Disturbing hand-written notes of 'Dexter fanatic' who dismembered his roommates revealed
The disturbing handwritten notes from a Dexter-obsessed serial killer have been revealed ahead of his sentencing.
Yesterday (28 July), James Desborough was found guilty of killing Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43, later dismembering and hiding the men's bodies in a Cornwall woodland last year.
During the investigation, police recovered a series of damning notes revealing the 40-year-old's motivations as well as his state of mind at the time of the killings.
One note shown to the court had the message 'I know I am a killer and ready to execute any predator' scrawled on it, while another read: "Take care of the remaining muppets," with Coleman's name listed.
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Other notes retrieved from Desborough's cabin included messages such as 'Bug out list' and 'Hostiles', as well as a diagram of what he referred to as 'Kill Zones'.
The drawing, which had Sticker Woods in St Austell as the centre point, featured concentric circles with UK cities such as London, Plymouth and Spanish tourist hotspot Benidorm written down.
Desborough 'particularly enjoyed' Dexter dismemberment scenes
Both Aquilino and Coleman - who'd previously met Desborough while living in the same hostel - had been homeless at the time of their deaths, with the two men last being seen alive alongside Desborough.
Both men were also understood to have suffered from long-term addictions.
After the two men disappeared, Desborough claimed they had both decided to leave Cornwall, while spending their money on alcohol and drugs.
Their bodies were later found dismembered in an area of Sticker Woods, near St Austell, close to where Desborough lived. It was there that police discovered, deposited in a stream, 1,900 burned bone fragments from the body of Aquilino.
Parts of Coleman’s body, including his torso, legs and feet, were found in a shallow grave nearby.
Desborough had denied the murders, saying that both of the men died in a 'series of unfortunate circumstances' while present on his land.
He had also been planning to leave the UK in the weeks leading up to his arrest.
While being interviewed by a forensic biologist who was searching the woods for the body of Coleman, Desborough revealed that he'd been fond of watching the crime series Dexter, noting that he 'particularly enjoyed the dismemberment scenes'.
Desborough accepted spending both men's money after their deaths, claiming to jurors: "They were friends, I got on well with them."
At the time of his conviction, Desborough had also been serving a life sentence for a separate murder, after strangling cellmate Steven Kempster, 65, at HMP Exeter due to his snoring.
The triple murderer is now a serial killer, having killed three men in separate incidents over five months.
While Claudio Aquilino's remains were found in a stream (PA)
Desborough likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars
The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts after spending three hours and 15 minutes deliberating, with Judge Mr Justice Saini said to be considering a whole-life order for the father-of-one.
"Mr Desborough is already a life sentence prisoner, and Mr Desborough needs to be alive to the risk of a whole life term," the judge said.
He will be sentenced this afternoon.
Brenna Cooper