Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, then stabbed her 71-year-old mother Lois McCullough through the chest before hiding them both in their house in Chelmsford.
A woman who murdered her parents then lived alongside their bodies for four years as she stole almost £150,000 of money in their names is facing a life sentence.
She stuffed her father's body in a 'makeshift tomb' disguised as a bed on the ground floor and secreted her mother's remains in a wardrobe upstairs. McCullough stabbed them to death at the home in Pump Hill, Chelmsford, before continuing to live there as if nothing had happened Read More Artist who murdered her parents and hid their bodies at her home for years told neighbours they 'moved to the seaside' - as locals say 'she was a little bit odd' and would 'suddenly appear for chats at 10pm' McCullough cut her own finger during the savage attack - and tried to pass it off as an accident from chopping vegetables after she went to the GP with the injury, which would not stop bleeding.
Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC said: 'Between June 17 and 18 2019, Virginia McCullough murdered both of her parents. 'Her actions were, on her own admission, the culmination of months of thought and planning which began in March 2019.' Both were described in court as being 'functional rather than affectionate' parents who nevertheless 'did love and care for their children' despite being 'old fashioned in their ways, not prone to displaying affection'. They slept in separate beds.
She resented her mother, the court heard, branding her a 'happiness hoover' who would smack her while bathing her as a child. 'It was pretty much either do it or you’re gonna be arrested anyway for the murder of your father, you’re gonna go to prison,' she had said. In October 2022, she called police pretending to be her mother, saying that she and her father had been staying at different family addresses, and made 185 calls to the GP surgery, including calls in which she pretended to be her mother.
The structure was made from masonry blocks and wooden panels secured together with white filler. The structure was covered with multiple blankets, with pictures and paintings on top. Forensic police at the scene of the crime last September. McCullough told officers immediately where they could find her parents' bodies
'I couldn't comprehend what has happened and still can't. I believed I was in communication with Lois, John and Virginia before hearing the awful news.'I can never get this time back with my sister and her husband. My biggest fear is that Virginia is dangerous, and she will now have a lot of time to plan something else.'
She had been warned to expect a life sentence when she admitted their murders in July, appearing then via video link from HMP Peterborough. Locals living around Pump Hill in September last year had described McCullough as 'quite chatty' and a 'little bit odd'.
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