Police to probe whether serial killer inspired by TV psychopath Dexter is responsible for deaths of four homeless people living at same shelter
Police are preparing to investigate whether a serial killer inspired by TV psychopath Dexter is responsible for the deaths of four more people.
James Desborough was convicted of murdering 57-year-old Claudio Aquilino and 43-year-old Daniel Coleman, whom he killed and dismembered in his remote wooded cabin after encountering them at a homeless shelter.
Devon and Cornwall Police fear the unexplained deaths of four people living in a homeless shelter in Cornwall, as well as fears Desborough, 40, may be linked to it.
The killer was convicted at a separate trial this year of murdering his prison cellmate Steven Kempster, 65, whom he strangled at HMP Exeter last September because he was snoring too loudly.
Desborough was awaiting trial for the murders of Aquilino and Coleman when he killed his third victim.
He was sentenced to at least 19 years in prison at the time.
Detective Inspector Rachael Bentley, head of the major crime investigation team at Devon and Cornwall Police, told reporters the investigation into the four deaths at the Sandy Lodge Hotel was ‘ongoing’ after James Desborough, 40, was convicted of murdering two homeless men.
James Desborough, 40, convicted of murdering two homeless men whose bodies were dismembered and hidden in woodland
Desborough is believed to have committed the murders at a woodland cottage where he lived near St Austell, Cornwall.
He said: ‘As a major crime investigation team, we have been informed by Her Majesty’s Coroner that there have been four deaths at Sandy Lodge.
‘As part of the investigation, a detective inspector, separate from the investigation but within the scope of major crime, examined these deaths and this included further forensic work, some CCTV footage and statements.
‘There are still some pending investigations regarding these.
‘They remain unexpected deaths, but there are still some unsolved investigations. Not suspicious at this time.
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‘We are speaking to Her Majesty’s Coroner but they have been examined as part of the inquest.’
DS Bentley said police did not believe ‘there is a link at this time’ but it was an ‘ongoing investigation’.
He added: ‘There is still some final investigation to be done so I may have more information in the future, but it is not believed to have happened at this time.’
Ms Bentley said police attended each of the deaths and inquests suggested natural causes and jurisdiction was handed over to Cornwall Coroner’s Office.
“It was quite right that these criminal investigations were paused when James Desborough was arrested for murder,” he said.
‘Therefore the major crime investigation team launched an investigation and carried out further investigations as it was right to take a break.
‘Now James has committed a murder so final inquest inquiries are currently ongoing just to review those circumstances.
I have said before that the investigation found no other information to link him to any deaths.
We do not believe we are looking for any victims, but I want to emphasize that investigations are ongoing.
‘They will be examined again after the case has concluded, but we are not looking at any further investigations at this time and he is not a suspect in any other deaths at this time.’
Police are also reportedly investigating the death of Lee Hockey, 50, a year after his body was found in woodland between Truro and Probus in Cornwall in July last year.
His death was officially ruled an unexplained incident, but homicide is one theory detectives continue to investigate. The last confirmed sighting of Mr Hockey was in the Trispen area on June 23 last year. Her passport, bank card and pink iPhone 13 are also still missing.
Desborough posted menacing photos of her increasingly chaotic life outdoors on her social media profile
Daniel Coleman, 43, was murdered by Desborough after he and his wife became involved in a love triangle.
Claudio Aquilino, 57, was killed by Desborough after meeting him at a homeless shelter in Cornwall in April 2025.
Desborough, a former construction magnate, had fallen into addiction and started living off the grid on land he had purchased in Paramood Woods, Stick; here he occasionally allowed people to camp, including Mr. Coleman, one of his eventual victims.
Desborough is believed to have killed Mr Aquilino in April last year and Mr Coleman in June, then broke into bank accounts and created an elaborate paper trail to show both men were still alive.
Jurors were told Desborough was in a love triangle with Mr Coleman and his wife Hannah Cresswell, whom he met at Sandy Lodge in Newquay.
In the lead up to Mr Coleman’s murder, Desborough sent messages saying he was ‘absolutely bloodthirsty’.
Just a few weeks ago Mr. Aquilino also met Desborough at Sandy Lodge.
On April 17, 2025, the day he was last seen, he called the police in horror and told the operator that Desborough had ‘really lost his mind’.
By a strange coincidence, on the last day of his life Mr Coleman also called 101 to cryptically report his concerns about Desborough; He said his wife had friends who would “do this and that” to him. None of the men gave Desborough’s full name to police call handlers.
Both victims were last seen leaving bars with Desborough.
When police came to search Desborough’s property in July last year, they were initially only following up on a missing person report on Mr Coleman.
There, by chance, they came across Mr. Aquilino’s remains in a stream that ran by the cabin.
Investigators unearthed 1,900 burnt bone fragments believed to be from Mr. Aquilino’s body; Additionally, parts of Mr. Coleman’s dismembered body, including his torso, legs and feet, were found in a nearby shallow grave.
Police also found handwritten notes in Desborough’s cabin in which he described himself as “a murderer ready to kill and execute any predator.”
There were further handwritten notes, one titled ‘Debug list’, the other titled ‘Enemies’ and containing the entry ‘Dan’ with three crossed marks next to it – an obvious reference to Mr Coleman.
Detectives are investigating whether Desborough was responsible for the death of Lee Hockey (seen at the Tesco express in Truro), whose body was found in woodland between Truro and Probus in Cornwall in July last year.
Desborough was present at various points during police searches and remarked to a forensic biologist at the scene that he ‘particularly enjoyed the dismemberment scenes’ in the US television series Dexter.
Police found a note written by Desborough in his woodland cabin, which read: ‘I know that I am a murderer, I know that I am ready to kill and execute any beast of prey.’
Prosecutor Ahmed Hossain told jurors: ‘This is a sequence that includes scenes of dismemberment and disposal of bodies.
‘There are many people who are fans of the television program Dexter, but when you consider this comment from Mr Desborough, on behalf of the prosecution, together with the fact that two dismembered bodies were found on his land, the comment takes on particular significance.’
The court also heard that Desborough had planned to leave England weeks before his arrest.
At the trial, Desborough claimed that due to “a series of unfortunate circumstances” he had a chance encounter with two men who were already dead on his land and decided to simply “destroy” their remains.
He told jurors: ‘I don’t think I was very well mentally or emotionally at the time. I was addicted to drugs, I was drinking; ‘I think I’ve lost all grip on reality.’
Desborough bought ‘a big beef roast’ after tearing into Mr Coleman but insisted it wasn’t ‘unpleasant’ and was ‘just everyday life’.
When asked why he wrote ‘I am a murderer’ in his diary, Desborough claimed: ‘I was experimenting with creative writing and journalism.’
Remanded in HMP Exeter while awaiting trial for double murder, Desborough strangled his cellmate, Mr Kempster, whom he began to find annoying because of his snoring and Desborough’s habit of returning cutlery unwashed.
Prison staff found Mr Kempster lying dead on the floor of his cell on the morning of September 12 last year.
Desborough tried to claim that his cellmate had fallen from his bed during the night and was fatally injured.
Giving evidence at Exeter Crown Court earlier this year, Desborough admitted telling other inmates he was going to beat Mr Kempster but insisted it was a joke.
He eventually claimed he killed Mr Kempster in self-defense because they had fought over his cellmate touching his penis, and explained his reasons for changing his story: ‘I was delusional and hoped there might be another cause of death.’
“I didn’t want to kill him,” he added. Desborough was found guilty of Mr Kempster’s murder by a majority verdict on March 27, but full details of the trial can only be reported for the first time today.
