A woman believed to have been killed by her partner did not want him to know she was pregnant, a court has heard.
Mark Brown, of Squirrel Close in St Leonards, is accused of murdering Leah Ware and Alexandra Morgan six months apart last year. He denies both charges.
Two mental health nurses, Charlotte Easts and Elizabeth Bond, gave an account to Hove Crown Court of an assessment they carried out of Miss Ware in November 2020.
Earlier that month, she had been found slumped over the steering wheel of her car after a suspected overdose.
During their assessment at Conquest Hospital in St Leonards, Miss Ware said she thought she might be pregnant, but was not sure and did not want Brown to know. Miss Ware returned for a further assessment where a pregnancy test was taken.
Miss Easts said: “She did not know at the time of the first assessment whether she was pregnant - she thought she might be. She felt it wasn’t the right time for her to have another child.
“She didn’t want Mark to know she might be pregnant and couldn’t get to a shop to buy and take a pregnancy test.
“I felt the fact Leah didn’t know if she was pregnant or not was impinging on her mental state. She came back the next day and the test was positive.
“I helped Leah find the number for a termination service then left her in the room and closed the door.”
Medical records confirm that Miss Ware did terminate the pregnancy.
However, Miss Easts and Miss Bond both noted Miss Ware “didn’t disclose any abuse”, that her relationship with Brown seemed “close” and they got the impression he provided “good support for her”.
Byron Whiteside, a former employer of Brown’s who runs South East Static Trader Ltd in Rye, a static caravan company, said he met Miss Ware but only knew her as “princess”.
Brown often took Miss Ware to work with him as the passenger while he drove a pilot vehicle to accompany abnormal loads when delivering static caravans across the country.
However, Mr Whiteside had to dismiss Brown after he took Miss Ware with a colleague to a job. There were only two seats in the cab of the lorry they drove, which could have resulted in the business losing its carriers licence if they had been discovered.
Describing Miss Ware and her relationship with Brown, Mr Whiteside said: “She was beautiful, a lovely lady - when she came to work with Mark, she always mucked in to help out and she would work harder than the guys sometimes.
“From the outset, I thought Mark and Leah were made for each other and that he would always put her needs first.”
The trial continues.
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