James Desborough, a 40-year-old former builder and self-confessed fan of the television series Dexter, has been found guilty of murdering two homeless men whose dismembered bodies were hidden in woodland in Cornwall. The verdict, delivered unanimously by a jury at Winchester Crown Court after just over three hours of deliberation, marks the culmination of a case that has exposed a chilling series of killings spanning five months.
Double murder conviction adds to life sentence
Desborough already serving a life sentence for strangling his cellmate Steven Kempster at HMP Exeter while on remand awaiting trial for these murders. The triple killer showed no emotion as the guilty verdicts were read out for the murders of Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43. Both men had previously lived with Desborough at a homeless hostel and were last seen alive in his company.
After their disappearances, Desborough, who stands 5ft 10in and weighs nearly 18 stone, used their bank cards to fund his drug and alcohol habits. The bodies were dismembered in Sticker Woods near St Austell, where Desborough lived in a wooden cabin. Police recovered 1,900 burned bone fragments from Mr Aquilino's body deposited in a stream, while parts of Mr Coleman's body—including his torso, legs, and feet—were found in a shallow grave nearby.
Chilling notes and 'Dexter' obsession
During the investigation, Desborough told a forensic biologist searching for Mr Coleman's body that he 'particularly enjoyed the dismemberment scenes' in the television series Dexter. Police also discovered several handwritten notes inside his cabin, including one headed 'Bug out list' and another titled 'Hostiles'. Another note read: 'I know I am a killer and ready to execute any predators,' and a further note said: 'Take care of the remaining muppets,' with Mr Coleman's name listed.
Desborough also drew a series of concentric circles with Sticker Woods at the centre and London and Benidorm at the outer points, entitled 'Kill Zone' with the sub-heading 'Operational spheres'. The court heard he had made plans to leave the UK weeks before his arrest.
Denials and 'unfortunate circumstances'
Desborough 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 that while high on ketamine, he found Mr Aquilino—who had a history of suicidal ideation—hanging dead from a tree on his land in May or early June 2023. He said Mr Coleman helped him dispose of the body and convinced him to continue using Mr Aquilino's bank card.
'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,' Desborough said. 'I was homeless, jobless, I had no money and addiction problems.' He also denied murdering Mr Coleman, insisting he returned to his cabin later that month to find him lying naked, face down and dead in a stream. Worried about having a second dead body on his land and in possession of Class A drugs, he dismembered Mr Coleman using an axe and buried the remains.
Desborough accepted spending the victims' money on beer and drugs, but maintained: 'They were friends, I got on well with them.' He had previously pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of both men's bodies.
