Jury discharged in trial of man accused of murdering couple and moving remains in suitcases
The jury trying a man accused of murdering a couple before taking some of their remains in suitcases to the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol has been discharged.
Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, allegedly decapitated and dismembered Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, in their flat in Shepherd's Bush, west London, on 8 July last year.
Mosquera was seen two days later on the bridge with suitcases containing their bodies, while police found the couple's decapitated heads in a chest freezer, the Old Bailey heard.
Mosquera, who is from Colombia, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of swimming instructor Mr Alfonso but denied two counts of murder in a trial starting at the end of last month.
But the judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, has now discharged the jury, meaning he faces a retrial provisionally listed in June.
The judge said there had been problems identifying the accurate times of searches made by Mosquera on his laptop, which had been used as evidence in the trial.
He told jurors that the trial "simply cannot continue", adding: "We simply have to resolve this before we have a fair trial."
He thanked them for their service and said he was sorry for where the trial had "ended up".
Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth, a handyman, entered a civil partnership in February 2023.
The court heard Mosquera, described by prosecutors as a "pornographic performer", stabbed Mr Alfonso to death on film while they were having sex.
He is also alleged to have killed Mr Longworth with a hammer, but the jury was told Mosquera blames Mr Alfonso for his death.
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