Detectives are investigating four unexplained deaths at a homeless shelter in Cornwall that occurred while convicted murderer James Desborough, a fan of the TV show Dexter, was living there. Desborough was convicted last year of killing two people, and police have now reopened inquiries into other deaths at the Sandy Lodge Hotel in Newquay.
Four Deaths Under Review
Devon and Cornwall Police say two men and two women died at the facility between December 2024 and April 2025. Detective Superintendent Rachel Bentley stated that officers attended each death at the time and believed they were due to natural causes. The cases were passed to the coroner, but investigations were paused after Desborough's arrest for murder.
“It was quite right that those coronial investigations paused when James Desborough was arrested for murder,” Det Supt Bentley said. “That’s why the major crime investigation team commenced a review and conducted some further investigation because it was right to pause.”
No Link Believed Yet
Bentley stressed that police “don’t believe there is a link at this time” but the investigation is ongoing. “I said before there’s no other information that’s come into the investigation that suggests that he’s linked to any of the deaths. We don’t believe we’re looking for any victims, but I do want to stress that the investigations are ongoing,” she added.
Desborough's Crimes
Desborough, a former builder, was convicted of killing 57-year-old Claudio Aquilino and Daniel Coleman, 43, before hiding their bodies in Cornwall. He is serving a life sentence after also strangling his prison cellmate Steven Kempster at HMP Exeter while on remand. Because he killed three people in separate incidents over five months, he is considered a serial killer.
His two original victims lived with him at the time of their deaths. Their bodies were found dismembered in Sticker Woods, near St Austell, where Desborough lived in a wooden cabin. Officers discovered 1,900 burned bone fragments from Aquilino’s body and parts of Coleman’s body—including his torso, legs, and feet—in a shallow grave nearby. Desborough told a forensic biologist that he “particularly enjoyed dismemberment scenes” in the TV show Dexter while they searched the woodlands.
