On October 11, 2024, a life sentence with a minimum of 36 years was handed down to a British woman who killed her parents in their Essex, UK home. The woman lived with their hidden bodies for four years and spent their pensions.
The woman, 36-year-old Virginia McCullough, admitted to the murders of her parents, John McCullough, 70, and Lois McCullough, 71, at the Chelmsford Crown Court. The crime took place in June 2019 in their family home located in Great Baddow, Essex, England.
Prosecutor Lisa Wilding informed the court that Virginia had constructed a makeshift tomb from masonry blocks for her father, a university lecturer. This tomb was placed in a bedroom, covered with blankets and pictures. Virginia’s mother was found wrapped in a sleeping bag in the bedroom wardrobe.
McCullough meticulously planned the murders. She stockpiled prescription drugs and purchased tools to crush these tablets months prior to the killings. Her father was poisoned with these prescription drugs, while her mother was both poisoned and sustained deadly injuries from being struck with a hammer and stabbed.
In the four years that followed the murders, McCullough maintained, as the judge described, an “elaborate, extensive, and enduring web of deceit” to hide her crimes. She kept the family members and doctors in the dark about her parents’ deaths, telling them that her parents were either ill or on trips, and continued to live in the family home with their bodies.
McCullough profited financially from the murders, spending over $186,000 from her parents’ pensions and credit cards. Court records revealed that she spent $26,500 on online gambling. She lived rent-free and racked up substantial credit card debts under her parents’ names, forging letters to give the impression they had lost money due to scams.
The crimes were discovered in September 2023 when the couple’s doctor raised concerns about their missed appointments, which initiated a police investigation. Upon her arrest, McCullough confessed to the murders, stating she started planning them in March 2019.
The presiding judge, Mr. Justice (Jeremy) Johnson, stated that McCullough’s actions were a grave betrayal of the trust that parents should be able to have in their children.
The judge pointed out that the crimes showed a high level of premeditation and planning. McCullough had amassed a large amount of prescription drugs, bought a knife in May 2019, and acquired tools to crush and separate tablets.
He described the offenses as intentional aggression that was premeditated and planned over many months.
During McCullough’s sentencing, the judge expressed certainty that a significant motive for both murders was to stop her parents from discovering her theft and deception and to gain access to money that was meant for them.
