The grieving mother of former Isle of Man resident Joanna Brown has spoken after her daughter's husband was jailed for 24 years for killing her.

Diana Parkes, who lives in the north of the Island and gave evidence before attending the eight–day trial at Reading Crown Court, said acquitting Robert Brown of murder was a 'gross miscarriage of justice'.

But she thanked the judge for 'recognising the truth of what actually happened'.

Although found not guilty of his wife's murder, 47-year-old Robert Brown admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, and was also convicted of preventing an inquest by disposing of his wife's body, for which he got a further two years.

During the trial, the jury heard how Brown hit his estranged wife at least 14 times with a claw hammer in the hallway of her home in Ascot, before wrapping her in thick plastic sheeting.

With the body in the boot of his car, he then drove his two children to his own home, dropped them off, and headed to a nearby woodland area to bury the body.

In a statement, Mrs Parkes said her daughter was bludgeoned to death in a horrendous killing and questioned how a murder verdict wasn't recorded after she had sustained so many blows.

She also said Brown had contrived a cunning plan to make out he was suffering from diminished responsibility, which had manipulated the evidence and subsequent verdict.

However, she thanked the judge for taking into account the many aggravating factors and said her daughter's killer had 'got away with murder in name only'.