Colombian man found guilty of murdering LGBTQ+ couple whose bodies were dumped in suitcases
A Columbian man, Yostin Andres Mosquera, has been found guilty of the gruesome double murder of a same-sex couple, Albert Alfonso and Paul Longworth, whose remains were found dumped in suitcases last year.
On 15 July 2024 the Metropolitan Police said Yostin Andres Mosquera, 34, of Scotts Road, in Shepherd’s Bush, had been charged with the murders of 62-year-old Albert Alfonso and 71-year-old Paul Longworth.
The couple’s remains were found in suitcases on Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and in a West London flat. Alfonso, originally from France but who went on to become a British citizen, and Longworth lived together in the Scotts Road flat, where Mosquera was staying.
Yostin Andres Mosquera was convicted on Monday (21 July) of the murders, which took place on 8 July 2024. Sky News reports that it is thought Mosquera, a 35-year-old who worked in the adult film industry, first met Mr Alfonso online.
The court also heard that that three men struck up a friendship, with the couple visiting Mosquera in his home country of Colombia, and they flew Mosquera to the UK to stay with them at their flat in London on several occasions.
During the course of the trial, it was revealed that Mosquera killed Mr Longworth by hitting him with a hammer, shattering his skull, before hiding his body in a divan bed.
Later that evening, during sex with Mr Alfonso, Mosquera stabbed him 22 times with a knife.
However, the room was equipped with cameras, which recorded the murder. CCTV footage was “repeatedly” shown to the jury, according to Sky News.
Sky News correspondent Alice Porter was in court when the video was shown, and described it as the “worst” she had ever seen, adding: “The judge warned the jury about the graphic video, reassuring them that, if they felt unable to proceed due to its content, they would be excused.
“One jury member did not come back the next day and I could completely understand their discomfort. The sound of screaming was hard to forget.”
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Mosquera then decapitated the bodies – the heads were stored in a freezer which he had delivered on 9 July.
The other remains were put in suitcases and on 10 July, Mosquera hired a van with a driver to transport him and the bags to Clifton Suspension Bridge, where it was claimed he planned to hurl the remains off the structure.
The court was told that, in the weeks leading up to the murders, Yostin Andres Mosquera was planning his attacks. He looked for a freezer online and, on the day of the killings, searched for: “Where on the head is a knock fatal?”
He repeatedly tried to find the price of the couple’s property in Scotts Road, Shepherd’s Bush online, as well as stealing cash from Mr Alfonso after murdering him, leading the prosecution to argue that the double murder was financially motivated.
Investigating officer DCI Stride said it was “one of the most disturbing” murder cases he has investigated.
He went on to add: “The video that we found of the murder is really shocking. Within seconds of the murder… he [Mosquera] appears to dance, sings a short song, and immediately after that, whilst Mr Alfonso is still lying on the floor, he’s straight on the computer and starts searching for… and logging into bank accounts.”
The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan KC, said he would sentence Mosquera on 24 October, and asked for a psychiatric report to be prepared beforehand.