Son jailed for life after being caught trying to bury his murdered father in his West Midlands garden

A neighbour alerted the police in August 2022 after fearing for the safety of Anthony Sykes, 67, and noticed his son Thomas Sykes digging a hole in waste ground at the bottom of his garden.

Sykes, 40, previously of Stafford and from New Street in Burton-upon-Trent, had punched his father to death the week before and had been using his bank card to make cash withdrawals. He had even been seen dancing to music in the kitchen as his father's body decomposed in the bedroom. 

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After suffering with disability Thomas moved in with his father to a flat in Byron Road, Tamworth, where the murder happened after "years of sustained bullying".

He had been described as in "high spirits" when he visited his mother and betrayed no clues of the shocking crime he had committed. Sykes was found guilty murder after a two-week trial.

The court heard Sykes had bullied his father, who was slight in build for over 15 years. Anthony had even contacted the emergency services in the days before his death fearing for his safety. He had discovered his wallet had been stolen and it was a confrontation about that theft which led to his son beating him to death. 

In mitigation, the court heard Sykes felt sorry about the killing and wanted to rebuild relationships with his mother and brother. He also has been addicted to drink and drugs for decades. 

Judge Kristina Montgomery KC jailed Sykes to life at Stafford Crown Court. He will have to serve 18 years before being eligible for parole. 

She said: "You have shown no remorse since his death. He was a slight, frail man and his body could not sustain the injuries you caused him.

"After you had killed your father you continued to use his bank card. You were seen intoxicated and dancing in the flat while his body was near by. You spend days with your mother.

"You then tried to hide his body. You put his body in a cardboard box and cut out a large part of the carpet which had blood stains on it. You then began digging a whole in land adjacent to your garden. This alerted a neighbour who called the police.

"You lied to officers by saying your father had got the bus to the supermarket, but when they checked the property they found his body face down in the shed."

She said: "Your father's murder was the end of a long line of incidents of bullying and theft, you moved into his home which was his safe space but instead turned it into a place where he would be regularly assaulted."

What has Staffordshire Police said about the murder?

After sentencing Staffordshire Police has told how forensic examinations found blood stains on the carpet in the front bedroom and on a cabinet, while two sections of blood-stained carpet which had been cut away were found in a black bin bag in a wheelie bin outside. 

Police said Sykes was interviewed a number of times and denied responsibility, claiming he had found his dad's body on the floor in the bedroom and panicked.

He claimed did not know what to do so put the body in the cardboard box and was preparing to bury it, a police spokesperson added.

Following Sykes's sentencing, Det Supt Cheryl Hannan said: "This is a tragic case of the death of a man at the hands of his own son.

"I am pleased with the sentence and that justice has been served."