July 15 (UPI) — A 34-year-old man was charged with two counts of murder by British police on Monday as they identified his victims whose remains were found last week in suitcases on a Bristol bridge and in a London residence.
Metropolitan Police said in a statement that Yostin Andres Mosquera was charged early Monday and will appear at the Wimbledon Magistrate’s Court later in the day.
He was arrested early Saturday in Bristol, located about 140 miles west of London, after an investigation was launched to find the man who late Sunday left two suitcases containing human remains on Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge. Further remains were located Friday amid the investigation at a residence in London’s multicultural area of Shepherd’s Bush.
Metropolitan Police on Monday identified the remains as belonging to Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71.
Alfonso, a British national, and Longworth, of France but who held British citizenship, were previously in a relationship but had still lived together when they were killed.
Authorities said the men were known to Mosquera, who had stayed with them at their Scotts Road residence for a short period of time. According to police, Mosquera was also a residence of the area.
Though neither Alfonso nor Longworth have close family, their next of kin have been notified, said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine.
“I know that this awful incident will cause concern not just among residents in Shepherds Bush but in the wider LGBTQ+ community across London. I hope it will be of some reassurance that whilst enquiries are still ongoing and the investigation is at a relatively early stage, we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the two murders,” Valentine said.
The commissioner added that they do not believe the motive of the murders was homophobic but that officers have categorized it as a hate crime.
Investigators are seeking to see if there are any connected crimes in either Britain or overseas, but Metropolitan Police said none have yet been identified.
The investigation began late Wednesday after the suitcases were found.
Avon and Somerset Police said that they had received a report shortly before 12 a.m. Thursday of a man with a suitcase acting suspiciously on the Bristol bridge. When police arrived, the man had fled, but two suitcases with human remains were found.
The following investigation found that the suspect — described as a Black and bearded man — had traveled to Bristol from London by taxi.
The Shepherd’s Bush residence was revealed to the public as a crime scene Friday as they identified Mosquera as the suspect.
Mosquera was then taken into police custody Saturday by Avon and Somerset armed officers at Temple Meads Station, a Bristol railway station.