A British woman was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for “callously and viciously” killing her parents and stashing their bodies in a “makeshift tomb” and a wardrobe in their home where they remained hidden for four years, according to reports.
Virginia McCullough, 36, will have to spend at least 36 years in prison until she will be eligible for parole in the killings of her father, John, 70, and mother, Lois, 71, in their Chelmsford, Essex, home.
Both parents had been poisoned with prescription drugs, and McCullough also fatally stabbed and beat her mother with a hammer, Essex Police said.
The murders took place around June 2019, but the bodies of the mother and father were not discovered until September 2023 when their doctor began questioning their whereabouts.
“McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address,” said prosecutor Nicola Rice.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parent’s money and accruing large debts in their name,” Rice said.
In court, prosecutor Lisa Wilding said McCullough “built a makeshift tomb” for her father and covered it with “multiple blankets, and a number of pictures and paintings over the top,” Sky News reported.
She concealed the body of her mother “wrapped in a sleeping bag, within a wardrobe in her mother’s bedroom on the top floor of the property,” Wilding said, SkyNews reported.
Essex Police
Essex Police said they were contacted in September 2023 after the parents’ doctor said he had not seen the couple for a while and that they had missed appointments and failed to pick up their medication.
McCullough initially told police that her parents were traveling and would return in October.
But later after officers entered the residence during a search, McCullough said that she would “cooperate,” and told police “My dad’s body is in there,” SkyNews reported.
Asked about her mother, McCullough said: “[That’s] a little bit more complicated… upstairs there are about five wardrobes, it’s behind the bed at the back, next to the sink. It’s the second one” and directed them to where they would find the knife she used.
She also told officers: “Cheer up, at least you caught the bad guy.”
Essex detective Rob Kirby said McCullough carried out a “charade” to deceive family members about her missing parents.
“These were the actions of someone who had taken time to plan and carry out the murder of her parents in the interest of self-preservation and personal gain, before living within meters of the bodies of her two victims for a number of years,” Kirby said.
“The details of this case shock and horrify even the most experienced of murder detectives, let alone any right-thinking member of the public,” he said.
In a joint statement, the family of John and Lois said, “Dad enjoyed lots of hobbies, with particular favorites being golf and snooker.”
“Our Mum was kind, caring and thoughtful. Mum delighted in her grandchildren.”
It went on to say, “Our family has been left devastated and heartbroken at the deaths of our parents who were taken from us so cruelly.”
