A man “decapitated and dismembered” a couple before freezing parts of their remains and bringing the rest in suitcases to the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, a court has heard.
Yostin Andres Mosquera faces trial for the murders of Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, on 8 July last year in the flat the two shared on Scotts Road in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.
The defendant, 35, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, has admitted the manslaughter of Alfonso, but denies and is being tried on both charges of murder.
The prosecutor, Deanna Heer KC, told jurors at the Old Bailey on Wednesday that Mosquera “could hardly deny” killing Alfonso, telling them the attack took place while the defendant and Alfonso were having sex – with the sex and the killing recorded on film.
But the court was told Mosquera blames Alfonso for the death of Longworth.
Alfonso, who worked as a swimming instructor, and retired handyman Longworth were described by neighbours as a “friendly couple who seemed happy together and who were genuinely fond of one another”. They entered into a civil partnership in February 2023.
The court heard Alfonso liked “extreme sex” which Longworth, who knew about it and accepted it, had “nothing to do with”.
Alfonso would engage in acts with other men, including Mosquera, jurors were told – with the defendant described by the prosecution as a “pornographic performer”.
Mosquera visited the UK more than once and spent time with Alfonso and Longworth, engaging in sex acts with the former in exchange for payment, and the couple also visited the defendant in his home country of Colombia, the court was told. “They seemed to enjoy one another’s company,” Heer said of the trio.
The prosecutor told the jury that Mosquera “had other matters on his mind” when he visited Alfonso and Longworth in June last year.
Analysis of the defendant’s computer allegedly revealed that between June and 8 July he searched for the value of the couple’s west London home, browsed Facebook marketplace for a chest freezer, copied spreadsheets containing Alfonso’s login details for his online bank accounts on to his laptop and searched for “serial killers of London” and “Jack the Ripper film”.
On 8 July, Mosquera allegedly killed Longworth and Alfonso in their flat and then “set about trying to steal from them”.
“Paul Longworth had been attacked with a hammer to the back of his head, suffering repeated blows, which shattered his skull,” Heer said. “Albert Alfonso had been repeatedly stabbed, suffering multiple wounds to his torso, his body and his face and to his neck. None of that is in dispute.”
At about 11.30pm on 10 July, a cyclist making his way across the Clifton Suspension Bridge spotted Mosquera standing next to a large red suitcase and stopped to check on him, thinking he was a tourist, the court heard.
“The suitcases contained the decapitated and dismembered bodies of Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso, which the defendant had transported to Bristol from their home in London where they had been killed two days before.”
Police found their other remains at their flat in a chest freezer, the court heard.
The trial continues.