Jealous Man Brutally Murders Lover On The Night Of Wedding Proposal

A 49-year-old man murdered his lover the night he proposed to her, Portsmouth Crown Court heard Thursday.

According to prosecutor Simon Jones, Kayleigh Dunning, 32, was brutally and ferociously attacked by Mark Brandford at his flat in Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth, BBC reported. Her body was found on Dec. 17, 2019.

The Portsmouth Crown Court heard the pair were seeing each other despite Dunning being in another relationship. The prosecutor said Mark Brandford had been making plans at the registry office to marry her although their previous engagement was called off in August that year.

Brandford had proposed to her on the night of Dec. 16 and took to Instagram to show "novelty balloons" revealing the proposal. They spent the night at his flat making plans to watch films before he crushed her head in a jealous rage.

During the hearing, Jones told the court that Dunnings was naked at the time of the attack. "Numerous blows to her head and neck had crushed her skull and severed the major artery in her neck. Kayleigh was of slight build and naked at the time of the assault. She had tried to defend herself and she received heavy injuries to her hands and forearms in her struggle to ward off the attack – but she didn’t have a chance," said Jones.

The court also heard details of "affectionate" text messages Dunnings send to another man she was in a relationship with on the same evening.

Jones said the defendant’s account was that Dunning had happily accepted the proposal. "But, it was not something that she had appeared to tell anyone by phone or text. We say that Mark Brandford extensively lied when questioned by the police. He murdered Kayleigh because he was jealous."

Jurors were told Brandford left the flat early the next morning for work and later returned and called the cops after "he found her body."

"He was the only person with Kayleigh that night. Brandford had appeared his "normal self" at work during the day, telling colleagues that he and Dunning had got engaged," he said.

Brandford denies murder and charges related to the distribution of private sexual photos and films of Dunning. The trial continues.