A British woman who murdered her parents in their Essex, UK home and lived alongside their concealed bodies for four years while spending their pensions was sentenced on October 11, 2024, to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years.
Virginia McCullough, 36, pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court to murdering her parents, John McCullough, 70, and Lois McCullough, 71, in June 2019 at their family home in Great Baddow, Essex, England.
Prosecutor Lisa Wilding told the court that Virginia “built a makeshift tomb” out of masonry blocks for her father, a university lecturer. The tomb was kept in the bedroom and covered in blankets and pictures. Her mother was wrapped in a sleeping bag in a bedroom wardrobe.
The murders were meticulously planned, with McCullough accumulating prescription drugs and purchasing implements to crush tablets months before the killings. She poisoned her father with prescription medication, while her mother was both poisoned and suffered fatal injuries from being struck with a hammer and stabbed.
For four years following the murders, McCullough maintained what the judge called “an elaborate, extensive, and enduring web of deceit” to cover up her crimes. She told family members and doctors that her parents were either unwell or away on trips while continuing to live in the family home with their bodies.
McCullough benefited financially from the murders, spending over $186,000 from her parents’ pensions and credit cards. Court records showed she spent $26,500 on online gambling alone. She had been living rent-free and accumulated large credit card debts in her parents’ names, forging letters to make it appear they had lost money through scams.
The crimes came to light in September 2023 when the couple’s doctor raised concerns about missed appointments, leading to a police investigation. Upon her arrest, McCullough confessed to the murders, stating she had been planning them since March 2019.
The judge, Mr. Justice Johnson, described McCullough’s actions as a severe breach of the trust that should exist between parents and their children.
He stated that the crimes demonstrated a significant level of premeditation and planning, as McCullough had stockpiled a large quantity of prescription drugs, purchased a knife in May 2019, and obtained tools to crush and separate tablets.
He characterized the offenses as deliberate aggression that followed months of planning and preparation.
While sentencing McCullough, he expressed certainty that a major motive for both murders was to prevent her parents from discovering her theft and deceit and to gain access to money that was meant for them.