strangled by a police officer has described the "crushing weight" of telling his children their mother was dead.

Timothy Brehmer, a constable with Dorset Police, killed Claire Parry, 41, on 9 May after she told his wife they had been having an affair.

Andrew Parry described Brehmer, 41, as the "worst kind of thief" and said the trial had caused a "new level of pain".

Brehmer, who had admitted manslaughter, was cleared of murdering Mrs Parry.

In a victim impact statement read at Salisbury Crown Court, Mr Parry, also a Dorset Police officer, said: "I'll never forget telling my children that their mother was dead.

"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."

Police found Mrs Parry unconscious in a pub car park

Mr Parry said he broke the news to his son and daughter at a quiet spot in the park.

"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."

Timothy Brehmer admitted killing his lover Claire Parry but told the court it was an accident

During the trial, jurors were told Brehmer had been having a relationship with Mrs Parry, a nurse, for more than a decade.

Brehmer told the court he had strangled Mrs Parry by accident during a "kerfuffle" in his car outside the Horns Inn in West Parley.

She died in hospital the following day.

Continuing his statement, Mr Parry said the trial had caused "a whole new level of pain and humiliation".

"Having to sit through more of Brehmer's lies, crocodile tears, while showing no remorse for depriving two children of their mother," he said.

"He's the worst kind of thief. He's stolen a mother, a wife and daughter."

Mrs Parry's parents, Philip and Jane Jordan, said the "sudden and heart-wrenching loss" off their daughter had left "a chasm of deep emotional sadness and loss".

Their statement, read to the court, said: "This man has caused devastating changes to our lives and the consequences in which we will always live with and suffer."

Brehmer, from Hordle, Hampshire, is due to be sentenced on Wednesday.