Manhunt in U.K. Ends With Murder Charges After Bodies Found in Suitcase

A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder after human remains were discovered in suitcases left at Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, last week, the Metropolitan Police in London said on Monday.

The man, Yostin Andres Mosquera, was arrested early on Saturday in Bristol, the police said.

The charges come after a grisly discovery early Thursday, when the police in Avon and Somerset responded to calls of a man with a suitcase acting strangely near the Clifton Suspension Bridge, a stone structure crossing the River Avon in a leafy area near Bristol. By the time the police arrived, the man had disappeared, but the suitcase remained.

A second suitcase was found nearby not long after. They each contained human remains, the police said.

The discovery set off a two-day manhunt across Britain as the police searched for the suspect. Additional human remains were later found at a flat in the Shepherds Bush neighborhood of London.

The remains belonged to two men, Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71. Mr. Longworth was British, and Mr. Alfonso was French and had obtained British citizenship, the police said.

The police said the two men had been in a relationship and still lived together in Shepherd’s Bush. The couple knew Mr. Mosquera, who had stayed at their home briefly.

The Metropolitan Police did not yet have a motive, they said Monday, but there was no indication that the killings were motivated by homophobia. Still, following national guidelines, they preliminarily categorized the murder as a hate crime.

“I know that this awful incident will cause concern not just among residents in Shepherds Bush but in the wider L.G.B.T.Q.+ community across London,” Andy Valentine, the deputy assistant commissioner for Metropolitan Police, said in a statement. “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.”

Mr. Mosquera was expected to appear in custody at Wimbledon Magistrate’s Court on Monday.