Featured Image Credit: Albert Alfonso
Topics: London, True Crime, UK News, Crime
James Moorhouse
Warning: This article contains discussion of graphic violence which some readers may find distressing.
A man accused of decapitating and chopping up a couple before dumping their remains on a UK bridge is currently facing trial, as the courts hear the horrifying details of the case.
Police first arrested Colombian man Yostin Andres Mosquera in July last year, and now, the 35-year-old is facing a significant spell behind bars after admitting to manslaughter.
The young man is accused of murdering British couple Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, in their London home and transporting parts of their bodies to Bristol, where had hoped to dispose of them on Clifton Suspension Bridge.
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However, a late night cyclist spotted the Colombian carrying two suitcases and offered him help after believing him to be lost, but later called the police and reported his suspicious behaviour.
The court heard that Mosquera had become known to the older British couple and engaged in sexual acts with Mr Alfonso, in exchange for money. The two even travelled to Colombia to meet with him.
However, he had 'other matters on his mind' when he visited the couple in June last year. Prior to this, he reportedly had searched for the value of the couple's West London home, browsed Facebook marketplace for a chest freezer, copied spreadsheets containing Mr Alfonso's log in details for his online bank accounts onto his laptop, and searched for 'serial killers of London' and 'Jack the Ripper film' ahead of his trip to the UK.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC shared with jurors how Mosquera allegedly killed the couple before proceeding to try and dispose of their bodies. Alfonso was said to have been stabbed to death while being filmed, with footage recording Mosquera, 35, singing and dancing in the aftermath of the attack.
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Footage of Alfonso’s killing was shown to the jury, with Mr Justice Bennathan warning that it was 'not an easy watch'.
“It is obviously a violent assault but what is striking when one looks at the footage is just how calm and just how in control Mr Mosquera remains throughout,” Ms Heer said.
“Indeed, so unconcerned does he appear by what he has just done that, as Mr Alfonso lies on the floor dying, the defendant starts singing and breaks into a dance and then makes his way directly to the desktop computer in Mr Alfonso’s room and starts using it… to look at information about Mr Alfonso’s finances.”
The court also heard that 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.
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Heer added: "Paul Longworth had been attacked with a hammer to the back of his head, suffering repeated blows, which shattered his skull.
"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."
Ms Heer explained more about the night where Mosquera was first caught with the suitcases in Bristol, suggesting that he had lied to the cyclist by claiming that the suitcases he was carrying contained car parts.
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She said: "In fact, 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 would then find the the men's decapitated heads in the freezer inside their London home.
Ms Heer concluded: "The prosecution case is that the defendant murdered both men, that he intended to kill them, that his actions were planned and premeditated and that, having killed them, he immediately set about trying to steal from them."
The trial continues.