A couple have been jailed for life for murdering a widower whose body has never been found.

Frank McKeever, 62, disappeared after visiting his step-daughter Surie Suksiri at her home in Highbury, north London, on 28 August 2021.

At the Old Bailey on Monday, Suksiri, 32, and Juned Sheikh, 48, were jailed for Mr McKeever's murder and preventing his lawful burial.

They will serve at least 18 and 14 years in prison respectively.

During the trial the court heard the pair had subjected Mr McKeever to a "painful" and "protracted" death before dumping his body in a remote location.

Sentencing, Judge Anthony Bate said: "Frank McKeever went willingly to visit the defendants. He expected them to welcome him as before and be treated with the respect that any guest deserves. Events took a sinister turn."

After killing Mr McKeever, the defendants lied about what happened and hid his body in a "wicked and sustained deceit" which the judge described as "a serious affront to public standards of decency".

Prosecutor Katherine Patterson told the court: "We still do not know the precise cause of Mr McKeever's death.

"However, we invite the court to be sure that he was subjected to significant and sustained violence and suffered a painful, protracted and humiliating death."

Previously the court had been told that Suksiri and Sheikh had photographed and filmed the victim in a "humiliating" position and forced him to make a confession to assaulting Suksiri when she was six-years-old, saying "he deserved to be punished".

In mitigation, Allison Hunter KC said Suksiri was vulnerable and had a low IQ and alcohol addiction, but had no desire to cause further suffering to Mr McKeever's loved ones and would tell authorities where his body is if she could.

The court was played conversations Suksiri had with an undercover police officer last year after being released under investigation, which detailed a clear confession to the murder with Sheikh, the prosecution said.

'Cruelly taken from us'

Reading a statement in court Mr McKeever's older brother Dominic McKeever described the trial as "lengthy and harrowing" and the family were denied the chance to give "happy-go-lucky" Mr McKeever the "loving farewell" he deserved.

Mr McKeever, who had recently reconnected with his brother, told the court: "Frank had a lot to live for. This bright future has been cruelly and casually taken away from him and from us."

The pair, both from Camberwell in south London, had denied the charges against them.

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