Neighbour of dismembered couple unknowingly ‘offered to help move suitcase' full of body parts
A neighbour of the couple whose dismembered remains were found in a suitcase on Clifton Suspension Bridge said she unknowingly offered to help the accused killer move the trunk down the stairs.
Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, is alleged to have killed Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, on July 8 last year.
Jurors at the Old Bailey had previously been shown footage of Mosquera allegedly stabbing Mr Alfonso to death during an extreme sex session at his flat in Shepherd's Bush, west London.
He is said to have killed Mr Longworth earlier that evening by hitting him on the head with a hammer.
The Colombian then allegedly cut the bodies up and took their remains to Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol on July 10.
Officers found body parts inside two large suitcases.
One of the suitcases had a tag linking it to an address on Scotts Road, Shepherd's Bush.
Officers found the heads of Mr Longworth and Mr Alfonso inside a chest freezer at the address.
On Friday, a neighbour, who appeared behind a screen to conceal her identity from Mosquera, told the court how she heard loud banging noises on the stairs of the apartment complex.
She went to investigate and found a man carrying an extremely heavy suitcase downstairs.
She said: 'I started off by hearing a very loud noise in the stairwell, there was scraping, banging noises, the stairs are stone and the noise was extremely loud, like someone was dragging a heavy object step by step.
'Having heard the noise, I entered the stairwell, assuming one of my neighbours needed help with something heavy.
'I saw a man with a large case, standing over the case... To me he looked startled.'
Asked how she responded, the neighbour said: 'As he was coming out of my friend's neighbour's house, I assumed he was a friend of theirs. I offered to help him carry the suitcase downstairs, it was clearly very heavy and I did not see anybody else around to help.
'He did not accept my offer, he looked worried and said sorry.
'I said, 'It's okay, I don't mind the noise, I just wanted to check if you wanted help with that'.'
She added: 'I got the impression I wasn't wanted and I went back inside.'
The neighbour said she had never seen the man in question before but recognised him a few days later when his face was in the press.
Jurors were told by the neighbour that Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth were 'very good neighbours' and she described the relationship of the pair as 'loving', 'supportive', 'harmonious' and 'touching'.
Mosquera, of no fixed address, admits one count of manslaughter but denies the murders of Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth.
The trial continues.
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