A builder who described himself as a “psychopath with a conscience” has been found guilty of murdering two women six months apart.
Mark Brown killed Leah Ware in May and Alexandra Morgan, who both worked as escorts, at a remote farm near St Leonards in East Sussex in November last year.
He met them through a sex work website, a jury at Hove Crown Court was told.
Brown put 34-year-old Ms Morgan head-first into a home-made incinerator before dumping her remains.
The body of 33-year-old Ms Ware has never been found, but the prosecution believe he used a similar method – as well as also killing her Pomeranian dog, Lady.
The court heard Brown had told an old schoolfriend he was only interested in drop dead gorgeous brunettes, into music and cars, with at least two children and mental health issues.
The jury of 10 men and two women took 10-and-a-half hours to convict Brown of both murder charges today.
Brown met Ms Ware in 2018 when he hired her as an escort and they developed an “on again, off again” relationship.
He rented a flat in Hastings and Miss Ware moved in with money she received from her benefits being paid directly to him to cover the rent.
By May 2019 Miss Ware had moved to Little Bridge Farm, first living in a caravan before moving into an old shipping container located in the barn.
She acquired two dogs, a Pomeranian called Lady and a Mastiff called Duke, as well as a horse and some goats.
The court heard Brown was very controlling of Miss Ware and would lock her into the barn when he was at work.
He killed her on or around May 7 last year after tensions grew when she pressed him to leave his partner of 14 years, Lisa Clark, who he was 'persistently' unfaithful to, the court heard.
The jury was told that after Miss Ware went missing Brown went to great lengths to try to make it appear she was still alive and well.
He continued to pick up a prescription from her doctor's for medication she used to treat her mental health.
Brown also continued to use her bank card to withdraw money out of Miss Ware's bank account.
He then hired Alexandra Morgan for sex around a dozen times before offering her an escorting job worth £100,000 in October 2021.
When she visited Little Bridge Farm, the site he rented, the following month, he killed her and burned her body in an incinerator made from an oil drum.
He then dumped her remains in a skip at the building site where he worked in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Brown claimed she died in an accident at the farm after hitting her head when she slipped in his workshop and he burned her body “in a panic”.
Brown, who wore a jacket, shirt and tie, stood emotionlessly and did not react as the jury forewoman gave the verdicts.
His Honour Judge Nicholas Hilliard KC told Brown: "There is only one sentence which can be passed and that is imprisonment for life."
The judge said he would decide by January if he would be jailed with no possibility of parole.
Judge Hilliard said the impact on the families of his victims had been devastating.
He showed no emotion when the judge told him: "it is clear this is a case of the upmost gravity."
Judge Hilliard asked Brown to tell the family of Leah Ware what he did with her before he is sentenced next month.
"If he wishes to confirm what he had done with Leah Ware's body, he has that chance."
"With Alexandra Morgan, if he lied about why she was being lured to the farm, the question is what his plans were.
"They must have involved violence and sexual activity against her will and for some time.
"The question is what would have happened when it was over.
"How does he prevent her from reporting it?
"Murdering her would be a way of doing that.
"Knowing that he had already successfully disposed of one body.
"Alex was more suspicious of him than he knew and it would not have taken much to confirm her suspicions."
Duncan Atkinson KC described Brown as a selfish man who created a web of confusion, misinformation and lies to cover his crimes.
He told the jury the lack of evidence of how the two women died was not an obstacle to concluding Brown murdered Leah Ware and Alex Morgan.
"He constructed a great edifice of lies, camouflage and distraction designed to conceal when, where and how Leah Ware and Alex Morgan had died," Mr Atkinson said.
His determined concealment of the means of death, concealed his determined, violent action, Mr Atkinson said.
Within days of murdering Leah, Brown had selected his next victim but not before he had tried out a few more.
At least four more women visited Little Bridge Farm.
Timeline of key dates in the case:
2021
– May 6: Last confirmed sighting of Leah Ware by anyone other than Brown
– May 7: Police believe this was the day Ms Ware died
– May 20: Brown rejoins the AdultWork website, which he used to meet Ms Ware in 2018.
– June 8: Brown meets Alexandra Morgan for sex at her home in Sissinghurst, near Cranbrook, Kent
– June 13: Brown messages old school friend Elizabeth Howard: “I’m going to be very careful how I word this – 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.
"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.”
– June 21: Brown meets Ms Morgan at Little Bridge Farm for sex – and again on seven more occasions during August and September.
– October 23: Over WhatsApp, Brown offers Ms Morgan an escorting job paying up to £100,000.
– November 13: Ms Morgan’s parents collect her son and dog to allow her to go on a trip for four days. She tells family members she is going on a spa weekend with a friend but is in fact meeting Brown for sex at Little Bridge Farm.
– November 14: Ms Morgan leaves home and is seen buying fuel on CCTV at Ashwal Garage in Cranbrook at 7.20am.
Ms Morgan is killed by Brown and he destroys her remains by burning her body in a homemade incinerator.
– November 17: Brown and an associate move Ms Morgan’s car. Ms Morgan fails to return to her parents to pick up her son and dog as planned.
– November 18: Ms Morgan is reported missing by her mother.
– November 20: Kent Police’s Major Crime Unit commences an investigation.
– November 23: Kent Police interview Brown, take DNA and fingerprints. He admits to meeting Ms Morgan for sex but said she left after 45 minutes.
– November 25: Brown is arrested on suspicion of Ms Morgan’s murder.
– December 8: Believing Ms Ware has been killed, Sussex Police change their missing person case into a murder probe.
2022
– January 7: Bones belonging to a Pomeranian dog are found. Police believe Ms Ware and Lady died at the farm on the same day.
– February 1: Brown is charged with Ms Ware’s murder.
– February 4: Brown appears at Lewes Crown Court charged with both murders. He pleads not guilty to the murder of Ms Morgan but, after the discovery of her remains, he admits to destroying her body with fire – claiming she fell and died on the farm in an accident.
– March 25: Brown denies Ms Ware’s murder.
– October 17: Brown’s trial begins at Hove Crown Court.
– November 29: The jury retires to consider its verdict.
– December 1: The jury of 10 men and two women find Brown guilty of murder.
Speaking after the guilty verdicts, Libby Clark of the CPS said: "This is a tragic case where two women - Alex Morgan and Leah Ware - were murdered and treated with utter disregard and cruelty at the hands of Mark Brown.
"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.
"We are pleased the jury saw through his lies and convicted him today, closing this complex and challenging case.
"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."
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Alex Morgan was a young woman dedicated to her two young children. She had everything to live for but tragically, her efforts to earn money to support her family caused Alex to come into contact with Mark Brown.
"Brown is an exceptionally dangerous individual who poses a significant threat to women. I am extremely pleased he has been convicted of Alex’s murder and, once he has been sentenced, I hope Alex’s family and friends can find some form of closure to come to terms with her tragic loss."
Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: "No-body homicides are incredibly rare and difficult to prove but thanks to an enormous amount of investigative work and close liaison with our colleagues in Kent Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, we were able to build a really strong case that showed Mark Brown to be responsible for Leah’s death.
"Leah was a loving and trusting young woman, but sadly her later life wasn’t without its difficulties. She became dependent on Mark Brown and he used that to his advantage until ultimately, it led to her death.
"He may never tell us how or why he killed her but we hope his conviction for her murder will bring some sense of justice to the family and friends Leah left behind."
