A married police officer who strangled his lover after she revealed their affair to his wife is due to be sentenced later today.

Timothy Brehmer, 41, killed mother-of-two Claire Parry after she sent a text message from his phone to his wife, saying: “I am cheating on you.”

Mrs Parry, 41, died during a “melee” in his car in the car park at the Horns Inn in West Parley, Dorset, on May 9 this year.

Brehmer, a former Pc with Dorset Police, claimed the married nurse accidentally suffered the fatal injury while he was trying to push her out of his Citroen car so he could drive away.

The defendant, of Woodcock Lane, Hordle, Hampshire, was acquitted of murder by a jury following a trial at Salisbury Crown Court, but had previously admitted Mrs Parry’s manslaughter.

He is due to return to court on Wednesday morning where he will be sentenced by Mr Justice Jacobs.

Jo Martin QC, defending, said Brehmer was remorseful for his actions and told her after being acquitted of murder: “It doesn’t change anything. I am still responsible for Claire’s death.”

She added: “Mr Brehmer pleaded guilty to the offence which is one indication of remorse. His remorse is genuine and will live with him long past any sentence this court imposes.”

The court heard that Brehmer, whose wife was also a police officer, and Mrs Parry had been having an affair for more than 10 years.

Brehmer – described in court as a “womaniser” – said he had planned to kill himself because of the consequences to his family of their affair being revealed.

In the days before her death, Mrs Parry had started to believe her marriage to Andrew Parry, also a Dorset Police officer, was coming to an end as well as her relationship with the defendant.

She had carried out research using an alias on Facebook into Brehmer and became convinced he had had at least two other affairs.

Brehmer said that when Mrs Parry drove into the car park she was angry, and after she got into his vehicle she asked for his phone so she could look through his social media apps.

He said that at one point he stabbed his arm three times with a penknife but Mrs Parry “did not care”.

He said he demanded she get out of his car but she refused, so he first tried to pull her out before he “bundled” into the car to try to push her out, and his arm “must have slipped up in all the melee”.

A post-mortem examination concluded Mrs Parry, from Bournemouth, had died from a brain injury caused by compression of the neck.

At the time of the incident, Brehmer was seconded to the National Police Air Service based at Bournemouth Airport. He has since been sacked by Dorset Police.