A man who murdered two people and transported their dismembered remains in suitcases to Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 42 years.
Yostin Andres Mosquera, from Colombia, killed Albert Alfonso and Paul Longworth at their west London flat on 8th July last year in a horrific double murder motivated by greed. The 35-year-old was caught when members of the public noticed blood leaking from the cases at the iconic bridge.
Mosquera had been flown to London by Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth, who were civil partners he had struck up a friendship with online. The killer and Mr Alfonso also engaged in extreme sexual activity at the couple’s Shepherd’s Bush flat.
Mr Longworth, 71, was hit over the head with a hammer and his body stuffed inside a divan bed. The same evening, during sex, Mosquera stabbed Mr Alfonso in the neck whilst asking him “Do you like it?” as his victim struggled and screamed.
The murder was captured on a bedroom camera, which also recorded Mosquera singing and dancing as Mr Alfonso lay dying. The footage provided crucial evidence of the killer’s callous behaviour in the moments following the fatal attack.
Mosquera decapitated both bodies and placed the heads in a freezer that he had delivered the following day. The other remains were placed in suitcases as he prepared to dispose of the evidence.
He hired a van to drive to Bristol on 10th July, where prosecutors said he planned to throw the remains off Clifton Suspension Bridge into the Avon Gorge below. However, his plan began to unravel when he arrived at the landmark.
People at a nearby pub saw him struggling with the cases, which he claimed contained car parts, and offered to drive him over the bridge. They struggled to lift the cases into the car, joking “God, these are heavy, is there a body in there?”, before ordering the killer a taxi instead.
The trial heard that Mosquera, who had been selling sexual images of himself online for years, was motivated by money. He repeatedly tried to find out the price of the couple’s flat and stole money from Mr Alfonso after murdering him.
The Colombian was found guilty of the murders in July following a trial that heard disturbing details of the killings and his attempts to cover up his crimes. He ran away from the bridge when the blood was discovered but was apprehended a few days later.
Before being sentenced for the double murder on Friday, Mosquera was jailed for 16 months for possessing horrifying indecent images and videos of children. Three new charges were put to him prior to sentencing and he pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children.
Mr Justice Bennathan told the court that unlawful child pornography was found on Mosquera’s laptop following his arrest. The judge revealed that investigators discovered at least 1,500 category A indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs on his devices, some of them moving images.
The judge described the content as depicting very young children being subjected to a variety of sexual abuse of horrifying detail and nature. Category A represents the most serious classification of such illegal material under British law.
Mr Justice Bennathan stated the jail term for those offences will run concurrent to the sentence for the murders of Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth. This means Mosquera will serve the sentences simultaneously rather than consecutively.
The case has shocked communities in both London and Bristol, with the involvement of one of Britain’s most famous landmarks adding to public concern. Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, attracts thousands of visitors annually.
The murders highlighted dangers associated with meeting people online and inviting strangers into homes. Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth had flown Mosquera to London after developing what they believed was a friendship.
Mosquera’s exploitation of the couple’s generosity and trust before brutally murdering them demonstrated calculated manipulation. His attempts to discover the value of their property and theft of money revealed mercenary motivations behind the killings.
The bedroom camera footage proved crucial in establishing the circumstances of Mr Alfonso’s death and Mosquera’s behaviour afterwards. His singing and dancing whilst his victim lay dying demonstrated a disturbing lack of remorse or humanity.
The decapitation of both bodies and purchase of a freezer to store the heads showed premeditation in attempting to dispose of evidence. Mosquera’s plan to transport the remains to Bristol and throw them from the suspension bridge indicated efforts to permanently conceal his crimes.
Members of the public who encountered Mosquera at the bridge unwittingly came close to assisting in disposing of murder victims. Their dark joke about bodies in the cases proved tragically prescient.
The minimum term of 42 years means Mosquera, now 35, will be at least 77 before being considered for parole. Given the severity of his crimes and the additional child abuse imagery offences, he may never be released.
The victims’ families have endured unimaginable suffering since the murders. The trial forced them to hear disturbing details of how their loved ones died and the disrespect shown to their remains.
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