The story of the bludgeoning to death of a woman who was brought up in the island moved the Duchess of Cornwall to tears.
Joanna Simpson was brutally killed on the doorstep of her home in Ascot, Berkshire, by her estranged husband in 2010. She was 46.
Having experienced the deficiencies in the legal and care system surrounding such tragic cases, her mother Diana Parkes, who lives in Sulby, set up a foundation to help others in a similar situation.
Diana and Jo’s best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton – with others who had also experienced domestic violence – were invited by domestic abuse charity SafeLives to tell their stories to the duchess at a presentation in London.
‘We made quite an impact on Her Royal Highness recounting our appalling stories,’ said Diana.
‘She is a most delightful lady and has pledged to help.’
Robert Brown, a British Airways pilot, bludgeoned Joanna, his wife, to death with a claw hammer while the children were just metres away inside the house. He then drove Jo’s body in the boot of his car to a park where he buried her in a pre-prepared grave. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for 26 years.
Diana and Hetti set up the Joanna Simpson Foundation to improve the care, support and protection of children affected by domestic abuse and homicide.
Diana also experienced deficiencies in the legal system and here the foundation has already made a significant change. As a result of their work, a new set of guidelines has been issued to prosecutors to challenge attempts by defence lawyers in court to distort the character of the victim, as happened to Jo.
Last September, a lunch in Douglas raised £20,000 for the foundation.
Since then, JSF has donated to the Anna Freud Centre to train specialists who will counsel children affected by domestic homicide.
The foundation also made donations to women’s refuges.
The duchess revealed she is a keen fan of the BBC Radio 4 programme The Archers.
She applauded the inclusion of a storyline about coercive control.
Diana said: ‘Domestic abuse is an issue that the public at large just don’t want to hear about and the duchess’s presence and interest was an enormous boost to us as victims and active campaigners.
‘We simply must work harder to educate children who have been affected by domestic abuse not to repeat what they have experienced as they mature.
‘We must work with government and policy makers to place this nationally critical issue higher up the political agenda.’
The duchess said: ‘It’s so important that people like yourselves speak up otherwise we gloss over it. And this is too important an issue to ignore.’