Mark Brown on Trial for Gruesome Double Murder of Escorts
Mark Brown, 41, from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, has pleaded not guilty to murdering two women, Alexandra Morgan, 34, and Leah Ware, 33, back in 2013. The chilling trial at Hove Crown Court has shocked the seaside town as details emerge about the horrific deaths of the escorts who went missing six months apart.
Victims Missing After Meeting Brown
Both women worked as escorts and were registered on an adult website. Alexandra Morgan, a single mum of two from Sissinghurst, Kent, was last seen filling up her car at a petrol station in Cranbrook in November 2021. Leah Ware, a mother-of-three from Hastings, vanished in May 2021 after living under increasingly controlling conditions at a farm Brown rented near Hastings.
Brown, a father himself, rented Little Bridge Farm where he allegedly held the women captive. Prosecutors revealed that Ware was regularly padlocked inside a barn and kept in a converted shipping container on the property. Friends described Leah as a “voluntary prisoner” and said Brown was controlling and into violent sex practices.
Bones Found in Oil Drum Linked to Brown
The macabre discovery of Alexandra Morgan’s remains was made at a building site in Sevenoaks, Kent—where Brown had been working. Her bone fragments and teeth were found inside an old oil drum tossed into a skip. Further forensic searches at the farm revealed a burnt oil drum, believed to have been used to destroy evidence, but Leah Ware’s remains are still missing.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC read out chilling messages from Brown, who described himself as a “psychopath with a conscience.”
“An old oil drum, five litres of diesel, and there was nothing left. The oil drum glows almost white, you go through a lot of stages in a situation like that,” Brown allegedly wrote.
Controlling Relationship and Disappearance
Brown reportedly began a relationship with Ware after hiring her services, moving her into a flat with rent paid from her benefits. By 2019, Leah was living at the farm under Brown’s watch, locked in a barn and isolated from friends and family. She told people he locked her in and that she was becoming a prisoner in her own home.
Following her disappearance on May 7, last year, cash was withdrawn from Ware’s account, and Brown collected her prescriptions. He told acquaintances conflicting stories – from Leah being “sectioned” to her having killed herself. Meanwhile, Brown continued to use sex workers and kept moving forward with his life.
Trial Continues as Jury Sworn In
Mr Justice Nicholas Hilliard has sworn in 12 jurors and two substitutes for the trial at Hove Crown Court. The prosecution argues that Brown’s controlling behaviour and the suspicious circumstances around the disappearances strongly point to the double murder.
Brown maintains his innocence but admitted to disposing of Morgan’s body “in a panic” after what he claims was an accident. The community waits anxiously as the trial unfolds, hoping for justice for Alexandra Morgan and Leah Ware.
