Man, 66, admits murdering mother-of-seven almost 30 years ago then keeping her body in a cellar until he moved house and disposed of it in a wheelie bin
A 66-year-old man has pleaded guilty to murdering Patricia Lashley, a mother of seven, in 1998, after admitting to police that he kept her decomposed body in a cellar before disposing of it in a wheelie bin months later. Trevor Dunkley, of Himley Road, Dudley, also admitted preventing her lawful burial. The case relied entirely on his own admissions during police interviews, as Ms Lashley's body was never recovered and there was no other evidence of what had happened to her.
Dunkley appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court, where his barrister told the judge the skeleton was disposed of in the bins when Dunkley moved house roughly nine months to a year after her death. Ms Lashley, who was last seen near her home on Hall Street, Dudley, in September 1998, was known locally as Pat or Jade and had links to London, Newcastle, Wales and Scotland; her family made a fresh appeal to trace her in 2017, before knowing what had happened. Dunkley was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 6 November.
- Man, 66, admits murdering mother-of-seven Patricia Lashley in 1998
- Body kept in cellar, later dumped in wheelie bin after house move
- Case based on his police admissions; sentencing set for 6 November
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Patricia Lashley, a mother of seven, vanished from the Dudley area in September 1998, but for decades her disappearance remained unresolved and her body was never found. She was known to friends and family as Pat or Jade, and had connections to several parts of the country, including London, Newcastle, Wales and Scotland. Her family kept trying to trace her over the years, including a fresh appeal in 2017, without knowing what had actually happened to her.
Trevor Dunkley, now 66 and living on Himley Road in Dudley, has since admitted to police that he killed her at the time she disappeared and hid what he had done for nearly thirty years. According to his own account, he stored her body at his home for months before disposing of it when he later moved house. Because no remains were ever recovered, the case against him rests almost entirely on what he told investigators himself.
The matter has now reached Wolverhampton Crown Court, where Dunkley has pleaded guilty to murder and to preventing Patricia Lashley's lawful burial. He is being held in custody ahead of sentencing, which is expected to take place on 6 November.