THE family of a father-of-two found murdered in his bath have spoken of their relief after his killer failed to get his conviction quashed.

Kenneth Osei-Bonsu, 38, was found guilty of strangling Gary Painter to death at his home in Salop Road, Walthamstow, in June 2006.

Mr Painter, 39, a telecoms engineer, lay dead for three days before he was discovered by his ex-partner and mother of his children, Kelly Thake, and her new boyfriend, who broke into the house following repeated attempts to contact him.

Osei-Bonsu, a homeless man with a string of burglary convictions, was sentenced to a minimum life sentence of 26 years in 2008, but last week launched a legal bid for freedom.

His legal team argued the evidence used to convict him was flawed.

However, judges at the Court of Appeal ruled there was no doubt Osei-Bonsu was the killer.

During his trial, the court heard that Osei-Bonsu's DNA had been found on a bottle of water in Mr Painter's flat, and that mobile phone records proved he was in the area at the time of the murder.

Ms Thake, who has since moved to the house in Salop Road where Mr Painter was killed with sons Lewis, 18, and Thomas, 15, welcomed the news.

But she is angry that the killer's continued silence means exactly what happened remains a secret.

She said: “I'm very glad – he should definitely spend the rest of his life in jail.

“It was a horrible thing to go through for me and the kids.

“When he was convicted it did help, but of course we can never forget what happened. All the neighbours have been very supportive and people still leave flowers out on the anniversary.

“But there's still a lot of questions unanswered and we still don't really know what happened.”

“Everyone loved Gary. He was a very friendly and out-going person.”

His son Lewis said: “Life should mean life and he deserves to be punished for what he's done.

“Even if there were supposed to be flaws in the evidence he never spoke up or tried to defend himself at the trial – he didn't even bother to speak, so why now?

“We're always going to wonder why about some stuff and it's a real shame he never spoke.”

Neighbour Valerie Downes, 66, said: “I'd known Gary since he was three years old – he spent almost his whole life in that house.

“He was a very friendly and popular man. The neighbourhood was stunned when we found out what happened.

“But I'm sure everyone will be very glad to hear that man is going to stay in prison.”

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