Latest news with #AlbertAlfonso
Sky News
15-05-2025
- Sky News
Trial of man accused of murdering couple and stuffing remains in suitcase collapses
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 that started at the end of last month. But the judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, on Thursday discharged the jury, with the trial collapsing. Mosquera 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.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- The Independent
Jury in trial of man accused of two suitcase murders discharged
The jury in the trial of a man accused of decapitating a couple before taking some of their remains in suitcases to the Clifton Suspension Bridge has been discharged. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, was on trial for the murders of Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, on July 8 last year in the flat the two shared in Scotts Road, Shepherd's Bush, west London. The prosecution opened its case at the Old Bailey at the end of last month but on Thursday Mr Justice Bennathan discharged the jury. He 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. The judge told jurors that the trial 'simply cannot continue'. 'We simply have to resolve this before we have a fair trial,' he added. Mr Justice Bennathan thanked jurors for the service and said he was sorry for where the trial had 'ended up'. Mosquera has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso by way of loss of self-control, but denies both charges of murder. A provisional retrial date has been fixed for June, where a new jury will be selected.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Trial collapses of porn star accused of dumping couple's dismembered bodies on Clifton Suspension Bridge after murdering man during sex and beating his lover to death with hammer
The jury in the trial of a man accused of decapitating a couple before dumping some of their remains in suitcases on Clifton Suspension Bridge has been discharged. Colombian national Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, was on trial for the murders of Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, and is said to have left body parts at the iconic bridge in Bristol. Mosquera was allegedly filmed dancing and singing in jubilation within seconds of slitting the throat of Mr Alfonso during a sex game caught on camera on July 8, 2024. Hours earlier, the 35-year-old allegedly battered Mr Alfonso's partner Mr Longworth to death with a hammer in order to steal from the London couple, whom he had met online. He is accused of spending the next two days dismembering the bodies with a saw at the couple's flat in Shepherd's Bush before putting their remains in suitcases to throw over the Clifton Suspension Bridge 115 miles away in Bristol. The prosecution opened its case at the Old Bailey at the end of last month but on Thursday Mr Justice Bennathan discharged the jury. He 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. The judge told jurors that the trial 'simply cannot continue'. 'We simply have to resolve this before we have a fair trial,' he added. Mr Justice Bennathan told the jury: 'Ladies and gentlemen I regret to tell you that for reasons I will explain we simply cannot continue with this trial so I'm about to abandon this trial and discharge you from being on this jury and the trial will have to happen again. 'Because you have been here for three weeks and exposed to some dramatic evidence, because of that I thought you were due a proper explanation as to what happened. 'The defendant's laptop was analysed and some of the activity and searches on that laptop were put in evidence. 'At some stage it was realised that the CCTV of outside that flats meant that at least one of the timings couldn't be right because no one was in the flat at that time. 'People are trying to resolve that. Experts are being brought in and as we speak are reassembling the laptop and conducting experiments on it. 'They are trying to work out what the real timings were on the laptop. 'I'm afraid it's been a great waste of your time, my time and the Central Criminal Court's valuable court space.' Mr Justice Bennathan thanked jurors for the service and said he was sorry for where the trial had 'ended up'. Mosquera has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso by way of loss of self-control, but denies both charges of murder. A provisional retrial date has been fixed for June 30 at Woolwich Crown Court, where a new jury will be selected. The date will be confirmed at at a hearing at the Old Bailey on June 13.
Sky News
15-05-2025
- Sky News
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. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
Sky News
07-05-2025
- Sky News
Man whose body was found in suitcase 'had raped and blackmailed teenager', court told
A man whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase had raped and blackmailed a teenager, a court has heard. The remains of Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, were found in a suitcase and trunk which had been left near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol in July 2024. Yostin Mosquera is on trial at the Old Bailey in London accused of murdering and dismembering Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth. The 35-year-old denies both murders but has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso. A witness, giving evidence under the pseudonym James Smith, appeared at the trial by video link on Wednesday. Mr Smith said he met Mr Alfonso nearly 20 years ago when he was around 17 or 18 and had gone to his flat for drinks. He said he remembered drinking heavily and then waking up with a "banging headache". "I said to him, 'what's happened?' - he showed me a video of me on all fours and he was penetrating me," he told the court. "I didn't know what to do. I was mortified. At this point, I didn't know my sexuality - I was confused and scared." He said Mr Alfonso told him if he did "favours", the video would never be shared. Under cross-examination, defence barrister Tom Little KC asked: "Does it cross your mind, looking back, that you were raped?" "Now, yes," Mr Smith replied. "And does it cross your mind that your drink may have been spiked?", the barrister asked. "Now, yes," the witness responded. "Does it cross your mind that you were groomed by Albert Alfonso?", Mr Little asked. "Now, yes," Mr Smith said. After the alleged incident, the two met regularly, with Mr Alfonso paying Mr Smith around £150 for each sexual encounter, the court heard. During the COVID pandemic, the witness said he became closer with Mr Alfonso and began spending time with Mr Longworth. Mr Smith told the court he was later introduced to Mosquera. He said the relationship between Mosquera and Mr Alfonso was "good - very good". "I didn't see anything that seemed like they disliked each other," he added. He described Mr Longworth as someone who "wouldn't hurt a fly". Mr Smith said the final time he saw Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth was on a Friday evening before the bodies were discovered. "Albert gave me a hug, Paul gave me a hug, and that was the last I heard of those two," he said. The trial continues.
