Man jailed for rape and murder of childhood friend

A young man who was entrusted to accompany his childhood friend home but raped and murdered her has been sentenced to life in prison.

Wesley Streete, 20, was convicted of murdering Keeley Bunker on August 5, despite claiming he accidentally killed her during consensual sex.

He was also convicted of two additional counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual activity with a child against three other victims, allegedly taking place in previous years.

On Friday he was given a prison sentence of at least 29 years.

Stafford Crown Court heard how Streete, a former warehouse packer, had spent an evening celebrating her birthday with Bunker and her best friend Monique Riggon in Birmingham before taking a taxi back to Tamworth.

They went to Riggon’s house early on September 19 and Streete was assigned to accompany Bunker, also 20, to her house.

She said to Riggon, “Wes will take me back, everything will be fine.”

However, Streete raped and killed her in Wigginton Park before lying to her family and the police. He initially claimed she was still alive when they parted ways and changed his story at least four times between his arrest and the trial, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Jailing Streete, Mr Justice Baker said: “She told Monique that she would be safe at home as you had offered to walk with her back to her house.

“Unfortunately, nothing could have been further from the truth.

“Because I am convinced that on the way back to her house you persuaded Keeley to go to the rugby club, probably under the pretense of going out for a smoke.

“However, what happened at Wigginton Park was that you raped Keeley Bunker and in the process murdered her by strangling her, most likely by holding her in a chokehold long enough to kill her.”

He added that the chokehold lasted “minutes rather than seconds.”

Jacob Hallam QC said during the trial: “We accept that the truth was that he took Keeley’s life and sexually assaulted her – her, a young woman who trusted him.”

He said it took a “sustained effort” to “take Keeley Bunker’s life… to lose consciousness requires 10 to 15 seconds of sustained pressure on the neck.”

Streete claimed they had consensual sex and that he “put my arms around her neck and accidentally killed her” and then lied to Bunker’s family, friends and police about what happened because he was “scared.”

He said at one point he “put his forearm around her neck” and realized she had died before he “panicked” and “paced up and down.”

He didn’t think about calling the police, but instead moved her body into the bushes, “put her in the pond” and then took off her jacket “because you could see her in the stream and I was afraid that people would see her would find”.

“I didn’t know how to behave and explain to other people how she died because I was ashamed of myself and very afraid to explain it to the police – to everyone,” he told the jury.

Bunker was left face down in the water and Streete said he left the scene to go home, wash his clothes and go to sleep.

He returned “quite often” to cover them with branches, the jury was told, and was taken on a police ride to retrace Streete and Keeley’s final movements.

During that ride, police asked for his phone at the request of suspicious investigators and he was later arrested after her body was discovered.

Bunker was discovered by her uncle in Wigginton Park, Tamworth, during a search party on the same day she went missing.

Following Streete’s sentencing, Debbie Watkins, Bunker’s mother, said she had been “robbed” of her “precious and beautiful” daughter and Bunker’s sister said she was “one of the most vibrant, caring and beautiful souls this earth has ever seen.”

The judge said: “It is clear that not only was she loved by so many, but that Keeley was also one of the kindest and most caring people.

“Furthermore, not only did she miss the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of helping raise young children, but her family also lost the company of their beloved daughter, sister and niece.”

Detective Inspector Cheryl Hannan, of Staffordshire Police, said: “It is Wesley Streete, and Wesley Streete alone, who is responsible for Keeley’s untimely death.

“Her friend, like Keeley, trusted him to walk her home that night and it is only Wesley who is responsible for her not making it home.

“The lies he told from the beginning made it clear that he had something to do with her disappearance.”