Fan of TV serial killer 'Dexter' murdered his two ex-roommates before dismembering and burying their bodies in 'shallow grave' near cabin in the woods, court hears

By FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:43, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 13:47, 24 June 2026 A fan of TV serial killer 'Dexter' murdered two of his former roommates, before dismembering them, cremating them, and leaving their remains in a 'shallow grave' near his cabin in the woods, a court heard today. James Desborough, 40, allegedly chopped up the bodies of two of his acquaintances into 'pieces of flesh' before burning them and burying the remains in the secluded woodland in Sticker, near Cornwall.  He is accused of leaving his alleged victims - Daniel Coleman, 43, and Claudio Aquilino, 57 - in shallow graves by a stream in the woodland. Police discovered '1,900 burnt bone fragments' at the stream, jurors were told. A police diver found a 'piece of flesh' belonging to Mr Aquilino in the stream and a search party found 'two pieces of unburnt scapula', it was also heard. The remains were found near Desborough's cabin in Paramoor Woods, the court was told. It was heard that Desborough attempted to burn their bodies and hide them in a 'shallow grave' in a stream to hide the fact that they were dead. The remains of Daniel Coleman, 43, were discovered in remote woodland near Sticker, Cornwall, last July. James Desborough, 40, denies murdering him and a second victim The remains were found near Desborough's cabin in Paramoor Woods (pictured), near Sticker in Cornwall Mr Aquilino's bank card was used by Desborough to take a train to London to try and pretend Mr Aquilino was still alive, but the card was found in the roof of his cabin, the court heard. The trio met at a shared accommodation block called Sandy Lodge for people with addiction issues in Newquay, Cornwall. Desborough appeared at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, for two counts of murder, which he denies. It is alleged he killed them last summer. He has previously pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of Mr Coleman and Mr Aquilino. Ahmed Hossain KC, prosecuting, said Desborough was a fan of the hit TV show Dexter - in which the lead character is a serial killer who dismembers people. Mr Hossain KC said: 'In 2025 Mr Desborough murdered Daniel Coleman and Claudio Aquilino. 'Parts of the dismembered bodies were found by police search teams in an area of woodland which is where Mr Desborough lived. 'That area was called Paramoor Woods and it is near a village called Sticker in Cornwall. 'Both of these men, Daniel Coleman and Claudio Aquilino, had lived with Mr Desborough at a place called Sandy Lodge which is a multi-occupancy residence in Newquay. 'That place housed people who were often handling or suffering with addiction issues. 'These two men were last seen alive in the company of Desborough. After each of them disappeared their bank accounts were accessed and their money was spent by Desborough. 'He killed them, dismembered their bodies and attempted to burn and bury their remains to conceal what he had done. 'Then he used their money while at the same time lying to those around him about where they had gone.' Mr Hossain confirmed that scientific analysis, text messages, bank statements and CCTV footage will be used as evidence in the seven-week trial. He explained that Mr Aquilino had 'long-standing addiction issues' and had 'little stability' in his life. However he did call his mother in Italy almost everyday and had 'strong family ties'. Mr Aquilino lived at Sandy Lodge between January 9, 2025 and April 11, 2025, but was kicked out for stealing another resident's phone, the court heard. Desborough left Sandy Lodge three days before Mr Aquilino. On April 17, the last day that Mr Aquilino was seen alive, the court heard he called the police as he was 'frightened' by Desborough because he had a crow bar and an axe, and was intent on damaging a hotel as he was in 'kamikaze' mode. Desborough's phone was switched off between April 16 and April 22, which the prosecution claimed was not a 'coincidence'. Prior to his death, the court heard that Mr Aquilino had a 'consistent pattern' of spending, yet this stopped after April 18 and cash withdrawals began being taken from his bank account. However on June 24, Desborough took a train from Cornwall to Paddington in London, paid for on Mr Aquilino's card. When he arrived in Paddington he walked around for two-and-a-half hours and then returned home which he did to 'create a suggestion that Mr Aquilino was still alive'. Mr Hossain continued: 'On August 8, 2025, during a search of Mr Desborough's cabin, Claudio Aquilino's bank card and sim card were found concealed. 'The sim card was concealed under the floor and the bank card in the roof of the cabin. 'In a metal tin the police found a sim card that was actually registered to Claudio Aquilino. 'Ladies and gentlemen it was in July last year that the police began searching Paramoor Woods. 'Initially they were looking for Daniel Coleman who was reported as a missing person. 'But in August they were searching in a stream that ran close to Mr Desborough's cabin. They were looking in the surrounding area of the stream. 'There they found over 1,900 burnt bone fragments. Roots in the banks of the stream had fragments. 'DNA analysis confirmed that the DNA that had been found was left from Claudio Aquilino's body. 'You're going to hear that the second victim's body was found dismembered in a shallow grave a little bit away from Mr Desborough's cabin. 'You are going to hear that about 18 metres down stream was the grave that the second victim was in, the police diver discovered a piece of flesh which was forensically linked to Claudio Aquilino. 'The search continued in October 2025 when the search party found two pieces of unburnt scapula.' He continued: 'An axe was found hanging from a tree branch near the grave of Daniel Coleman. It was next to the shallow grave.' Mr Hossain confirmed that after DNA was taken from the axe, it is a billion times more likely that the DNA found belonged to Desborough and Mr Coleman rather than a third party. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.