Trial of Sussex man accused of killing two women set to begin

Mark Brown, 41, is accused of murdering Alexandra Morgan and Leah Ware in 2021.

Mark Brown from East Sussex is due to go on trial accused of the murders of Alexandra Morgan, 34, pictured, and Leah Ware, 33 (Kent Police/PA) (PA Media)

The trial of a man accused of murdering two women is set to begin on Tuesday.

Mark Brown, 41, of Squirrel Close in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, is accused of murdering Alexandra Morgan, 34, and Leah Ware, 33.

Brown, who has pleaded not guilty to both charges, was clean shaven and wearing a dark suit jacket, white shirt and jeans when brought into the dock at Hove Crown Court on Monday morning.

Miss Morgan, a single mother-of-two from Sissinghurst, Kent, was reported missing in November 2021 by her mother after failing to return from a weekend away with a friend.

She was last seen putting petrol in her car at a garage in Cranbrook, Kent on the morning of November 14.

Miss Ware, a mother-of-three from Hastings, East Sussex, was last seen by a friend in the early hours of May 6 2021.

On Monday, judge Mr Justice Nicholas Hilliard shortlisted 18 people to potentially serve as the trial jury.

The trial is set to begin in earnest on Tuesday once the jury is sworn in, and is expected to run until mid-November.