A builder who described himself as a “psychopath with a conscience” has been found guilty of murdering two women.
Mark Brown killed Leah Ware and Alexandra Morgan on a remote farm near St Leonards in East Sussex in May and November last year after meeting them through a sex work website, a jury at Hove Crown Court was told.
After murdering 34-year-old Ms Morgan, Brown put her head-first into a home-made incinerator before dumping her remains at a building site.
The body of 33-year-old Ms Ware has never been found, but the prosecution believe he used a similar technique to dispose of her remains – as well as killing her dog, a Pomeranian called Lady.
The jury of 10 men and two women took just over 10 hours to convict Brown of both murder charges on Thursday.
Brown stared blankly ahead as the verdict was read out to gasps from the public gallery, made up of several of Ms Ware’s and Ms Morgan’s family members.
Image: Mark Brown
The 41-year-old was described as having a “double life” and showed no signs of being violent before committing his crimes.
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But an inspection of his phone revealed he had a taste for violent pornography and secretly used a website to meet up to ten escorts for sex.
Via this website, Brown eventually met Ms Ware and Ms Morgan.
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Police do not believe he attacked any of the other women.
Brown met Ms Ware in 2018 when he hired her as an escort after which they developed an “on again, off again” relationship.
Image: Alexandra Morgan was last seen filling up her car at a petrol station
He killed her on or around 7 May last year after tensions grew when she pressed him to leave his partner of 14 years, the court heard.
In the six months between killing Ms Ware and Ms Morgan, Brown messaged a friend calling himself a “psychopath with a conscience”, as he seemingly confessed to his crimes.
He said: “I’m going to be very careful how I word this – it happened again, not very long ago when disposing of something.
Image: Brown was said to have made a homemade incinerator out of an oil drum
“It’s a very unpleasant thing to do – an old oil drum, five litres of diesel, and hey presto, there’s not very much left.
“It gets hot, very hot, it glows almost white.
“The things I have done weigh heavily on my heart, on my head and my soul. A psychopath with a conscience – it’s a joke really.”
The jury found this message referred to Brown disposing of Ms Ware’s remains.
Brown hired Ms Morgan for sex around a dozen times before offering her an escorting job worth £100,000 in October 2021.
But when the following month she visited Little Bridge Farm, the site he rented, he killed her and burned her body in a homemade incinerator.
He then dumped her remains in a skip at a building site where he was working in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Brown claimed Ms Morgan died accidentally after hitting her head when she slipped in his workshop at the farm, and he burned her body “in a panic”.
He told the jury he and Ms Ware broke up in early 2021 and, as far as he knows, she is still alive.
Image: Little Bridge Farm in East Sussex, where the murders took place
Judge Justice Nicholas Hilliard adjourned sentencing until 13 January, saying the case is of the “utmost gravity” and thanking the jury for committing to the case for so long.
Libby Clark, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Brown has never accepted his actions; he claimed Alex’s death was an accident and created a web of lies to cover up the truth about Leah’s murder.
“Our thoughts remain with the families of Alex Morgan and Leah Ware. We hope, now Brown has been convicted, he will finally tell us what happened to Leah’s body, so her family can have closure.”
The 19-year-old woman who died after she was attacked by a dog at a flat in Bristol on Wednesday has been named as Morgan Dorsett from Shropshire.
Two people – a man and a woman both aged in their 20s – have been arrested over the attack and have been released on conditional bail.
Initial reports suggested the dog may be an XL bully, but confirming the breed will form part of the police assessment process, according to Avon and Somerset Police.
It was sedated and seized by officers.
Image: An XL bully. File pic: PA
Ms Dorsett’s family thanked the public for their support and those who have left flowers near the scene.
Officers were called to an incident in the Hartcliffe area of Bristol at 7.19pm on Wednesday.
Paramedics and police officers attended but Ms Dorsett died at the scene.
Image: Ms Dorsett. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police
On Thursday, Inspector Terry Murphy said: “Our thoughts, first and foremost, are with the family of the young woman who’s tragically died as a result of yesterday evening’s incident. They have been updated and will be supported by a family liaison officer.
“I’d also like to thank the officers and paramedics who attended yesterday evening and tried to save her life. Support is in place for them.
“A full investigation is now well under way to establish the full circumstances of the events that led to her death.”
Bargain Hunt auctioneer Charles Hanson has been cleared of coercive control and assault allegations relating to his wife.
The 46-year-old was accused of being violent towards Rebecca Hanson over an eight-year period.
The charges were brought after he was arrested in June 2023.
The TV auctioneer, from Mackworth, Derby, denied controlling or coercive behaviour spanning from 2015 to 2023, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and assault by beating. The two assault charges related to incidents in 2015 and 2023.
During the trial, Hanson claimed his wife had controlled him. He told the court he was “almost a slave” to her, saying she left him “a beaten and broken man” by controlling him and making him subservient towards her.
She had claimed her husband was violent towards her and put her in a headlock in 2012, while she pregnant with a baby she later lost.
Mrs Hanson also alleged her husband repeatedly “grabbed” her, scratched her as she tried to snatch a mobile phone and pushed her twice during a row.
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Image: Hanson outside the court with his parents today. Pic: PA
The auctioneer told the court his wife was allowed “to do what she wanted” but had experienced “moments and episodes” including one which saw her claim his legs being crossed amounted to abuse.
Jurors deliberated for around four and a half hours before delivering not guilty verdicts on all charges.
As the verdicts were returned, Hanson smiled at his parents, who were sat in the front row of the public gallery at Derby Crown Court, and gave them a thumbs-up.
After thanking the jurors for their care in considering the case, Judge Martin Hurst told Hanson: “You have been found not guilty. That is the end of the case. You will hear no more about it and you are free to go.”
The TV star’s parents wept and hugged their son after he was discharged from the dock.
Hanson ‘relieved this is all over’
Image: Hanson speaks to media after the verdict. Pic: PA
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Hanson said: “I’m delighted that after a year and a half the truth has finally come out.
“I can finally live my life again. I feel this burden has finally been lifted.”
“It has been a tormentuous time and all I want now is to readjust to what has been such an ordeal,” he continued. “I am so relieved that this is all over.”
As well as regularly featuring on Bargain Hunt, Hanson has appeared on Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip.
A self-described “monster” who beat a top chef to death near Notting Hill Carnival has been jailed for life.
Omar Wilson repeatedly punched and kicked Mussie Imnetu during an altercation outside a restaurant in Queensway, west London,on 26 August last year.
Wilson, 31, then left the scene to go clubbing.
Mr Imnetu, 41, who worked under star chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, died in hospital four days later, without regaining consciousness.
Image: Mussie Imnetu. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Sentencing Wilson to a minimum 18 years, Judge Philip Katz said Mr Imnetu’s “brutal” killing was “abhorrent”.
“Mussie and those who loved him are the victims in this case and the impact on them of his murder has been severe,” he said.
“Mussie was defenceless on the ground when you punched and kicked him to death.”
He continued: “You could not control your temper. Only a few seconds after punches were aimed by both of you you tripped Mussie and he fell to the ground and you could have walked away.
“As he knelt you rained further punches down on his head. You could have walked away.
“However, you stood up, raised your leg and kicked him hard to the head. Kicking someone to the head when they are defenceless on the ground is abhorrent.”
Image: CCTV footage of Omar Wilson at a security point after the assault. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Mr Imnetu’s wife, Linda, described her husband as “respected, admired and loved” in a pre-recorded victim impact statement played in court.
“Mussie didn’t just leave behind a legacy for his family, he left an indelible mark on his workplace and community,” she said.
“Nothing can undo what has been taken from us. I ask the court to remember the man Mussie was: his character, his integrity and the life he built; not just the circumstances of his passing.”
An audio recording of Mr Imnetu’s six-year-old son wishing his “daddy” goodbye was also played in court, which the judge called “heart-rending”.
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CCTV footage was played in court during the trial showing Wilson approaching Mr Imnetu and headbutting him.
Around a minute later, Wilson punched Mr Imnetu five times in the head, continued to repeatedly punch him while he was on his hands and knees, and then kicked him in the head.
Wilson of Napier Road, east London, told the Old Bailey he was acting in self defence, telling jurors: “I just regret that somebody’s life was taken while I was trying to defend mine.”
He claimed Mr Imnetu had a broken bottle – something Judge Katz described as “a deliberate lie”.
The court heard after the attack that Wilson had told an associate he “crossed the line”.
In a message, he said: “There’s a monster in me, man, and it’s just like sometimes it comes out.
“And I think I’ve messed up now, I’ve messed up, everything’s finished.”