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Trusted friend raped and murdered childhood companion after her birthday night out

Undated family handout file photo issued by Staffordshire Police of Keeley Bunker, 20 - Family Handout/PA Wire /Family Handout/PA Wire 
Undated family handout file photo issued by Staffordshire Police of Keeley Bunker, 20 - Family Handout/PA Wire /Family Handout/PA Wire

A man has been convicted of raping and murdering a female friend who had trusted him to walk her home safely, before hiding her body in a brook.

Wesley Streete, who towered over his slightly-built victim, Keeley Bunker, dumped her body face down in a stream in a nearby park before trying to conceal his crime by covering her with branches on September 19 last year.

He repeatedly lied about what had happened to the 20-year-old after they returned to their home town of Tamworth following a night out in Birmingham to celebrate her birthday, changing his account at least four times before the trial.

Streete initially claimed to have left Ms Bunker to walk home alone before later alleging at trial that he "accidentally killed her" during consensual sex in Wigginton Park.

Jurors at Stafford Crown Court took just over eight hours to convict the 20-year-old on Wednesday.

Streete, of no fixed address but previously of St Austell Close, Tamworth, was also convicted of two other counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and a charge of sexual activity with a child against three other victims, said to have happened in previous years. He will be sentenced on Friday.

Ms Bunker's sister had described her as "one of the most vibrant, caring and beautiful souls this world has ever seen".

The victim's uncle, Jason Brown, later discovered her partially-submerged body during a huge search effort involving family, friends and police.

Finding her body by torchlight, he told jurors how he saw hair and "an arm with a bracelet on", and started shouting: "No!"

A nearby witness described Mr Brown's cries of alarm as "the most horrendous scream or shout I've ever heard in my life".

Wesley Streete was convicted of the rape and murder of his childhood friend Keeley Bunker - PA
Wesley Streete was convicted of the rape and murder of his childhood friend Keeley Bunker - PA

After the killing, Streete returned to the scene five times, covering the body with more branches. However, as the last person to see her alive, police attention quickly focused on him.

After his arrest, Streete tailored his account to the evidence but claimed he had done so because he was "scared" and "embarrassed" to tell people what had really happened.

At trial, Streete claimed Ms Bunker had been a willing participant in sex despite, by his own admission, being a childhood friend who had never entertained any ideas of romance.

By the time she and Streete had crossed the park shortly before 4am, her mind was on sleeping in her own bed, as she told best friend Monique Riggon earlier that morning. Later that day, she had been due to have a second interview for a classroom assistant role.

"It was something she really wanted, so getting home, back to her house that morning, was important to Keeley, wasn't it?" Jacob Hallam QC, prosecuting, asked Streete.

"Yes," replied Streete.

However, he had tried to paint a different picture, telling how Ms Bunker was "flirting" and "teasing" him, as they walked home.

"I asked: 'Do you want to have sex?"' Streete told the jury.

He claimed Ms Bunker's reply was "Yes", and he went on to describe how he had then "accidentally killed her" after wrapping his forearm around her neck.

Detectives, using GPS data recorded by Streete's own phone, were able to expose his initial lie when he had claimed to have parted ways with Ms Bunker before she ever reached the park.

The phone also showed him in the park near the scene of murder at the relevant time, and making repeated visits back to where he had hidden the body.

CCTV also captured the two walking together through Tamworth and later near a rugby clubhouse at the edge of the park.

Jurors heard that Streete was "autistic" according to his father, and had the assistance of a professional intermediary in court to help him understand the trial process.

Streete was also offered the opportunity of using a stress ball while giving evidence in the witness box, but declined.

"I kept on lying to everyone," he told jurors, before claiming: "Now I'm telling the truth."

The jury disagreed, convicting him of Ms Bunker's rape and murder.