James Desborough convicted of murdering two vulnerable friends
A British man already serving life for killing a cellmate in prison has been found guilty of murdering two vulnerable friends, whose dismembered and burnt remains were found in a woodland in Cornwall.
James Desborough, 40, marched to Cornwall County Hall in Truro last spring and pelted it with dozens of stolen eggs in a drug-and-drink-fueled protest against his homelessness and unemployment. He expected arrest and messaged a friend: "If I'm going to get nicked, might as well round the charges up."
In the weeks and months after the egg incident, Desborough committed three murders. He killed two vulnerable friends, Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, whose dismembered and burnt bodies were found in woodland near a shack where he sometimes lived off-grid in south Cornwall. Later, while awaiting trial, he strangled his cellmate Steven Kempster in Exeter prison, annoyed by some of his habits.
Desborough is already serving a life sentence for the prison killing. After a jury at Winchester Crown Court convicted him of murdering his two friends, he may never be released. Mr. Justice Saini, who will sentence him on Wednesday, made it clear he could face a whole-life term, describing the circumstances as "unique".
Acquaintances described Desborough as a control freak with a terrible temper; he has a previous conviction for grievous bodily harm. A civil engineer by profession and a father, he had fallen on hard times. What tipped him into violence is unclear. He used the victims' bank cards after killing them, but police do not believe theft was the sole motive.
Prosecutor Ahmed Hossain KC suggested Desborough might have killed them because he considered them worthless, deserving to die due to their troubled lifestyle—calling them "dinlos," a local slang for fools. Desborough replied in court: "I thought they were OK. They were good friends."
The trial highlighted a different Cornwall, not the tourist beaches but deep-rooted social issues. Desborough, Aquilino, and Coleman met in a homeless hostel in Newquay. Aquilino was suffering from depression and drug addiction, and had been "cuckooed" by dealers. Coleman struggled with alcohol abuse, cirrhosis, and PTSD after being kidnapped and stabbed at age 13.
Police began investigating after Coleman went missing on June 3, 2025. Initially, they found the body of another man, Lee Hockey, who may also have been murdered but not linked to Desborough. After a five-month search in Paramoor Woods near Sticker, they discovered the remains of Aquilino and Coleman. Desborough had inherited the land from his grandfather and built a shack without planning permission. He grew cannabis, hid drugs, and kept machetes, knives, and saws there.
The search, codenamed Operation Honeyfall, involved over 700 officers and scientists. Over 1,900 burnt bone fragments—Aquilino's remains—were found in a stream, while Coleman's charred body parts were in a shallow grave with a hatchet hanging on a nearby tree.
Before his arrest, Desborough kept an eye on the search, once telling a forensic biologist he liked the dismemberment scenes in "Dexter." Police also found notes suggesting he planned to undergo plastic surgery to change his appearance and flee the UK, possibly to Southeast Asia. One note read: "I'm a killer and ready to execute any predators."
Desborough denied killing the two friends but admitted burning and hiding their bodies while high on ketamine and tequila. He claimed he found one hanging in a tree and the other naked in a stream, calling it a "series of unfortunate circumstances."
