Latest news with #WoolwichCrownCourt
Metro
6 hours ago
- Metro
Porn star took zip wire Brighton day out with older couple 'before killing them'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An alleged killer took a zip wire day trip to Brighton with an elderly couple before killing them, a court heard. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, is accused of killing Albert Alfonso, 62, on camera after striking Albert's partner, Paul Longworth, 71, with a hammer. Mosquera is alleged to have attacked the couple in their flat in Scotts Road, Shepherd's Bush, west London, on July 8 last year. He then wheeled their dismembered heads in a suitcase before putting them in a chest freezer, jurors heard. Other parts of their bodies were found in two suitcases on Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge two days later. Mosquera denies murdering Albert, a swimming instructor, but admits to manslaughter. He denies murdering Paul, a retired handyman, Woolwich Crown Court heard. Mosquera, a porn star living in Colombia, met Albert online in 2023 while using usernames such as 'iamblackmaster' and 'mrd-k20cm'. He flew from Colombia to Heathrow on June 6 to participate in sex acts with Albert, who picked him up at the airport, the court was told. On June 29, CCTV captured Mosquera, Albert and Paul leaving their flat to go on a day trip to Brighton. Jurors were shown a video of Mosquera going down a zip wire across the beach. The clip, filmed by the zip wire company, was set to piano music. Less than two weeks later, on July 8, Alfonso was seen on a security camera leaving the flat at 9.14am on his bike to cycle to the West Acton gym where he worked. He returned to the flat sometime before 1pm, according to the footage reviewed by police. The court heard earlier that 'the killing took place while he and Mr Alfonso were having sex and the sex and the killing were recorded on film', said Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting. Albert was killed at about 10.15pm in his living room, the court heard. The video showed the defendant 'cutting' Albert's throat. Ms Heer said: 'What is striking, the prosecution say, when you watch the footage, is just how calm and in control the defendant remains throughout.' The prosecutor told jurors that the defendant set about 'dismembering them' before 'transferring some of their remains to Bristol in an attempt, the prosecution say, to dispose of them at the Clifton Suspension Bridge'. Mosquera travelled to Bristol on July 10 holding a red suitcase and, when a cyclist questioned what was inside it, he said it contained car parts. Ms Heer said: 'That was a lie. In fact, the suitcases contained the decapitated and dismembered bodies of Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso.' Police discovered the severed heads in a chest freezer in the couple's flat. Mosquera was arrested on July 13, found sitting on a bench outside Bristol Temple Meads railway station. The trial continues. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Idaho murderer flashes wry smile and pleads guilty to stabbing four students MORE: Man stabbed through armour during historic re-enactment gone wrong MORE: Boy, 3, died in 'ferocious' dog attack 'after parents allowed him to wander into pen unsupervised'
Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
Actor beat Irishman to death with hammer after killing partner during sex, trial told
Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, then put the dismembered heads of Albert Alfonso, 62 and Paul Longworth, 71, into a chest freezer, jurors heard. An actor killed a man on camera during sex after he had battered his partner to death with a hammer, a court heard. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, then put the dismembered heads of Albert Alfonso, 62 and Paul Longworth, 71, into a chest freezer, jurors heard. Other parts of their bodies were found in two suitcases on Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge on 10 July last year. Mosquera, a Colombian national, had been staying at the couple's home on Scotts Road, Shepherd's Bush, west London, where the couple's decapitated heads were found. Mosquera had met Mr Alfonso online where the Columbian used the names 'iamblackmaster and 'mrd—k20cm', the court heard. He came to the UK to participate in sex acts and he dominated and degraded Mr Alfonso which the older man made films which he posted online. Albert Alfonso and Paul Longworth. Mosquera denies murdering retired handyman Mr Longworth, Woolwich Crown Court heard. He also denies murdering Mr Alfonso, a swimming instructor, but admits his manslaughter. Jurors were warned they would have to view the footage of Mr Alfonso being stabbed to death during sex. Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, said: 'At about 11.30pm on the night of the 10 July 2024 Douglas Cunningham was cycling home across the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol when he saw the defendant, Yostin Mosquera, standing next to a large red suitcase. 'Thinking he was a lost tourist, Mr Cunningham stopped to see if he was okay. 'A few metres away from where the defendant was standing, on the bridge approach, there was another suitcase, a large silver trunk. Yostin Andres Mosquera Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 1st 'The defendant told Mr Cunningham that he was from Colombia and that the suitcase he was standing with contained car parts. That was a lie. 'In fact, the suitcases contained the decapitated and dismembered bodies of Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso, which the defendant had taken to Bristol from their home in London where they had been killed two days before. 'Their decapitated heads would be found by the police in a chest freezer at their flat at 9 Scotts Road in Shepherds Bush. 'Paul Longworth had been attacked with a hammer to the back of his head, suffering repeated blows, such that his skull was shattered. 'Albert Alfonso had been repeatedly stabbed, suffering multiple wounds to his torso and to his face and to his neck. His throat had been cut. 'The defendant admits that he killed Albert Alfonso. He could hardly deny it, because the killing took place whilst he and Alfonso were having sex, and the sex and the killing were recorded on film. 'However, although he admits killing Albert Alfonso he denies the offence of murder, admitting only the lesser offence of manslaughter - and he denies that he killed Paul Longworth at all. 'He blames Albert Alfonso for Paul Longworth's death. (Left to right) Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso shared a flat in Shepherd's Bush, London (Metropolitan Police/PA) 'The prosecution case is that the defendant murdered both men, that he intended to kill them, that his actions were planned and premeditated..' Mosquera appeared in the dock wearing a white shirt assisted by a Spanish interpreter. Mr Longworth was Irish and Mr Alfonso was originally from France but had obtained British citizenship. The trial continues.
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
Carer who threw dementia sufferer, 88, around like a 'rag doll' avoids jail
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A carer hurled an 88-year-old dementia sufferer and threatened to 'flog him' just days before his death, a court heard. CCTV footage captured Bilikesu Olagunju, 42, throwing John Attard like a 'rag doll' at the pensioner's home in Bayley, Kent. She stripped the pensioner and dragged him by the scruff of his collar to his armchair during the 45-minute visit on Christmas Eve 2022. In the video, Olagunju tells him: 'Maybe I will beat you up. I will flog you. I will take you to the GP to get injections. I will call the police on you.' The care worker also poured marmalade into John's coffee, knowing he was diabetic. John was discovered unresponsive with blood on his face the next day, a court heard. He died in the hospital 10 days later. His son, Chris, whose hidden camera recorded the incident, told MailOnline that while a post-mortem could not prove Olagunju was responsible, he believed her treatment of him had contributed to his sudden decline. Woolwich Crown Court heard that Olagunju had caused John, her first assignment as a carer in the UK, 'great distress'. Prosecutor James Benson said John had been 'manhandled' and that Olagunju had 'played on her victim's vulnerability' through 'rough handling, verbal aggression, and degrading treatment'. She ignored advice from her employer on the phone, telling her not to touch the dementia sufferer and continued pulling him up. Olagunju was given a six-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 50 hours' unpaid work. Chris said his father, who had five children, 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, was 'still enjoying what life he had left' and described him as 'kind-hearted' and 'generous'. He added that having to repeatedly watch the CCTV footage of John being abused had taken a mental toll on him. Judge Charlotte Welsh, sentencing, questioned why Olagunju had been given an elderly dementia sufferer as her first patient and said the carer lacked 'sufficient training'. She accepted that there was no 'malicious intent' on the part of the carer and that Olagunju had shown 'genuine remorse'. The judge said: 'Your actions are evident of your failure to treat Mr Attard as a person deserving of as much dignity and respect as the rest of us.' Olagunju's defence barrister said she was 'ashamed' at her conduct and had suffered 'mental anguish' as a result of the incident. While echoing the judge's point that Olagunju had not been given sufficient training to deal with the situation in which she found herself, he added that the defendant 'had failed in her duty as a carer'. Olagunju's employer, Unique Personnel, was served a warning notice several months after John's death. An inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the service to have 'inadequate' leadership as well as unsafe care practices, although its branches were rated as 'good'. The report, published in May 2023, also identified inadequate staff training, failure to carry out risk assessments and poor handling of complaints, including from patients' relatives. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
The Sun
05-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Teaching assistant sent naked pictures of herself to teen on Snapchat after calling him ‘good lad' in X-rated messages
A PAEDO teaching assistant sent naked photos of herself to a teen boy on Snapchat after calling him a "good lad". Chelsey Knox also asked the schoolboy, who is aged under 16, to send pictures of his privates after she began messaging him. 4 The mum, 33, sent him a video of herself in the shower and shared two topless photos with him. Knox then sent a picture of herself using a sex toy to the teen, Kent Online reports. She is now facing prison after pleading guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child. The teaching assistant also admitted two counts of causing a child to watch an image of sexual activity and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court heard she carried out the vile offences between March 24 and April 5 last year. She first started messaging the boy in February that year but the texts were not "sexual". Rajni Prashar, prosecuting, said: "She then sent a message asking him to come to her house, and she sent a picture of a bottle of alcohol and said there was a party. 'She also sent a message saying he was a good lad and she had her legs on show, but she then sent a topless photo and a video of her in the shower and she asked him to send a picture of his penis.' Knox was bailed on the condition she signs on to the sex offenders' register. The mum, from Kent, will be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on a date to be set. Knox previously found herself in court after she chased and attacked a woman she had followed in her car. JPs heard the victim was left with cuts to her left ear and lip, as well as severe bruising to her face. Knox was handed a suspended 24 week sentence after admitting actual bodily harm. 4
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Court system in crisis as ‘jaw-dropping' delays see first trials listed for 2029
Britain's ailing courts system has scheduled its first trials for 2029 – almost four years away – as the government struggles to tackle the spiralling backlog of cases, The Independent can reveal. The first hearing, scheduled over two days, is set to begin on January 3 that year at Woolwich Crown Court, and will see a 38-year-old mum from South London face a charge of possession with intent to supply cannabis, which she denies. The second, likely to last three days, will see three men stand trial at the same court, on January 15, over the theft of motor vehicles, which they also deny. The cases were described by Stephen Nelson, the barrister representing the woman and one of the men in the theft case, as 'straightforward and not complicated" - and said the delays were 'jaw-dropping'. He warned one client was in poor health and might not live to see his case come to trial in 2029. With around 75,000 crown court cases waiting to be heard, Ministry of Justice officials – who admit 'justice delayed is justice denied' – confirmed that the cases are among the furthest into the future that has been set. The revealtion comes as the government is set to unveil the outcome of its long-awaited sentencing review, led by former justice secretary David Gauke, on Thursday, which is expected to overhaul the justice system with plans for shorter jail terms and increased use of community punishments. Mary Prior KC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), said the court delays, combined with the time it takes for people to be charged, mean some offences now take six years to reach trial – an 'extraordinary' situation which is failing victims of crime, defendants, witnesses, and wider society. She said: 'It cannot be right for victims of crime, eyewitnesses and those accused of crimes to have to wait until 2029 for their trial to take place. 'Bearing in mind it generally takes two years for people to be charged with a criminal offence, that means six years from offence to trial. Is anyone really supposed to remember the details of what happened six years ago? The fact that this is happening in England and Wales is extraordinary. People's lives are on hold for six years.' In the case of the woman, who was found with 29 small bags of cannabis and a sum of money, Mr Nelson said she had no previous convictions for drugs, and had digital evidence which showed the cash in her possession had not come from the sale of drugs. Regarding the vehicle theft, Mr Nelson said his client had been instructed to take the cars away to be sold for scrap and did not know they were stolen. 'To have such long delays not in the interests of my clients, whose lives will be on hold for almost four years, of the witnesses and legal teams involved in the cases – or of justice and wider society,' he said. Mr Nelson added that the delays also offer no incentive for defendants to plead guilty, because memories of those involved fade, the arresting officers may retire, and evidence may weaken. 'It is simply bonkers,' he said. CBA analysis of Ministry of Justice data shows the backlog has risen 11 per cent to 74,000 in the year to December, and 126 per cent in the past five years, from around 33,000 in December 2018. Although the government has pointed to how the volume of serious offences - particularly sexual and violent offences - are back to 2016 levels, the number of barristers and solicitors available to prosecute and defend them has fallen by roughly a quarter over that period. In the last quarter of 2024 alone, more than 5,000 trials were pulled from the court list, while 1,900 trials were adjourned on the day they were due to start. Reasons included having no available judge, prosecutor or defence counsel, a failure to deliver a prisoner to court and a recent large increase in the number of cases cancelled on the first day because the prosecution had not prepared its evidence on time. In October, The Independent revealed that among the delayed trials were those involving defendants on bail accused of serious sexual and violent crimes that were not due to start for well over two years. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced in March that judges would sit for an extra 4,000 days this year to tackle the delays but admitted the backlog would continue to rise. Retired judge Sir Brian Leveson is carrying out a 'once in a generation' review of the courts system and is expected to give recommendations on how to overhaul it in the coming months. Ms Prior said the government needed to do more to prevent the collapse of the courts system. She said: 'Whatever the results of the Leveson Review, [it] will not be any comfort to those who are waiting for their trials for serious offences in the Crown Court because those cases will remain in the backlog, as will all the new rape and serious violence prosecutions. 'How broken does this criminal justice System that we are propping up have to get before there is significant investment in the courts, court staff and in the criminal barristers who prosecute and defend in them? 'Do we have to wait until the 44 per cent of us and the 35 per cent of the judiciary who are trying to leave have walked away? There is no point arresting people and building more prisons if there is no one left to conduct the trials.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'We know that justice delayed is justice denied, and it is clear there are many cases taking far too long to go to trial. That's why we've asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose once-in-a-generation reform to address the outstanding backlog in our courts. 'Alongside this, we're also providing funding for a record level of sitting days this financial year, raising national court capacity to deliver swifter justice for victims.'
