A man on trial at Winchester Crown Court has denied murdering two friends whose dismembered and burnt remains were found near his woodland cabin in Cornwall. James Desborough, 40, admitted to concealing the bodies but told the jury he did not kill Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43. Instead, he said he discovered their bodies on his property while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Desborough testified that he came across Aquilino hanging from a tree near the cabin, which he said was located close to St Austell. He described entering a state of shock and panic upon the discovery and said he had subsequently disposed of Aquilino’s body in a nearby stream. He also recounted finding Coleman's naked body in the same stream later in the summer, stating he had no knowledge of how Coleman died but had used a hatchet to dismember the remains. Desborough said he felt numb during that time, which coincided with heavy use of ketamine, speed, cannabis, and tequila.
The defendant acknowledged that the three men had previously lived together in a hostel in Newquay, Cornwall, but that after relocating to the cabin, both Aquilino and Coleman displayed signs of paranoia and aggressive behavior. Desborough told the court that Aquilino believed people were trying to harm him, while Coleman often got into fights.
In addition to his denial of murder charges, Desborough admitted to killing a cellmate during a period when he was held in a Devon prison awaiting trial for the alleged murders. Regarding a note reportedly found by police in which he wrote, “I’m a killer,” Desborough described it as a piece of “creative writing.”
Prosecutors allege that Desborough murdered Aquilino and Coleman before burning and dismembering their bodies and hiding them in dense undergrowth near his cabin. They also noted that he took money belonging to the two men after their deaths. Desborough conceded in court that he accepted responsibility for concealing the bodies but maintained his innocence on the murder charges.
The trial is ongoing.