Man charged with murder of Brighton trans woman
A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Andrea Waddell, the trans woman who was found strangled in her flat last week.
Neil McMillan, 41, a satellite installer, appeared before Brighton magistrates this week accused of murder and arson with intent to endanger life.
Waddell was a graduate of Durham University and had been studying for an MA at Sussex University.
She was found dead on Thursday night. She had been strangled and her bedroom set on fire.
Police revealed she had been working in the sex industry.
She had suffered a number of health problems throughout her life, including scoliosis, which is severe curvature of the spine, and fibromyalgia, the symptoms of which are insomnia and muscular pain.
Her parents, Sonia and Robin Waddell, have spoken of their pride in her and her struggles with ill-health.
They also paid tribute to her bravery in transitioning while at university, saying: “She not only looked like a young woman, and felt like one, to all intents and purposes she was one.”
They said they were not aware she was a sex worker but added she had worried about how to make a living.
McMillan, of Bennett Road, Brighton, will appear at Lewes Crown Court on Friday November 6th. He has been remanded in custody.
