A man who murdered two civil partners and left their dismembered remains in suitcases near Clifton Suspension Bridge has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 40 years. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, killed Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, in their flat in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, in July last year.
The Colombian national repeatedly stabbed Alfonso, while Longworth was struck on the head with a hammer, shattering his skull. Mr Justice Bennathan described Mosquera as an “odd man” who committed “premeditated and thoroughly wicked crimes”. The judge added that Mosquera “may never be safe to set free” and ordered that he be deported to Colombia if ever released.
Mosquera was staying with the couple when he decapitated and dismembered them. He froze parts of their remains and transported the rest in suitcases to the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. A cyclist asked what was inside, and Mosquera claimed the cases contained car parts. Bridge staff noticed a leak from the suitcase and when challenged, Mosquera fled.
Jurors heard that Mosquera tried to steal from the victims’ bank accounts after the murders, accessing a spreadsheet of passwords and attempting to send £4,000 to his account in Colombia. Computer searches for the phrase “where on the head is a knock fatal?” were made on the day of the killings, and Mosquera had also searched for freezers in the days leading up to the murders.
A jury at Woolwich Crown Court unanimously found Mosquera guilty of both murders in July. He had admitted killing Alfonso but claimed it was manslaughter by reason of loss of control and denied murdering Longworth. Before sentencing, he also pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children, including 1,500 category A images, for which he received a concurrent 16-month sentence.
