Man guilty of murdering two men found in woods

A man has been found guilty of murdering two men he met in a homeless shelter.

James Desborough had previously admitted preventing the lawful burial in 2025 of 57-year-old Claudio Aquilino and 43-year-old Daniel Coleman.

A jury at Winchester Crown Court heard the 40-year-old, of Old Oak Woods, Lower Sticker, Cornwall, dismembered his victims' bodies, tried to burn their remains and hid them in woodland in Sticker where he owned a cabin. He is due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Desborough was found guilty of murdering his cellmate in Exeter Prison while on remand for the Aquilino and Coleman trial. He was sentenced to life with a minimum tariff of 19 years over that killing.

The court heard Aquilino was last seen alive on 18 April 2025 and Coleman was last seen on 3 June 2025.

Both men had suffered from serious addictions and were seen in the company of Desborough on pub CCTV in Newquay and Truro respectively.

Prosecutors said both men were likely killed by Desborough soon after they were last seen.

The court also heard how Desborough made a journey in late April to London Paddington station and withdrew money from Claudio Aquilino's account.

The prosecution said Aquilino had been dead for several days by then.

Aquilino phoned his mother every day and his contact with her had ceased by the time Desborough made the trip, prosecutors told the court.

The remains of Aquilino and Coleman were discovered in woodland by police.

Officers found 1,900 burned bone fragments believed to be from the body of Aquilino.

Parts of Coleman's dismembered body, including his torso, legs and feet, were found in a shallow grave nearby.

The jury was told experts could not determine the cause of their deaths because of the state of their remains.

Desborough stood to listen to the verdicts with his hands behind his back.

He was wearing a grey T-shirt and glasses, and maintained a neutral expression while listening.

He was told he should "be alive" to the prospect of a whole life sentence when he is sentenced by Mr Justice Pushpinder Saini on Wednesday.

Witness impact statements would also be read out at the hearing, the court was told.

After the verdict, Coleman's family said in a statement: "We as a family would like to thank the police, prosecution and everyone involved in getting justice for Dan.

"Dan was a loving, caring and compassionate man who will be forever loved and sadly missed."

Aquilino's family said: "We are completely and utterly mortified in the violent murder of Claudio and the manner in which his body was disposed.

"Claudio will always be in our thoughts and we now pray he is at peace."

They said they had faced a "profoundly sad ordeal".

Det Supt Rachael Bentley, of Devon and Cornwall Police's major crime investigation team, described the killings as "callous and cold-blooded", as "both men were vulnerable and trusted James Desborough as their friend" before he brutally murdered them and "savagely desecrated their bodies".

She paid tribute to the victims' families, saying they "conducted themselves with a quiet dignity throughout this investigation and who have had to listen to, and see, some harrowing evidence".

Desborough was previously found guilty of strangling his 65-year-old cellmate Steven Kempster in September 2025, while on remand awaiting trial over the deaths of Coleman and Aquilino.

That trial had heard Kempster's snoring had annoyed Desborough.

Bentley said Desborough's taking of Kempster's "in this way was cowardly".

Helen Phillips of the Crown Prosecution Service said after the hearing that it had been a "large and extremely complex case".

"We worked closely with police from the very start of their investigation in Paramoor Woods, and then later with a second police team on the investigation into the murder at HMP Exeter, which ran in parallel," she said.

"The families of Claudio and Daniel have been so dignified throughout the investigation and trial process, even when faced in court with awful descriptions of what happened to their loved ones, and Desborough's attempts to blame Daniel for somehow being involved in the disposal of Claudio's body.

"As Desborough faces justice for his actions, my thoughts remain with the families and friends of his three victims."

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