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Virginia McCullough killed her parents & lived in home with their bodies for 4 years (The Mirror)
by Mick the Ram
A 36-year-old woman has been given a life sentence for murdering her parents and then concealing their bodies in the family home she continued to live in for the next four years.
Virginia McCullough admitted fatally poisoning her father John McCullough and then stabbing her mother Lois McCullough to death in June 2019 in Great Baddow, Essex, but their remains were not discovered until September 2023.
A missing persons’ investigation was launched after the couple’s GP raised concerns about not hearing from them and after police became suspicious of the daughter due to her constant excuses for their whereabouts and later executed a warrant to search their property.
Covid restrictions had greatly assisted Ms McCullough in maintaining the deception, in which she carried on receiving and spending their pensions.
When sentence was passed at Chelmsford Crown Court she showed no emotion when being told she will serve a minimum of 36 years before being considered for release.
Manipulated the situation with lies
Essex Police said documents at the couple’s home “built a picture of a woman who was trying desperately to keep her parents from discovering the depth of the financial black hole she continued to dig, while giving them false assurances about her employment and future prospects.”
Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby, head of major crime at the force, described Virginia McCullough as someone who “lied about almost every aspect of her life.”
He labelled her an “intelligent manipulator” who chose to kill her parents callously, without a thought for them or those who continue to suffer as a result of their loss.
The detective called her actions “considered, meticulous and carried out in such a way as to conceal what she had done for as long as possible.” The scale of her deceit was monumental with the detail of the case shocking and horrifying even the most experienced of officers.
Stole huge sums of money from parents
Following the murders, the defendant went into Chelmsford city centre and purchased plastic gloves and sleeping bags on her father’s bank card.
Having hidden the bodies in the house, Lois and John’s daughter would persistently make excuse after excuse, often cancelling family arrangements and telling friends and their doctor that they were either unwell, or had gone away on holiday.
She was found to have benefited from £149,697 which she accumulated from both of their pensions, as well as spending sprees on their credit cards, and selling assets.
GP set off alert
Concern for the welfare of John, who was 70, and Lois, who was 71, were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, after it was noted that they failed repeatedly to collect medication, or attend scheduled appointments.
Eventually, Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred the concerns to police who secured a warrant to search the home Virginia McCullough was living in.
Astonishingly matter-of-fact upon arrest
Upon entering the property, an officer’s body-worn camera captured Ms McCullough admit the murders, telling them: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy”.
In a remarkably calm manner she confessed how she created a “cocktail of drugs” to poison her parents on 17 June 2019, crushing them into alcoholic drinks. The effects were fatal for Mr McCullough, but Mrs McCullough was given a weaker dose, which only sedated her.
In an unbelievably vicious attack, Ms McCullough then beat her mother with a hammer and stabbed her multiple times in the chest with a kitchen knife.
Happily led police to murder weapon
She then proceeded to stash her father’s body in what was described as a “home-made mausoleum” created from masonry blocks, which was covered with blankets, pictures and paintings and placed in his study. Her mother’s body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag in an upstairs wardrobe.
When arrested, McCullough simply said: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually. It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She happily explained to officers where the murder weapon was, even assuring the astonished police that it would still have traces of blood on it.
Hard to comprehend
Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson, sentencing, spoke in a way that suggested he could barely comprehend how a daughter could do as Virginia McCullough had done to her parents.
“You think more of money than you do of humanity. Your parents were entitled to feel safe in their own beds and their own home, and they were entitled to feel safe with their daughter; nevertheless, you made a full, conscious and deliberate decision to murder each of them.”
Family tribute
Richard Butcher, brother of Lois, said in a victim impact statement that his niece was “very dangerous” and that what had happened had “undermined my faith in humanity”.
The family as a whole issued a joint statement, paying tribute to the couple and thanked the county’s police and in particular the investigation team, for their “tireless work”.
Speaking about each of their parents, the statement read: “Our Dad was caring and hard working with a passion for education and writing. As we think of Dad, we remember the numerous jokes he used to tell us and the laughs he gave us.”
Then talking of their mother, they spoke of her kindness and thoughtfulness and her love for her grandchildren. They also touched on her passion for history and the royal family, and explained how she had friends from around the world through her penfriend hobby.
They told how Lois and John had hoped to move to the coast in retirement, such was their love of the seaside. “Our family has been left devastated and heartbroken; Mum and Dad are forever in our hearts, and are loved and missed beyond any measure. We request privacy as we continue to grieve the loss of our dear parents.”
That is an absolutely horrific situation. But where was the family in the several years that their mom/dad/aunt/sister/brother/uncle was missing? Now they remember them as kind, funny, scholarly etc. Where was that sentiment before? Not to minimize what that daughter did, but there’s no way she would have been able to get away with it for so long if there was any contact of ANY kind from the other children