POLICE have defended themselves after failing to find a tape recorder vital in convicting wife-killer Andrew Parsons.

Parsons was last month convicted of stabbing wife Janee to death in front of their young son in their Bicester home.

The killing was captured on an audio recorder Parsons had hidden beneath his wife’s bed and it was played to the jury during his trial.

But police officers searching the home for clues after Parsons was arrested missed finding the recorder. Detectives only received it when Parsons’ sister Amanda Cox discovered it days later and handed it over.

Yesterday, Thames Valley Police refused to say if it had made a mistake and if it would order a review.

Parsons had taped the recording device under Mrs Parsons’ bed to record his wife’s conversations with her new lover. It had 22 hours of recordings, covering several days.

Mrs Cox was looking for clothes under the bed when she found the device. She told the trial: “We were horrified that it was still there and the police had missed it.”

Parsons, 38, was heard saying “you lying cow Janee, you’re dead” shortly before he stabbed her 17 times. He had claimed she attacked him when he denied murder.

Police spokeswoman Hannah Williams said: “This item was deliberately concealed and was not discovered as part of the search carried out, which was proportionate to the information available at the time.

“However we continually seek to learn from the incidents we deal with and use the knowledge gained to inform our future activity.”

Yesterday a 43-year-old domestic violence victim from Oxfordshire, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s extremely worrying that something so vital like that could have been missed.

“But in my case I couldn’t say anything but good things about how police have dealt with my situation.”

Jan Matthews, managing director of Reeds Solicitors, said: “Ultimately it seemed to be a decisive, so clearly it would have made a massive difference to the case had it not been found.”

Frank Mullane, director of Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse, added: “I hope the force will fearlessly review its approach to how it investigated these circumstances and then apply and re-apply any learning to improve future practice.”

Parsons was convicted and told he would serve at least 20 years.

It comes after two men last month accused of a £500,000 drugs conspiracy walked free from Oxford Crown Court when their trial collapsed. Judge Gordon Risius criticised officers, saying there were “shortcomings” in the investigation.