James Desborough, who is 40, has been found guilty of murder at Winchester Crown Court. The verdict relates to the deaths of two men whose bodies were later discovered dismembered and hidden in woodland in Cornwall. The case had been heard before the court and concluded with him being found guilty of the killings of both men.
The two victims were named in court as Claudio Aquilo, who was 57 years old, and Daniel Coleman, who was 43. According to the case presented against Desborough, both men were killed and their bodies dismembered before being concealed in woodland in Cornwall last year, where they were eventually found by investigators.
According to the reporting on the case, Desborough had met the two men he was accused of murdering at a homeless shelter. It was there that he came into contact with Claudio Aquilo and Daniel Coleman, before the killings that led to their bodies being hidden in the Cornish woodland and the investigation that followed their discovery.
The case against Desborough did not stop with those two killings. He was also said to have killed his prison cellmate after being remanded in custody in connection with the case. That meant a further death was linked to him while he was already being held on remand, adding another element to the proceedings at Winchester Crown Court.
The discovery of the dismembered bodies hidden in woodland in Cornwall had drawn significant attention when the case first came to light. The concealment of the remains in a rural, wooded area became a central part of the investigation that ultimately led to Desborough being charged and brought to trial over the two murders.
With the guilty verdict now delivered at Winchester Crown Court, the case moves towards the next stage of the judicial process. The conviction marks the conclusion of the trial over the deaths of the two men Desborough had met at a homeless shelter, alongside the killing that was linked to him while he was in custody.