A man accused of murdering two individuals whose bodies were found on his land in Cornwall has told Winchester Crown Court he did not kill them, despite admitting to disposing of their remains. James Desborough, 40, of Lower Sticker, is on trial for the murders of Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, between April and July of last year. He has, however, already pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of both men.
Giving evidence, Desborough stated that both Aquilino and Coleman, whom he described as friends, were staying on his property near St Austell while experiencing mental health difficulties. He claimed that both men died when he was not present, describing the events as a "series of unfortunate circumstances." Desborough recounted meeting Aquilino at the Sandy Lodge homeless shelter in Newquay and subsequently allowing him to stay on his land at Paramoor Woods after they were both asked to leave the shelter. He noted Aquilino was in a "bad shape," suffering from burns and exhibiting paranoia, and had mentioned suicide.
Desborough told jurors he initially believed Aquilino had left his land, but later discovered his body hanging from a tree. He admitted to being under the influence of ketamine at the time and panicked due to the presence of Class A drugs and cannabis saplings on his property. He claimed it was Coleman who persuaded him to use Aquilino's bank card and offered to "get rid of him." Desborough's involvement in the disposal of Aquilino's body included acquiring pallets and scattering his ashes in a stream, an act he acknowledged as wrong.
The court also heard about a relationship between Desborough and Coleman's wife, Hannah, which had reportedly caused friction between Desborough and Coleman. Desborough testified that by mid-May 2025, he was no longer sexually interested in Hannah Coleman, whom he described as "bad news" and someone who had assaulted Coleman. He stated he allowed Coleman, who was in an "erratic and manic" state, to stay in the woods for this reason.
Desborough further testified that he found Coleman dead, face down in a stream, in mid-June 2025. While he accepted that he dismembered Coleman's body, he claimed to have no memory of making the decision to do so, attributing it to heavy tequila consumption. When questioned by his defence counsel, Sean Brunton KC, Desborough unequivocally denied killing either Aquilino or Coleman. Prosecutor Ahmed Hossain KC pressed Desborough on whether he knew dismembering or burning bodies was wrong, to which Desborough replied that he now understands it was wrong, looking back while sober.
The prosecution also raised a previous conviction for murdering a prison cellmate, suggesting Desborough strangled him due to irritation from snoring. Desborough denied this, stating he did not derive pleasure from killing and described the incident in Exeter as "out of character." Earlier in the trial, Home Office pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery told the court that due to the condition of Coleman's dismembered remains, found on different days, it was not possible to determine his cause of death.