Couple Charged With Murder

20 April 2011, 09:45 | Updated: 20 April 2011, 09:49

A man and a woman have been charged with the murder of 48-year old Jon Ellison in his Brighton flat.

David Sole, 32, of no fixed address, and Denise Antonia, 33, of Appledore Road, Brighton, will appear in custody at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Wednesday morning, 20 April.

The charges follow a five-day investigation by the Sussex Police Major Crime Branch after Mr Ellison's body was found in the bedroom of his flat at 2.10am on Friday 15 April.

At the time, police said the ‘vulnerable’ man, known as Jon, received some of the ‘worst deliberate injuries’ they had seen.

A post-mortem revealed he died from several substantial head injuries ‘consistent with being caused by a long blunt instrument’.

“Jon was by every account a peaceful and vulnerable man and it is terrible that his life has been taken in this brutal way,” said Det Chief Insp Trevor Bowles, leading the investigation into Mr Ellison's death.

“He was clearly subjected to a most vicious beating some time between about 8pm on Thursday evening and just after 2am on Friday morning.

“These are amongst the worst deliberate injuries my colleagues and I have ever seen and they further demonstrate how important it is that we find the person or persons responsible as soon as possible.”

Mr Ellison was fully clothed when his body was discovered just after 2am. There was no sign of forced entry to the flat in Gloucester Street.

He had wounds on his hands where he had tried to fight off his attacker.

Police have now recovered a weapon which they believe may have been used in the murder, but this is subject to further forensic tests. It was not found in the flat but further information on where or when it was found, or the type of object, is not being relased at this time.

The couple were arrested in a multi-storey car park in Winchester on Saturday evening, 16 April.

The four people shown in two images published by police on Saturday 16 April have still not been traced.

Detective Inspector Carwyn Hughes said:

"We are still keen to hear from anyone who was in or around Gloucester Street in the north Laines area of the city centre on Thursday evening or the early hours of Friday morning and who saw anything suspicious. If you can help in any way, please contact us via 0845 60 70 999 quoting Operation Felsham. You can also contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."