How many more have to die before someone admits the obvious? A man already accused of two brutal murders gets put in a cell with another prisoner. Days later that cellmate is dead, strangled by compression of the neck. And the system acts surprised.
James Desborough, 40, stood trial at Winchester Crown Court this week for the murders of Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Coleman, 43. Their remains turned up in woodland near St Austell in Cornwall between April and July last year. Burnt bone fragments in a stream. A torso, legs and feet in a shallow grave with an axe close by. Desborough had been dipping into their bank accounts and trying to fake alibis. He denies the killings but admits stopping their lawful burial.
Yet none of that stopped the authorities from sticking him in a cell at HMP Exeter with Steven Kempster, 65. On 15 September 2025 Kempster was found dead at 5:40 in the morning. Desborough was convicted of his murder at Exeter Crown Court on 27 March this year. The facts read out at Winchester made it crystal clear:
on 15 September 2025 James Desborough murdered Steven Kempster (with whom he shared a cell at HMP Exeter, whilst on remand for the current allegations) by compression of the neck by strangulation.
Think about that timeline. Desborough is on remand for two suspected murders. Police have already linked him to the victims. And still he shares a cell. Then he kills again. Convicted for it. And the double-murder trial carries on as if this is all perfectly normal.
This is what happens when prisons treat violent offenders like guests who just need a bit of space. Who decided a man facing two murder charges should bunk with anyone? Where was the risk assessment? Where was the basic common sense that says some people are too dangerous to share air with?
