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.
Yostin Mosquera is on trial at the Old Bailey. Pic: Metropolitan Police/PA
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”.
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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.
A woman has been filmed cutting yellow ribbons tied to a gate in London, put up in commemoration of Israeli hostages.
When confronted by two bystanders near the gate in Muswell Hill, north London, the woman said: “I’m not committing a crime.
“If I am, then call the police and you let them know that you have an issue with this.”
In the video, a man branded the woman “a disgusting little human being,” to which she replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting.”
The bystander asked her: “So we’re condoning genocide?”
The woman then appeared to point at the ribbons and said: “That’s what this is.”
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Pic: X/@mirandalevycopy
The yellow ribbon has been used as a symbol of the plight of those taken captive since the 1979 US-Iranian hostage crisis, and has become synonymous with the hostages held in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
The ribbons are used as part of the ‘Bring Them Home’ campaign, which was introduced to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight and help amplify calls for the unconditional release of those still held by Hamas.
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Two years on from October 7 attacks
The Metropolitan Police told Sky News: “Officers have stepped up reassurance patrols in the Muswell Hill area, following reports that yellow ribbons were removed from fence poles.”
A spokesperson said the force was made aware of a video circulating online which “appears to show a woman removing the ribbons in Muswell Hill” at 4.25pm on Monday.
“Officers attended the location and are reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed. Enquiries remain ongoing,” the spokesperson added.
Officers are asking anyone with information to contact the force.
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The incident happened just a day before the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s offensive has killed more than 67,000 people in the region since 7 October 2023. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says more than half of those killed are women and children.
Ineos, the chemicals group founded by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has hit out at the government after cutting a fifth of the workforce at a factory in Hull.
The company said 60 skilled jobs were going at the Acetyls factory “as a direct result of sky-high energy costs and anti-competitive trade practices, as importers ‘dump’ product into the UK and European markets”.
It called on the UK government and European Commission to impose trade tariffs on China, complaining that a lack of action to date had resulted in “dirt cheap” carbon-heavy imports flooding the market, making its products uncompetitive.
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Ineos said the US had protected its manufacturing base through effective tariffs and warned that further jobs would be lost across Europe unless the authorities followed suit.
The company, founded by Sir Jim in 1998, is Europe’s largest producer of essential chemicals for a range of products including aspirin and paracetamol, adhesives and industrial coatings.
It recently invested £30m to switch its Hull plant energy source from natural gas to hydrogen. Ineos claimed Chinese competitors were emitting up to eight times more carbon dioxide than its UK operations.
The Saltend plant in Hull. Pic: Ineos
“This is a textbook case of the UK and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation,” the firm’s statement said.
“Ineos has invested heavily at Hull to cut CO₂, yet we’re being undercut by China and the US while left wide open by a complete absence of tariff protection.
“If governments don’t act now on energy, carbon and trade, we will keep losing factories, skills and jobs. And once these plants shut, they never come back.”
A Government spokesperson responded: “We know this is a tough time for our chemicals industry, who are paying the fossil fuel penalty, with wholesale gas costs remaining 75% above their levels before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Our modern Industrial Strategy is slashing electricity costs by up to 25% for sectors including chemicals, and the UK’s independent Trade Remedies Authority has the power to investigate the impact of cheap imports if requested by industry.
“We recognise this will be difficult for affected workers and their families, and we continue to engage with Ineos and the wider sector to explore potential solutions that will ensure a viable chemicals industry in the UK.”
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