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.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Image: Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
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There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.
“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.
However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.
“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.
“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”
She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”
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A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.
It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.
Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.
The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Image: Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Image: Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.