Trial into brutal murder of Kayleigh Dunning suddenly halted for nearly two weeks after Covid outbreak
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Mark Brandford, who is on trial for the murder of Kayleigh Dunning, failed to appear in the dock at Portsmouth Crown Court today after coming into ‘quite close’ contact with someone while in jail.
The month-long trial has now been shelved until Monday January 25 while Brandford isolates for the next 10 days.
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Hide AdThe defendant, 49, is alleged to have ‘brutally’ murdered Ms Dunning, 32, in a jealous rage after proposing to her overnight on December 16-17 in 2019 at his home in Kingston Crescent, North End.
On Wednesday afternoon, judge Timothy Mousley QC told jurors he was still confident the trial would finish within its allocated time of February 5 but asked jurors if they could sit for a further week.
The judge said: ‘The defendant was not in the dock this morning after there was a Covid incident at the prison.
‘It was someone who was quite physically close to the defendant so he has to now isolate for 10 days.
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Hide Ad‘I’m confident we can finish by February 5 but need to know if jurors can sit until the following week.’
Judge Mousley said the situation was ‘completely unforeseen’ before adding: ‘It’s in no one’s interests to stop the case and possibly have to come back many months later.
‘It was completely unexpected. But at least (the Covid outbreak) did not happen in this building, which is Covid secure as far as I know.
‘See you again on Monday 25 January.’
Jurors folders were taken by staff where they will be locked away until the trial resumes.
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Hide AdOn Tuesday paramedic Debbie Tobutt told jurors she was ‘twitchy’ and ‘felt vulnerable’ after becoming suspicious over the ‘concerning play-acting behaviour’ of Brandford after attending his address to try and save blood-soaked Ms Dunning.
‘I was starting to get twitchy after seeing her injuries and from his behaviour. I felt quite vulnerable as I was suspecting something sinister had happened,’ she said.
Brandford denies murdering Ms Dunning and a charge of revenge porn after allegedly setting up a fake Facebook profile with intimate images of Ms Dunning.