Handwritten notes of Dexter-obsessed serial killer who dismembered homeless men revealed

A man obsessed with the TV show Dexter who became a serial killer after strangling his third victim in a prison cell has been found guilty.

James Desborough, 40, murdered Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, before dismembering and hiding their bodies in Cornwall last year.

The former builder is already serving a life sentence after he strangled his prison cellmate Steven Kempster at HMP Exeter while on remand awaiting this trial.

The triple murderer is now a serial killer having killed three men in separate incidents over five months.

‘I see earth as a flat game board’ Notes of a serial killer shown in trial

Police searching his cabin found a plethora of hand-scrawled notes that revealed the state of his mind at the time of the killings and his motivation.

Among the notes shown to the Jury were one which said: ‘I know I am a killer and ready to execute any predators’ and another that said: ‘Take care of the remaining muppets,’ with Mr Coleman’s name also listed.

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: ‘Operational spheres’.

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

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.

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.

Desborough told a forensic biologist who was searching the woods for Mr Coleman’s body that he ‘particularly enjoyed the dismemberment scenes’ in the television series Dexter.

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.

Desborough killed Mr Aquilino, who had addictions to drugs and gambling, shortly after he was last seen alive in April last year.

The defendant maintained he had in fact while high on ketamine found Mr Aquilino, who had a history of suicidal ideation, hanging dead from a tree on his land in May or early June.

And his role was helping Mr Coleman – who had dismembered and burnt the remains alone – dispose of Mr Aquilino’s body in a stream, Desborough said.

He said Mr Coleman calmed him down and convinced him to dispose of the body and carry on 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,’ he said.

‘I was homeless, jobless, I had no money and addiction problems.’

He also denied murdering Mr Coleman in the early hours of June 4, and instead insisted he had returned to his cabin later that month and found him lying naked, face down and dead in a stream.

Worried about there already being one dead body on his land and that he was in possession of Class A drugs, he dismembered Mr Coleman using an axe and buried the remains.

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

A jury at Winchester Crown Court returned the unanimous guilty verdicts on Tuesday after deliberating for three hours and 15 minutes.

Desborough showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out.

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

Desborough’s victims

Three men were murdered by serial killer James Desborough in his five-month killing spree.

Claudio Aquilino, 57

Mr Aquilino was last seen alive on the evening of April 18 last year in a pub in Newquay in the company of Desborough and another man. His remains were found months later on land owned by Desborough in Sticker Woods, near St Austell, Cornwall.

He had lived in both Italy and the UK and kept in regular contact with family members in Italy.

During his life he battled long-standing addictions to gambling and drugs, and at the time of his death was prescribed methadone. He also had mental health problems with anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation.

In 2018 Mr Aquilino’s girlfriend of 20 years died from a drugs overdose.

He lived at Sandy Lodge, accommodation for people suffering from homelessness and addictions in Newquay, from January to April last year, which is where he met Desborough.

Daniel Coleman, 43

Mr Coleman, who was known as Silva, had a long-standing alcohol dependency and in 2019 had been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol use.

He encountered Desborough while also living at Sandy Lodge with his wife Hannah Creswell.

The former soldier was evicted from Sandy Lodge following the break-up of his marriage and at the time of his death was living in a tent in Sticker Woods.

Desborough’s relationship with Mr Coleman became fractious and deteriorated because he had developed a sexual interest in Ms Creswell.

The father of one was last seen alive on June 3 in the company of Desborough. His dismembered body was later found in Sticker Woods.

Steven Kempster, 65

Mr Kempster was sharing a cell with Desborough at HMP Exeter when he died.

He was in poor health and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and had been prescribed antibiotics for a chest infection.