Man attacked multiple times before death, jury told

A man whose remains were later found in Cornish woodland "had a difficult life" that included addiction issues and being the victim of multiple attacks, a court has heard.

Claudio Aquilino was last seen alive on 18 April 2025 drinking with James Desborough, 40, who is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of murdering him and another man.

Jurors were told details of Aquilino's "desperate" life in the years before he met Desborough while they were living together at Sandy Lodge Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, in early 2025.

The court heard Aquilino was estranged from family members and had been attacked and set on fire in the weeks leading up to his death. The trial continues.

Aquilino had drug and alcohol addictions and lived in squalid conditions before moving to the Newquay homeless hostel, the court heard.

Elaine Chalk told jurors she worked at Mears Housing as a housing officer for vulnerable tenants and started working with Aquilino in early 2024 when he lived in Callington in what the court heard was a damp, mouldy and at times rat-infested ground-floor flat.

Chalk said Aquilino, who had an interest in painting, refused to open curtains or windows and was on a methadone script for his drug issues.

"He liked to drink," she said, adding that had also been a problem for him.

She said Aquilino wanted to leave Callington because he feared for his life after petrol had been put through his letter box, his door had been damaged and he had been assaulted by other men.

The court heard Aquilino was moved to a Travelodge in Saltash before going to Sandy Lodge in Newquay, where Chalk said he had seemed a bit happier.

Chalk said Aquilino spoke to his mother in Italy on a daily basis and the court heard she had raised the alarm with other family members when he had stopped contacting her.

Chalk agreed with Sean Brunton KC, defending Desborough, when he asked if she was aware Aquilino had not been in contact with with his father, sister and brother.

"He was always asking for money," Brunton said.

"He was prohibited from contacting them despite the fact they lived close by."

Chalk said she was also aware of Aquilino having suidical thoughts in early April.

Brunton said Aquilino had thought there had been "no way out of his life and his lifestyle".

He added: "Even as recently as mid-April of 2025 he was attacked by a group of three people who robbed him and set him alight. He was badly burned."

Chalk said she was aware of that incident.

A former neighbour of Aqulino's from Callington said she had been aware of his drug and alcohol problems but described him as "very pleasant" and "very good with my children".

Winchester Crown Court previously heard Desborough killed Aquilino and 43-year-old Daniel Coleman, dismembered their bodies, attempted to burn their remains and concealed them in woodland before using the men's money and lying about where they had gone.

Desborough, of Old Oak Woods, Lower Sticker, Cornwall, denies murdering Aquilino between 17 April and 7 July 2025, and Coleman between 2 June and 7 July 2025.

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