Double murder accused strangled his Devon cellmate while awaiting trial

A double-murder trial heard that James Desborough, 40, allegedly strangled a cellmate while awaiting judgment for accusations that he killed Claudio Aquilino and Daniel Coleman and concealed remains in Cornish woodland. The case was discussed at Winchester Crown Court, where jurors were told Desborough was previously found guilty of murdering Steven Kempster in a Devon prison. According to agreed facts read to the jury, Desborough was convicted over the killing of Kempster on 15 September 2025, involving neck compression by strangulation at HMP Exeter. Prosecutors said that after Aquilino and Coleman were killed, Desborough allegedly accessed bank accounts and attempted to mislead investigators about the locations of the victims. Police spent five months searching near Desborough’s cabin near St Austell, finding burnt bone fragments and parts of Coleman’s body, and an axe near a shallow grave. Jurors also heard he told a forensic biologist about enjoying dismemberment scenes from Dexter, and that both victims had mental health problems.