Mark Brown: Double murder-accused called himself ‘psychopath with a conscience’

A man accused of murdering two women described himself as a "psychopath with a conscience", a court has heard.

Mark Brown, 41, denies murdering Leah Ware, 33, from Hastings, East Sussex, and Alexandra Morgan, 34, from Sissinghurst, Kent.

His trial heard a message allegedly sent by Mr Brown which the prosecution say hinted at the process he used to dispose of the women's remains.

"I'm going to be very careful how I word this," the message said.

"It happened again, not very long ago when disposing of something,"

"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."

Duncan Atkinson KC, who read the message to Hove Crown Court, said Ms Morgan was a sex worker who had arranged to meet Mr Brown, a client, at a site he rented, Little Bridge Farm, near Hastings.

Ms Morgan's remains, including burned bone fragments and teeth, were found inside an oil drum in a skip at a building site near Sevenoaks, Kent, where Brown was working at the time of her disappearance. The single mother-of-two was reported missing in November 2021.

Brown has since admitted to disposing of her body "in a panic" after what he said was an accident in which she died at Little Bridge Farm.

His message, which was read out at the start of the trial, continued: "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."

Ms Ware was last seen by a friend in the early hours of 6 May 2021.

She was also a sex worker operating from the same website as Ms Morgan and she first met Mr Brown as a client in March 2018.

The court was told their relationship developed and Ms Ware lived at Little Bridge Farm, first in a static caravan and then in a converted shipping container inside a barn on the site, until the prosecution say she was killed on 7 May 2021.

Miss Ware lived at the farm with her two dogs, Duke and Lady, to whom she was devoted.

In the days immediately after the prosecution say she died, Duke was rehomed with Brown's sister but Lady, a Pomeranian, has not been seen since.

However, during a police search of the farm, the skeletal remains of a Pomeranian were found in a pond on the site, at the end of a collar and lead tied to a weight. The prosecution argue that these are Lady's bones.

Ms Ware's remains have never been found and Mr Brown maintains she is still alive.

In messages to friends Mr Brown told different people she had been "sectioned", sent to "a mental hospital" or had "killed herself" and was "at peace", referring to her in the past tense.

The trial continues.

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