Police reviewing deaths of four more people who shared homeless shelter with serial killer

Police have announced they are reviewing the deaths of more four people who shared a homeless shelter with convicted triple murderer, James Desborough.

The 40-year-old is due to be sentenced this afternoon over the murder of two men he lived with in a homeless hostel in Cornwall and whose bodies were dismembered and hidden in woodland.

James Desborough, who is a fan of TV serial killer show Dexter, killed Daniel Coleman, 43, and 57-year-old Claudio Aquilino, in Cornwall last summer.

The former builder, 40, is already serving a life sentence after he strangled to death his prison cellmate, Steven Kempster, 65, at HMP Exeter while on remand awaiting this trial because he was irritated by his snoring.

Desborough was found guilty of that murder in March.

Now police have said they will review the unexplained deaths of four others who were living at the homeless shelter.

Detective Superintendent Rachael Bentley, head of the major crime investigation team at Devon and Cornwall Police, told journalists that the investigation into the four deaths at the Sandy Lodge Hotel was "ongoing".

"We don't believe there is a link at this time, but I said it's an ongoing investigation," she said. "It's still got some final reviews to be done, so I may have more information in the future, but the moment it's not believed to be now."

Ms Bentley said the police had attended each of the deaths and inquiries suggested natural causes and jurisdiction passed to the Cornwall Coroner. It was quite right that those coronial investigations paused when James Desborough was arrested for murder, she said.

"That's why the major crime investigation team commenced a review and conducted some further investigation because it was right to pause. Now James had committed a murder, so just to review those circumstances and those final investigation inquiries are ongoing currently.

"I said before there's no other information that's come into the investigation that suggests that he's linked to any of the deaths.

"We don't believe we're looking for any victims, but I do want to stress that the investigations are ongoing.

"They are going to be reviewed again now the trial has concluded, but at this time we are not looking at any other investigations and at this time he's not a suspect in any other deaths."

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