Boyfriend jailed for life for 1998 murder of mother-of-seven

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 6 Nov, 19:08 · Archive

Trevor Dunkley, 66, confessed to beating partner Patricia Lashley to death in 1998 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Trevor Dunkley, 66, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of ten years and ten months after confessing to the murder of Patricia Lashley in September 1998. The then 33-year-old was beaten to death by Dunkley, who was not the father of her nine-month-old baby.

Dunkley concealed the killing by taking the baby to social services and falsely claiming that Lashley had abandoned him. He then went to work as normal that night. The child was brought up by adoptive parents, as were Lashley's six other children, all believing they had been abandoned by their mother.

Dunkley made his confession in July 2026 when officers went to question him as part of a decades-long missing person inquiry. He described hiding the victim's body in the cellar of his former home before transferring the decomposed remains into a bin months later. Judge Michael Chambers KC told Dunkley that the passage of time was solely due to untruths he had maintained for 28 years, though the judge accepted that Dunkley was genuinely remorseful.

How it is being reported

• Man jailed for murdering mother who disappeared 28 years agoTrevor Dunkley made a shock confession earlier this year, West Midlands police saidThe Independent · 6 Nov, 20:36
• Killer who hid mum-of-seven's body in cellar and dumped bones in bins jailed 28 years laterTrevor Dunkley, 66, from Dudley, West Midlands, has now been jailed after confessing to the horrific murder of Patricia Lashley in 1998 as part of a decades-long missing person inquiryThe Mirror · 6 Nov, 18:38
• Boyfriend who confessed he murdered mother-of-seven almost 30 years ago is jailed for lifeTrevor Dunkley, 66, took Patricia Lashley's nine-month-old baby to social services following the killing, claiming she had left him and abandoned her baby. He then went to work as normal that night.Daily Mail · 6 Nov, 18:14

In this story: Trevor Dunkley · Patricia Lashley · Judge Michael Chambers KC · Dudley · West Midlands

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