Murder accused 'felt pressured' to dispose of bodies

A man accused of killing two other men he met in a homeless shelter says he felt pressured into disposing of their bodies in woodland he owned in Cornwall.

James Desborough, of Old Oak Woods, Lower Sticker, denies murdering Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, between April and July last year but had previously pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of the men.

Desborough told jurors at his Winchester Crown Court trial it was Coleman who cut up and burned Aquilino's body after they found him dead in the woods at Sticker.

He said when he later found dead Coleman facedown in a stream nearby he "felt I had to carry on and cover up Dan as well".

The court previously heard Aquilino and Coleman were separately last seen alive in the company of Desborough, who has told jurors he was friends with both men.

Desborough told jurors he and Coleman "gelled" when they first met at Sandy Lodge in Newquay and Coleman was sober.

He said the pair would cook together and play video games.

"Dan relapsed and it was crazy with everyone," he said.

Desborough said he slept with Coleman's wife once and was "honest" with the man when confronted.

He said: "He shook my hand and we were fine."

Ahmed Hossain KC, prosecuting, asked if Coleman's family deserved to know he was dead and Desborough said he had "made some horrendous decisions that have affected people".

He said he felt "pressured" to dispose of Coleman's body after finding him face down in a stream at the site near St Austell "because of the unlawful burial of Claudio".

"I just felt I had to carry on and cover up Dan as well."

Desborough said he did not perform CPR on Coleman because "I didn't think he was breathing".

He added: "I think he had been there a while.

"I can't remember making that decision to cut him up at all.

"I did move the body, and then I drank a bottle of tequila, and the I did cut him up with that hatchet, yes."

Asked why he did not perform CPR on Aquilino when he and Coleman found him hanging, Desborough said: "Dan checked for a pulse. I could see he wasn't breathing on the floor and I didn't know how long he was up there."

Desborough previously told jurors it was Coleman's idea to "get rid" of Aquilino's body and he thought he used a hatchet to do so in a caravan, which he said was later set on fire by Coleman.

He said he got the pallet wood used to burn Aquilino's body and poured his ashes into the stream.

"I felt terrible because he was a good friend and Dan wanted to put him in a hole and I wanted to scatter his ashes in the water," he said.

Hossain said Desborough was trying to get rid of evidence.

"If you are innocent, why do you want to get rid of evidence?" Hossain asked.

"I don't know," Desborough responded.

Hossain asked Desborough about a pub crawl he had gone on with Coleman on 3 June 2025 in Falmouth and Truro.

The defendant said the trip was the idea of Coleman, who had issues with alcoholism in the past, as he was "on a drinking mission".

Part of CCTV footage of the pair at Five's Cyderhouse in Falmouth showed Desborough was very talkative with staff, while Coleman looked to be slumped on the bar as drinks arrived.

During the clip, Desborough told bar staff he was "substance free", but in court he said he thought he had taken Class A drugs due to his behaviour.

Hossain said staff at Fives Cyderhouse later notified the local Pubwatch scheme to inform other venues of the pair as Coleman seemed to be "off his face".

When asked about happened later on the day, including becoming split up from Coleman, exchanging messages with Coleman's estranged wife Hannah Creswell and getting into "slap boxing" in Truro, Desborough repeatedly said he could not remember those details.

Desborough said Coleman had allowed him to use his phone to help with plans to "keep tabs" on Coleman's ex-wife and following the disposal of Aquilino's body.

When Hossain suggested what the defendant was saying was "nonsense", Desborough replied: "I was helping Dan and he was helping me."

Later, when Hossain suggested the defendant had used the bank card of Aquilino to pay for bus and train tickets to help "leave a trial of little breadcrumbs" to disguise the alleged crimes, Desborough denied this, saying he was "cracking up" at the time, as well as being "paranoid" and "not knowing what's going on".

The trial continues.

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