Couple guilty of murdering step father whose body is yet to be found

A man and woman who lured her step father to a flat before murdering him then disposing of his body in an unknown place have been convicted.

Juned Sheikh, 48, of Haywood Street in Camberwell, and Surie Suksiri, 31, of Highbury, north London, were both found guilty of murder and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body at the Old Bailey today.

Frank McKeever, Suksiri’s step father, was last seen alive on August 28, 2021 when he visited Suksiri at her Highbury flat.

Apart from a few minutes in the late evening, when Mr McKeever was captured on CCTV leaving and returning to the flat with Sheikh, he had not been seen since. Evidence showed that he had not used his mobile phone, bank cards, Oyster card or had any other contact with his family and friends.

Suksiri later pawned her step father’s rings to pay for a car that was found and purchased by Sheikh, a vehicle they went on to use to transport his body to an unknown location.

Mr McKeever’s disappearance raised concern with people he was due to meet in early September who then reported him missing to the police.

During the course of the investigation into the disappearance, it came to light that there may well have been a disagreement between Mr McKeever and the defendants about his council house, and whether Mr McKeever would swap his residence with another family member.

Further, when police were called to Suksiri’s flat in an unrelated matter later in September 2021, body-worn video recorded by the attending police officers heard Sheikh calling Suksiri a murderer and threatening that he would tell the police what had happened to her step-father.

All of this evidence suggested something had happened to Mr McKeever, but it was an undercover police operation that finally proved he had been murdered by Suksiri and Sheikh.

Suksiri admitted to an undercover police officer that she had been involved with his death and effectively claimed that she was the mastermind, telling Sheikh what to do and being careful to avoid leaving forensic evidence behind.

Emma Currie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Surie Suksiri and Juned Sheikh killed him in a calculated and cold-hearted way.

“What makes this case even more shocking is that Suksiri and Sheikh both know where they disposed of Mr McKeever’s body but have so far declined to help police.

“It must be agonising for Mr McKeever’s family to have been prevented from paying their final respects to him and are left dealing with his loss without really knowing what happened to him.

“I hope that today’s verdict will at least provide Frank McKeever’s family and friends with a feeling that justice has been delivered.”

Suksiri and Sheikh will be sentenced on November 20.

Pictured top: From left, Juned Sheikh, 48, and Surie Suksiri, 31, were both found guilty of murder (Picture: The Met)