Kayleigh Dunning Portsmouth trial: Woman 'mortified' after explicit images of her were shared before murder

A WOMAN was left ‘mortified’ and ‘embarrassed' after explicit videos and images of her were broadcast before she was murdered, a court heard.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Kayleigh Dunning, 32, was subjected to an ‘absolutely vile’ campaign of abuse that saw her go to the police.

Mark Brandford, 49, is accused of brutally murdering his girlfriend Ms Dunning with a heavy instrument after delivering several blows to her head.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He is accused of carrying out the killing at his Kingston Crescent flat in North End after proposing to her overnight on December 16-17, 2019.

Police investigating after Kayleigh Dunning was found dead in Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth on December 17, 2019. Mark Brandford is on trial at Portsmouth Crown Court accused of her murder. Inset, Kayleigh Dunning. 
Picture taken December 20. Picture: 

Ben Fishwick/Hampshire policePolice investigating after Kayleigh Dunning was found dead in Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth on December 17, 2019. Mark Brandford is on trial at Portsmouth Crown Court accused of her murder. Inset, Kayleigh Dunning. 
Picture taken December 20. Picture: 

Ben Fishwick/Hampshire police
Police investigating after Kayleigh Dunning was found dead in Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth on December 17, 2019. Mark Brandford is on trial at Portsmouth Crown Court accused of her murder. Inset, Kayleigh Dunning. Picture taken December 20. Picture: Ben Fishwick/Hampshire police

Brandford also denies a charge of revenge porn after allegedly setting up a fake Facebook profile with intimate images of Ms Dunning.

Read More
Kayleigh Dunning Portsmouth murder trial: Woman 'still loved' former boyfriend

During the trial, Portsmouth Crown Court was played phone audio of Ms Dunning on August 7, 2019, reporting the revenge porn allegations.

During the conversation she explained how intimate videos and pictures had been sent to friends, her brother and boss on WhatsApp. Brandford’s phone was also sent the explicit material.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She also revealed how a fake Facebook account was set-up featuring a naked picture of herself with friend requests sent to people.

At the same time, she was suddenly bombarded with abusive messages from three different numbers.

‘They say they are going to… me up,’ she told the phone operator. ‘They are saying horrible things and they seem to know a lot about me.’

During another phone conversation the next day with police, Ms Dunning revealed three names she thought were behind it. ‘I lost my old phone and they stole it,’ she said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘They are wrong-uns. They are sending me vile messages. They know a lot about me, they know certain things like my tattoos.

‘They said, “we hope we’ve... you up now.” They were trying to make me lose my job.’

She added it was ‘horrible’ and ‘absolutely vile’ with both her parents abused as well.

Following this, Ms Dunning and Brandford signed statements to police over the incidents - which included racial slurs towards the defendant.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘I feel offended as my partner is black,’ she said in her statement, the court heard.

She added: ‘I was appalled by the racist language. I’m so upset I’m going to see my GP to prescribe me antidepressants as I feel very low. I’m mortified.

‘I’m so embarrassed about how many people have seen intimate images of me.’

Brandford, in his statement over the explicit videos and pictures, said he was ‘angry’ after he received a text message that Ms Dunning had meant to send to another man detailing an intimate encounter.

‘It made me feel physically sick,’ he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He also received a picture of Ms Dunning getting out of a shower from one of the numbers and a text saying: ‘She’s slept with all of us.’

His statement added: ‘I felt upset and was crying. I did not feel like myself. I believe someone knew all about it but would not speak up.’

Prosecutors said the intimate pictures and videos of Ms Dunning were all traced back to a Google cloud account belonging to Brandford.

He denies murder.

(Proceeding)

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.