Man jailed after ‘shock confession’ to murdering mother of seven 28 years ago

Trevor Dunkley, 66, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his partner, Patricia Lashley, in 1998 and preventing her lawful burial. His confession came this July, ending a missing-person investigation that had lasted decades; the judge said Lashley’s seven children were left believing she had abandoned them.

Lashley, who was 33, was last seen in September 1998 and reported missing the following June. Dunkley told police he had hit her during an argument, concealed her body in a cellar and disposed of her remains in stages; searches have found no human remains. He pleaded guilty and received a minimum term of 130 months, or 10 years and 10 months, for murder, with a concurrent two-year sentence for preventing burial.