A road sweeper who ran a “malicious campaign” to control his girlfriend by sending intimate photos of her to her employer and friends before murdering her has been jailed for life to serve a minimum of 23 years.

Mark Brandford, of Portsmouth, Hampshire, stabbed and used a crowbar to murder 32-year-old Kayleigh Dunning while she was naked in his bed on the night of December 16, 2019.

Brandford, 49, was also convicted at Portsmouth Crown Court of a revenge porn charge of disclosing private sexual photos with the intent to cause distress to self-employed cleaner Ms Dunning between October 2018 and the time of her death.

Sentencing Brandford, Judge Timothy Mousley QC said the murder was “premeditated and planned” and told him: “You have shown no emotion let alone any remorse.”

The judge said that by setting up a Facebook account to post intimate images of his victim, Brandford showed all the hallmarks of attempting to “control and coerce” Ms Dunning.

Mark Brandford court case
Mark Brandford (Hampshire Constabulary/PA)

He added: “Kayleigh was described by her friends and relatives as vulnerable, sensitive and needing guidance.

“Her mother says she was feisty and would not back down from an argument. She was popular and well-liked.”

Simon Jones, prosecuting, said that Brandford had asked Ms Dunning to marry him on the night he killed her, but he flew into a jealous rage when he found out that she had been sending “affectionate” messages to Dean Drooney, described as the love of her life.

He said that Mr Drooney had sent her a message saying: “Night Noodle, wuv you,” to which she replied: “Night night, wuv you more Doodle, xxx.”

Mr Jones said: “Mark Brandford’s jealousy ultimately led him to murder.”

He added: ”She was the victim of a brutal and ferocious attack, namely blows to her head and neck which had crushed her skull and severed the major artery in her neck.”

The court heard that Brandford hit her 30 times with a crowbar before stabbing her nine times.

The prosecutor described how Brandford had also sent intimate photos of Ms Dunning to friends, family and colleagues, with the aim of controlling her by making her more emotionally and financially reliant on him.

He said: “The defendant sought to target Kayleigh’s employers in terms of sending sexual images of Kayleigh to them.

“One of those images was a completely naked and unconscious Kayleigh, a photo he took on a trip to the Isle of Wight.

“The defendant was trying to create the illusion that Kayleigh had a stalker and that was something he could put the blame on to cover up for the murder.”

Mr Jones said that when Ms Dunning reported the “stalker” to police, she told officers: “This whole situation has left me feeling so down and upset, I am going back to my GP as I am so depressed.

“I could have lost my job and I am so embarrassed by how many people are seeing intimate photos of videos of me, including my own brother.”