He had not been seen since.
A woman and her boyfriend who lured her stepfather to a flat and murdered him have been convicted.
Surie Suksiri and her partner Juned Sheikh also disposed of his body, which is yet to be found.
The pair were found guilty of murder and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body at the Old Bailey.
Frank McKeever was last seen alive on August 28, 2021, when he visited Suksiri at her Highbury flat in North London.
Mr McKeever was spotted on CCTV leaving and returning to the flat with Sheikh. He had not been seen since.
Evidence revealed that he had not used his mobile phone, bank cards, Oyster card, or had any other contact with his family and friends.
Shortly after arriving at Suksiri’s home, a video of Mr McKeever was recorded.
The 47-second video – shared on WhatsApp – showed Mr McKeever apparently confessing to sexually assaulting Suksiri when she was a young girl.
At the beginning, Suksiri was heard saying “start”, implying this was a video orchestrated and directed with her involvement.
The video concluded with the words:
“I deserve to be punished for it.”
The video was sent to Sheikh’s sister.
Suksiri later pawned her stepfather’s rings to buy a £350 car. The couple used the car to dispose of the victim’s body in a remote location outside of London a few days later.
Mr McKeever’s disappearance concerned people he was due to meet in early September 2021.
By September 9, these people were so concerned that they reported him missing to the police.
During the investigation, it came to light that there may have been a disagreement between Mr McKeever and the defendants about his council house and whether the victim would swap his residence with another family member.
Later in September 2021, police were called to Suksiri’s flat in an unrelated matter.
Body cameras heard Sheikh calling Suksiri a murderer and threatening to tell the police about what had happened to her stepfather.
During the trial, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC said:
“After that night, Frank McKeever was never seen again.
“He did come out of the flat once, together with Juned Sheikh – they left for a few minutes and then they both headed back to the flat.
“And that’s it – after that Frank McKeever vanished off the face of the Earth.”
Sheikh claimed Mr McKeever left the flat alive.
On the other hand, Suksiri claimed she found him dead and Sheikh made her dispose of the body with him.
Suksiri later admitted to an undercover officer that she had been involved with Mr McKeever and effectively said she led the murder, telling her boyfriend what to do and being careful to avoid leaving forensic evidence behind.
Emma Currie, of the CPS, said: “Whether Frank McKeever’s death was in retribution for alleged unlawful sexual activity, or whether it was really over his council house is something we might never know for certain, but what we do know is that 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, 2023.
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