A jury at Winchester Crown Court has started deliberating whether James Desborough, 40, murdered Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, after dismembered remains were found in woodland last year. Desborough has admitted preventing the lawful burial of the bodies but denies murder. Mr Justice Pushpinder Saini told jurors to set aside emotion and "apply common sense," and said manslaughter remains a legally available verdict. Defence counsel warned jurors not to read significance into a later prison conviction.
Jury Retires To Consider Verdict In Trial Over Dismembered Bodies Found In Woods
The remains of Daniel Coleman (left) and Claudio Aquilino (right) were found in Cornish woodland [Devon and Cornwall Police]
A jury at Winchester Crown Court has retired to begin deliberations in the trial of James Desborough, 40, who is accused of murdering Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, after dismembered remains were discovered in woodland last year.
Desborough, who gives his address as Old Oak Woods, Lower Sticker, Cornwall, has already pleaded guilty to the separate offence of preventing the lawful burial of both men's bodies. He denies the murder charges.
Judge's Directions
Mr Justice Pushpinder Saini reminded jurors to set aside emotion and to "apply common sense" when weighing the evidence. He urged them to focus solely on whether the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Desborough killed Claudio Aquilino or Daniel Coleman.
"You've really got to focus on whether the prosecution has made you sure that Mr Desborough killed Claudio [Aquilino] or Daniel Coleman," the judge told the panel.
The judge also noted that, although neither the prosecution nor the defence invited the jury to consider manslaughter as a specific verdict, it remains legally open to them as an alternative to murder.
Defence Submission
In closing, defence counsel Sean Brunton KC cautioned jurors against placing weight on a later conviction involving Mr Desborough in Exeter Prison. Brunton said that conviction — for the killing of a cellmate — occurred about a year after the deaths of Aquilino and Coleman, and that it would be "guesswork" to draw a link without knowing the full circumstances in prison.
The jury has now begun its deliberations on the charges.
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