We thought mum abandoned us - then we discovered she'd been murdered

Published8 hours ago

The children of a woman who was murdered 28 years ago have spoken of their anger after growing up believing their mother had abandoned them.

Patricia Lashley, 33, a mother of seven, was last seen near her home in Hall Street, Dudley, in September 1998.

Her partner Trevor Dunkley, now 66, was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 10 years and 10 months, at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday, after admitting her murder earlier this year. Lashley's remains have never been found.

After the sentencing, her eldest son Sinan Mehmet said he and his siblings had believed their mother had abandoned them, leaving them feeling resentful. "We always felt like we were unwanted," he said.

"We didn't have anyone to support us really in our lives. We struggled growing up," added Mehmet.

They were unaware that their mother had been beaten to death by her partner before hiding her body in the cellar of their home for about a year before disposing of her remains in household waste bins.

The court heard Dunkley had maintained his account that Lashley had disappeared for decades, despite being spoken to by police multiple times.

He said she had left her youngest child, who was not Dunkley's son, alone in their flat. Dunkley took the nine-month-old to social services and he was later adopted.

Judge Chambers said the "most significant aggravating factor" in the case was that Dunkley had killed the mother of a baby, who she had still been breastfeeding.

Mehmet said Dunkley killed his mother "in such a horrible way and then lied to us for 27 years", and that learning about her death had made him feel guilty about the resentment he had felt in the past.

"I feel bad in a way now that I felt that way towards mum," he said.

Mehmet said the past few months had been among the hardest of his life as the family had been forced to confront what happened to their mother and hear details of her killing.

Dunkley confessed to the murder in July after a police officer "pointed out... the impact on the family". He became emotional and told police: "I killed her, I'm sorry."

Mehmet said he felt anger towards Dunkley: "I don't have any gratitude towards him even though he thinks he's done the right thing by coming forward."

His sister, Destine, said she felt "mixed emotions". She said she and her siblings had been left in foster homes and children's homes after their mother's disappearance.

She said she could not forgive Dunkley, who "could have rung the police at the time".

The judge said Dunkley's confession was "to his credit" but the delay in bringing the case to justice had been caused by his lies.

"You did a dreadful thing and the passage of time is only down to your untruths," he told him.

Dunkley also received a concurrent two-year sentence for preventing Lashley's lawful burial.

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Related internet links

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

HM Courts & Tribunals Service