Virginia McCullough murders parents, hides bodies for four years

Virginia McCullough, 36, was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of her parents, John and Lois McCullough.

The horrors of her actions remained hidden for four long years, during which neighbors and friends were led to believe that the couple had retired to the seaside.

As police forced their way into McCullough’s home in Great Baddow, Essex, she greeted them with a disturbing calmness. “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy,” she told the officers who handcuffed her, revealing a chilling detachment from the reality of her crimes.

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The façade of a peaceful family life began to crumble in 2019 when relatives noticed increasing secrecy surrounding the McCullough household. Friends were told that John, a retired business studies lecturer, and Lois, 71, had relocated to Clacton. But the grim truth was far more sinister: John had been fatally poisoned and buried in a makeshift grave, while Lois was found hidden away in an upstairs wardrobe, her body showing signs of violent abuse and poisoning.

Phil Sargeant, a neighbor for two decades, remarked on the odd behavior of the family.

“The curtains were always drawn, and you couldn’t see if anybody was in the house,” he said. He described Virginia as “quite pleasant” but also noted her dark sense of humor, making it hard to reconcile her demeanor with the horrific reality of her actions.

The investigation into the McCulloughs’ disappearance began when a GP expressed concern to Essex Police after not seeing the couple for an extended period. Virginia had provided a series of excuses for their absence, including attributing it to Covid-19 lockdowns. However, inconsistencies in her stories raised alarms.

Alan Thomson, who rented a television to the family, sensed something was amiss when Virginia abruptly canceled the rental. “I got the feeling perhaps she was a bit of a fantasist,” he said, reflecting on his disbelief that she could be capable of murder.

When police finally returned to the home in September 2023, Virginia confessed, stating, “I did know that this day would come eventually.” She expressed a chilling acceptance of her fate, saying, “I deserve to get what’s coming, sentence-wise, because that’s the right thing to do and then that might give me a bit of peace.”

Evidence revealed a web of deceit in which Virginia had been living off her parents’ goodwill, racking up significant debts in their names and spending their money on online gambling. In total, she gained £149,697 from her parents’ deaths, using their pensions and credit cards to support her lavish lifestyle.

Local shopkeeper Paul Hastings was also taken aback by Virginia’s eccentric behavior. He recalled her saying, “The police are after me, they think I killed my mum and dad,” which he initially dismissed as her odd nature. Another local, Debbie Pollard, described her shock at the revelation that Virginia had lived with her parents’ remains for so long, saying, “It horrifies me.”

Throughout her court proceedings, Virginia displayed little emotion, only breaking down when confronted with her own words describing the murder of her mother. Det Supt Rob Kirby of Essex Police characterized her as a “considered, meticulous” murderer, highlighting the “vast levels of deceit, betrayal, and fraud” she engaged in.

“McCullough lied about almost every aspect of her life, maintaining a charade to deceive everyone close to her,” he stated. “She is an intelligent and adept manipulator who chose to kill her parents callously and without a thought for them or those who continue to suffer as a result of their loss.”