Serial killer who murdered two homeless men and then his prison cellmate will die in jail

A serial killer who strangled his cellmate for snoring while awaiting trial for murdering two homeless men will die behind bars.

James Desborough, 40, killed Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, weeks apart in Cornwall last year.

The former builder then throttled his prison cellmate, Steven Kempster, 65, while on remand at HMP Exeter.

Detectives are now investigating whether he may have been responsible for more killings, with a review now underway into the deaths of four people who were living at a homeless shelter at the same time as Desborough.

Jurors at Winchester Crown Court heard Desborough is a fan of TV serial killer Dexter and ‘particularly enjoyed’ the show’s ‘dismemberment scenes’.

Mr Aquilino and Mr Coleman had previously lived with him at a homeless hostel, and the last time they were both seen alive was in his company.

Ahmed Hossain KC, prosecuting, told the court police discovered 1,900 burned bone fragments believed to be from the body of Mr Aquilino in Paramoor Woods, Sticker, where Desborough lived in a cabin.

Parts of Mr Coleman’s dismembered body, including his torso, legs and feet, were found in a shallow grave nearby, the prosecutor said.

Mr Hossain said: ‘In 2025, James Desborough murdered Daniel Coleman and Claudio Aquilino.

‘Parts of their dismembered bodies were found by police search teams and scientists when searching an area of woodland which was where James Desborough lived.

‘That area was called Paramoor Woods, near a village called Sticker which is in Cornwall.

‘Both of these men, Daniel Coleman and Claudio Aquilino, had lived with Mr Desborough at a place called Sandy Lodge, which was a multi-occupancy residence in Newquay.

‘That place housed people who were often homeless or suffered with addiction issues and these two men were last seen alive in the company of James Desborough.

‘After each of them disappeared, their bank accounts were accessed and their money was spent by James Desborough.

‘He killed them, he dismembered their bodies, he attempted to burn and bury their remains to conceal what he had done, and then used their money whilst at the same time lying to those around him about where they had gone.’

After their disappearances, the powerfully built Desborough – who is 5ft 10in and weighs nearly 18st – went on to spend their money on drugs and alcohol, and claimed they had both left Cornwall.

Their bodies were dismembered in an area of Sticker Woods, near St Austell, where Desborough lived in a wooden cabin.

It was there that police discovered, deposited in a stream, 1,900 burned bone fragments from the body of Mr Aquilino.

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

His genitals have never been found, and deliberate removal could not be excluded.

Prosecutors said Desborough was jealous of Mr Coleman because he had developed a sexual interest in his friend’s ex-wife, Hannah Creswell.

Police found several handwritten notes inside Desborough’s cabin, including one headed: ‘Bug out list’ and another: ‘Hostiles’.

In neat handwriting, Desborough describes the earth as a ‘flat game board’.

‘I’ve travelled and feel I have remembered knowledge from a previous life, I’m an echo in time constantly repeating,’ he wrote.

‘I know what I am and what skills and training I have had.

‘Returning once again from the great war, I know what the polar opposite of what myself is.

‘I know I’m a killer, ready to kill and execute any predators. The path I have travelled gave me the depth.

‘Pulled out of the system yet again to become a cog in a familiar machine, I know which agency has a keen eye for human with the abilities and skills I have.

I’ve pushed myself both mentally and physically through adversity, through the darkness.’

Mr Hossain told the court that Desborough also drew a series of concentric circles with Sticker Woods in the centre, and London and Benidorm listed at the outer point, which was entitled ‘Kill Zone’, and the sub-heading of ‘Operational spheres’.

He had also made plans to leave the UK weeks before he was arrested.

The father-of-one denied both murders and told the jury it was a ‘series of unfortunate circumstances’ the two men died on his land within a short space of time.

He accepted then spending their money on beer and drugs, but told jurors: ‘They were friends, I got on well with them.’

Desborough, of Lower Sticker, Cornwall, had previously pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of the two men’s bodies.

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