A woman has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murdering her parents and concealing their bodies in her home in Essex, shocking the local community.
A woman who killed her parents and coexisted with their remains for four years has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of 36 years.
Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC informed Chelmsford Crown Court that Virginia McCullough, aged 36, administered a fatal dose of prescription medication to her father, John McCullough, 70 by crushing the pills and mixing them into his alcoholic beverages. She subsequently took the life of her mother, Lois McCullough, 71 on the next day.
The barrister stated that McCullough “assaulted her mother with a hammer and inflicted multiple stab wounds to the chest using a kitchen knife purchased specifically for this purpose.”
Both murders occurred in June 2019 at the couple’s residence in Great Baddow, Essex. The defendant then remained living with her parents’ deceased bodies for another four years.
According to Wilding’s statement at the Chelmsford Crown Court, McCullough “constructed a temporary tomb” for her father, who had been a university lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University.
The “rectangular tomb” was discovered in a room that had served as Mr. McCullough’s bedroom and study, constructed from stacked masonry blocks. According to Wilding, it was “covered with several blankets,” topped with numerous pictures and paintings.
The barrister stated, “She hid her mother’s body inside a sleeping bag and placed it in the wardrobe of her mother’s bedroom on the property’s top floor.”
The murders were discovered when her parents’ general practitioners expressed concerns about missed appointments, prompting the police to forcibly enter their home on September 15, 2023. For years, McCullough deceived others about her parents’ whereabouts by frequently telling doctors and relatives that they were either ill or away on holiday or extended trips.
Bodycam footage of the arrest showed police breaking into the property and confronting McCullough in a hallway, where she admitted to her crimes.
Referring to the arrest, she informed officers: “I anticipated this might happen eventually. It’s right for me to face my consequences.”
She said, “Look on the bright side; at least you caught the bad guy.”
After her arrest, McCullough provided officers with a detailed account of how she had killed her parents.
She informed the officers that the knife used to stab her mother could be found underneath the stairs, adding that “it’s rusted but will still have blood traces on it.”
She also informed the police that she needed to “gather courage” to kill her mother because “I knew it had to be done.”
Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby of Essex Police stated that Virginia McCullough “murdered her parents in cold blood,” describing her as an “intelligent manipulator” who was deceitful about nearly every aspect of her life.
Wilding stated that the defendant “had been contemplating killing her parents since March 2019 and had been planning for it,” adding that she had not worked in many years.
Statements were read on behalf of McCullough’s siblings, who have been granted anonymity by the judge.
Someone mentioned that they felt “devastated and bereft” due to the loss of their parents.
“This situation feels like a living nightmare from which I’ll never awaken,” they wrote. “I am tormented by thoughts of whether my parents suffered or if they were taunted.”
Someone else mentioned feeling “deeply unsettled” every day.
“We have been heartlessly deprived of the chance to create more cherished memories and connections with our mum and dad in the years ahead,” they added.
“How could Virginia deprive us of that life? So many falsehoods have been spun to conceal the terrible truth that she had killed our beloved mom and dad.”
The prosecutor stated that the defendant “participated in online gambling” and spent £21,193 on gambling-related transactions from June 1, 2018, to September 14, 2023.
Wilding stated that McCullough “took steps to maintain access to the pensions” which continued being paid under her parents’ names following their passing. The prosecutor mentioned that McCullough “acquired benefits totaling” £59,664.01 from the state pension and £76,334.58 from a teacher’s pension between June 18, 2019, and September 15, 2023.
Wilding stated that the money seemed to have been “squandered,” and the investigation has not uncovered any spending on costly, luxurious, or extravagant items.
In a victim impact statement, Richard Butcher, the brother of Lois McCullough, expressed that his niece was “very dangerous” and confessed that the events had “undermined my faith in humanity.”
Judge Justice Johnson stated that McCullough’s actions represented a “severe breach of the trust that should exist between parents and their children.”
He stated he was confident that the offenses involved a “significant degree of both premeditation and planning,” as McCullough had amassed “a large amount of prescription drugs” and bought a knife in May 2019, along with tools to crush and separate tablets.
The judge stated, “These actions were deemed acts of aggression after months of deliberation and planning.”
While sentencing the 36-year-old, he stated: “I am convinced that a significant motive behind each of the murders was to prevent your parents from finding out about your theft and deceit towards them, as well as to obtain money meant for them.”
