Convicted killer accused of murdering two other people tells court their bodies were found on his land due to a 'series of unfortunate circumstances

By CLAIRE DUFFIN, SENIOR REPORTER Published: 18:22, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 18:26, 21 July 2026 A former construction firm boss accused of killing two men said their bodies were found on his land due to a 'series of unfortunate circumstances' as he denied murdering them.  James Desborough, 40, said he had 'lost all grip on reality' when he tried to hide the bodies of Daniel Coleman, 43, and Claudio Aquilino, 57 - including chopping one up.  But he said he did not kill the two men and it was because of 'a series of unfortunate circumstances' that he found both of them dead in Paramoor Woods near his cabin in Sticker, Cornwall, and decided to 'destroy' their bodies. Desborough who admitted disposing of the bodies 'wasn't the best decision' is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of murdering the two men, who he met at a homeless shelter in Newquay.  The court has been told Desborough already has one conviction for murder after he was found guilty of killing his prison cellmate Steven Kempster while he was awaiting trial over the deaths of Mr Coleman, 43, and Mr Aquilino. He strangled Mr Kempster, 65, because he was annoyed by his loud snoring while on remand at HMP Exeter in September.  Police spent five months searching the woods around Desborough’s cabin, after the two men went missing, discovering burnt bone fragments in a stream.  Parts of Coleman’s body, including his torso, legs and feet, were found in a shallow grave nearby.  The two alleged victims and Desborough lived together for a while at accommodation in Newquay for homeless people and people with addiction problems and were last seen alive in the company of Desborough.  James Desborough (pictured) is accused of murdering Claudio Aquilino and Daniel Coleman The body of Daniel Coleman, 43, was found close to the woodland home of Desborough on the outskirts of Sticker, Cornwall The body of Claudio Aquilino, 57, was also found Giving evidence in his defence for the first time, Desborough said he only chopped up the body of Mr Coleman and put Mr Aquilino's body in a stream - despite both men being found mutilated. Desborough said his two friends Mr Aquilino and Mr Coleman, were both 'paranoid and talked about committing suicide' and claimed to have found Mr Aquilino hanging from a tree when he returned to the cabin one day in May last year.  He said that he panicked because he had 'class A drugs and cannabis plants' at the site so he and Mr Coleman worked together to hide the body. Then in mid June, Desborough said he found Mr Coleman 'face down', naked and 'bolt straight' in the stream by his house. He said he had 'no idea' how he died. Again, Desborough did not call the authorities, and claimed he had drunk a bottle of tequila and 'wasn't thinking' so 'just carried on'. He chopped Mr Coleman's body into pieces and attempted to burn it. He then continued using the bank cards of the two men, which he claims to regret but says it was like 'dangling a carrot' because of his drug addiction. The prosecution challenged Desborough on details of his account. When asked why he had written 'I am a killer' in his diary, Desborough claimed: 'I was experimenting with creative writing and journalism.' He used the same explanation for diary entries about being a killer, a 'kill zone', a 'bug out' plan to destroy his phone, and a list of people he knew under the header 'hostiles'. He was also asked about why he had bought a new petrol can if not to burn the bodies of the men, to which he answered that squirrels in the woods were 'addicted' to chewing through the cans to 'get high'. Desborough said: 'I bought it for petrol for my chainsaw because squirrels ate through my petrol cans. I didn't have any without holes in. 'They're addicted to eating my petrol cans. Squirrels would chew inside the plastic and get high. I can't tell you how many petrol cans I've been through in Paramoor Woods.' He further admitted that he stole the two men's bank cards but denied this was to make it seem they were still alive - despite texting people and leaving a note which also implied they were. Prosecutor Ahmed Hossain KC put it to Desborough: 'So you're saying it's an unfortunate coincidence that two people died on your land? 'And it's a coincidence that these two people you know are depressed and have mental health issues? 'You can switch over something minor and kill, can't you? You strangled your cellmate to death because you snored, didn't you? He irritated you by snoring so you killed him, didn't you? 'You killed Daniel Coleman and Claudio Aquilino. 'You thought the best course of action would be to mutilate them and burn their bodies rather than call the authorities. 'You understand that by destroying, mutilating and burning their bodies you stopped any investigation into how they died.' But Desborough maintained he found the bodies in 'a series of unfortunate circumstances'. Desborough told the jury: '[Mr Coleman] was paranoid and talked about committing suicide. 'It's a series of unfortunate circumstances. 'I don't think I was very well mentally or emotionally at that time. I was suffering from drug abuse, drinking - I think I lost all grip on reality. 'I went downhill after the cover-up of Claudio. I was obviously under the influence of drugs at the time. It wasn't the best decision I'd made right there. 'I wasn't thinking, I just carried on - I didn't understand that that's what I was doing. I didn't think straight at the time and I made poor decisions at the time. 'I'm not proud of [stealing their money]. It was like dangling a carrot. I had no money, was homeless, and [had] addiction problems. 'I wanted to leave the country a long time before that, I hadn't killed anyone, it wasn't because of that.' Mr Hossain KC said: 'You tried to hide their deaths and your role in it and this fiction is your last desperate attempt to hoodwink this jury.' Desborough said: 'I was drinking, doing ketamine, bit of speed, smoke weed, anything I could get my hands on.' The prosecutor asked him: 'And on all these drugs you can't even remember what was wrong. Do you remember what you were doing?' Desborough replied:'I don't even remember what I was doing, no.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.