James Desborough, a 40-year-old fan of the television series Dexter, was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of murdering Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43. The two homeless men were killed in Cornwall last year, and their bodies were dismembered and concealed in Sticker Woods near St Austell.
Verdict delivered after deliberation
A jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on Tuesday following three hours and 15 minutes of deliberation. Desborough displayed no emotion as the verdicts were announced. He already is serving a life sentence for killing his cellmate at HMP Exeter while on remand, meaning he has now been convicted of three murders committed over a five-month period.
Victims were friends from homeless hostel
During the trial, it emerged that both victims had previously lived with Desborough at a homeless hostel. The last confirmed sightings of Mr Aquilino and Mr Coleman alive were in his company. After their disappearances, Desborough, described as powerfully built, spent their money on drugs and alcohol.
Dismemberment in Sticker Woods
The bodies were dismembered within Sticker Woods, where Desborough resided in a wooden cabin. At this location, officers discovered 1,900 charred bone fragments belonging to Mr Aquilino, deposited in a nearby stream. Portions of Mr Coleman's body, including his torso, legs and feet, were unearthed in a shallow grave close by. Desborough told a forensic biologist searching for Mr Coleman's remains that he "particularly enjoyed the dismemberment scenes" in the television programme Dexter.
Incriminating notes found
Multiple handwritten notes were found in Desborough's cabin, including one titled "Bug out list" and another "Hostiles". One note stated: "I know I am a killer and ready to execute any predators." Another read: "Take care of the remaining muppets," which included Mr Coleman's name. Desborough also sketched concentric circles with Sticker Woods at the centre and London and Benidorm at the outer edge, titled "Kill Zone" with sub-heading "Operational spheres". He had made arrangements to leave the UK weeks before his arrest.
Desborough's account
The father-of-one denied both murders, telling the jury it was a "series of unfortunate circumstances" that the two men died on his land within a short space of time. He claimed he found Mr Aquilino hanging dead from a tree while under the influence of ketamine, and that Mr Coleman had dismembered and burnt the remains. Desborough said he assisted Mr Coleman in disposing of the body in a stream. "The idea was to cover up the death, carry on using his card. I'm not proud of it, it was like dangling the carrot," he said. "I was homeless, jobless, I had no money and addiction problems."
Regarding Mr Coleman's death, Desborough maintained he returned to his cabin later in June to find him lying naked, face down and lifeless in a stream. Concerned about already having one dead body on his property and being in possession of Class A drugs, he dismembered Mr Coleman with an axe and buried what remained. He acknowledged spending their money on beer and drugs, but told the jury: "They were friends, I got on well with them."
Desborough had previously entered a guilty plea to preventing the lawful burial of both men's bodies.
