KNIFE crime and violence continued to hit the headlines last year as police launched a string of murder inquiries.

In February, 22-year-old Abdul Deghayes was stabbed in Elm Grove, Brighton, in an incident which shocked the community.

This year 37-year-old Daniel Macleod stood accused of his murder, while 55-year-old Stephen Burns was accused of assisting him. Macleod, of Gypsy Road, Lambeth, faces a retrial next year.

Meanwhile historic cases continued to be investigated.

In August it was revealed that detectives were treating the disappearance of Georgina Gharsallah as murder.

The 31-year-old from Worthing has not been seen since March 2018 and is among a list of more than 30 unsolved murder cases in Sussex.

In September police cordoned off Stafford Road in Brighton after 21-year-old Serxhio Markhu was found dead.

Police appealed for information from a taxi driver who reportedly took Mr Markhu to the scene.

Two Italian men were arrested on suspicion of murder and appeared in court for preliminary hearings in September. Their trial is expected to take place next year.

Meanwhile police also began to probe a suspected hit and run in Bognor.

Daniel Weyman was taken to hospital but died from his injuries. He was 32.

Two men were arrested on suspicion of murder after the incident in Belmont Street.

In November police closed an area near Stansfield Road in the Landport estate in Lewes after the body of Nicola Stevenson, 39, was found in a wheelie bin.

Tests found she had suffered an injury to the head, and police sealed off the area near her home.

Detectives went from door to door and a man was arrested on suspicion of her murder.

He is expected to stand trial in the new year accused of killing the mother of two.

In the same month, police were also called in to investigate a historic murder in Bedfordshire.

Two pensioners from Stanstead Crescent in Woodingdean were arrested in connection with the death of Carol Morgan.

She was 36 when she was found dead in 1981.

At the beginning of December three men were hit by a car during a suspected hit and run on Brighton seafront.

Suel Delgado, 20, died from his injuries.

Police arrested three men, two on suspicion of murder.

The A259 was closed for nearly three days as detectives searched the area for clues, while floral tributes for Suel were left outside The Amsterdam Hotel, where he was struck.

In recent weeks, Nelly Myers was named as the woman found dead in the village of Rotherfield. The 58-year-old worked as an air hostess for British Airways.

Two men were arrested on suspicion of murder, one of who appeared in court before Christmas.

Finally there was shock after Sandy Seagrave, 76, and Amy Appleton, 32, were killed in Hazel Way, Crawley Down, two days before Christmas Eve.

l Page 4 – family’s tribute to Amy.