Virginia McCullough: Killer tells police 'you caught the bad guy' after murdering parents

A woman has been sentenced to life in prison after murdering her parents “in cold blood” and then hiding their bodies in the family home while she lived with them for four years and spent their money.

“Clever manipulator” Virginia McCullough killed 70-year-old John McCullough and 71-year-old Lois McCullough in 2019 and then placed them in “makeshift graves.”

On Friday, she was convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court to life with a minimum of 36 years behind bars.

Police said the “massive levels of deceit, betrayal and fraud in which she engaged” were on a “shocking and monumental scale”.

When officers forced their way into the house in Great Baddow, Essex, she confessed that her parents’ bodies were there and that she had killed them, adding that she didn’t “look 100% evil”.

McCullough, handcuffed, said in a body-worn police video: “I knew this was going to happen eventually.

“It is appropriate that I serve my punishment.”

She said she put something in her father’s drink and placed his body under a bed downstairs, and placed her mother’s body in a wardrobe upstairs.

McCullough, after being arrested on suspicion of double homicide, told a police officer: “Cheer up, at least you caught the bad guy.”

She continued, “I know I don’t look 100% bad.”

The murders

In June 2019, McCullough, 36, poisoned her father with prescription medication that she crushed and put in his alcoholic drinks.

The next day, she hit Lois McCullough with a hammer and stabbed her to death.

The judge, Justice Johnson, said he was certain the crimes involved a “substantial degree of pre-meditation and planning”.

He said McCullough “accumulated a large quantity of prescription medication” over three months and in May 2019 she “purchased a knife as well as instruments for crushing and separating tablets”.

Hiding the bodies

After the murders, McCullough hid their bodies in makeshift tombs in the family home, the court heard.

Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC said McCullough built a structure for his father’s body in a downstairs room that had been his bedroom and office.

It was “composed of masonry blocks stacked against each other,” forming a “rectangular tomb” that was “covered with several blankets and a series of photos and paintings on top,” Wilding said.

McCullough hid his mother’s body by wrapping it in a sleeping bag and storing it in a wardrobe in a bedroom on the top floor of the property, the lawyer added.

Spending parents’ money

McCullough ran up large credit card debts in her parents’ names, and after their deaths she continued to spend their pensions.

Ms Wilding said McCullough “has not worked for many years”.

Police said the documents found in the house “constructed the picture of a woman who was desperately trying to prevent her parents from discovering the depth of the financial black hole she continued to dig, while at the same time giving them false assurances about her employment and future prospects.” ”.

The prosecutor said the defendant “engaged in online gambling” and spent £21,193 on gambling-related transactions between 1 June 2018 and 14 September 2023.

Wilding said McCullough “took steps to ensure that she continued to enjoy the benefits of the pensions that continued to be paid in their names” after her parents’ deaths.

McCullough “benefited” from £59,664.01 of the state pension and £76,334.58 of Mr McCullough’s teacher’s pension between June 18, 2019 and September 15, 2023, according to the prosecutor.

Wilding said the money appeared to have been “wasted and the investigation did not reveal any expenditure on expensive, luxurious or extravagant items.”

Telling lies

The court heard that the killer told persistent lies about their whereabouts, frequently telling doctors and family that her parents were unwell, were on holiday or on long trips.

The judge said McCullough “encompassed and maintained” an “elaborate, extensive and enduring web of deception” over months and years.

Fears raised

A GP raised concerns about the couple’s welfare in September 2023, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred them to the police.

The GP had not seen the pair for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and had failed to attend his scheduled appointments.

It turned out that McCullough frequently canceled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain his father’s absence.

Read more on Sky News:
Man missing after boat capsizes in Thames
Port giant’s £1 billion investment suspended

Police investigation

A missing person investigation was initially initiated by police and McCullough lied to officers, claiming his parents were traveling and would return in October.

It later turned into a murder investigation, and when cops forced their way into the house on September 15, 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were there and that she had killed them.

In the dock, McCullough began to cry as the prosecution read a report she gave to police describing the moments before she killed her mother.

She told police: “(His mother) looked so innocent with her back to the wall.

“She was listening to the radio, she wasn’t doing anything.”

McCullough also told officers that she needed to “build up the courage” to kill her mother as “I knew I had to do it.”

She admitted murdering her parents between June 17, 2019 and June 20, 2019 at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Police reaction after the sentence

Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby, of Essex Police, said: “Virginia McCullough murdered her parents in cold blood.

“Her actions were considered, meticulous and executed in such a way as to hide what she had done for as long as possible.”

He added: “She is a clever manipulator who chose to callously kill her parents without thinking about them or those who continue to suffer as a result of their loss.”