A twisted daughter who coldly murdered her elderly parents and lived with their decomposing bodies for four years sneered at arresting officers: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her dad, John, 70, and stabbed her mum, Lois, 71, in their home in Great Baddow, Essex, before stashing their bodies in makeshift graves. Their remains were discovered in sleeping bags in September 2023 – years after McCullough killed them in a bid to hide spiralling debts and milk their pensions.
Jailed for life at Chelmsford Crown Court in October, McCullough showed no remorse as she was ordered to spend at least 36 years behind bars. Kevin Moore, a retired chief superintendent and former head of CID, described remorseless McCullough as born “evil”.
He said: “Throughout my long career involved in many murder investigations I have encountered numerous horrendous cases in terms of the level of violence used. However, for sheer callousness and brutality, especially considering the relationship between the offender and the victims in the McCullough case, I can honestly say that this has to be one of the worst I have either experienced or been aware of. I actually believe that some people are just evil, and I think that Virginia McCullough fits that category.”
Inside ‘disturbing’ mind of Virginia McCullough who killed both parents and hid their bodies at home
John and Lois’ remains were discovered in sleeping bags in September 2023 – years after McCullough killed them
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McCullough first poisoned her father with crushed pills slipped into his drink in June 2019, testing the concoction on him like a “guinea pig”. Days later, she bludgeoned and stabbed her mum to death, fearing she would uncover the crime. Callously, McCullough quipped to police about her brutal attack: “When I was hitting her it was like someone badly playing the xylophone, it was willy-nilly.”
John McCullough’s body was found encased in a “homemade mausoleum” of masonry blocks in his study, while Lois’s remains were discovered stuffed in a sleeping bag inside a wardrobe. The depraved killer even used her father’s bank card to buy sleeping bags and gloves to hide the gruesome evidence.
McCullough told doctors and friends her parents were “unwell” or “on holiday” to explain their absence
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McCullough told doctors and friends her parents were “unwell” or “on holiday” to explain their absence, using lockdown restrictions as cover for her lies. “Covid restrictions were a stroke of luck for this defendant in pursuing the deception that her parents were still alive,” prosecutor Lisa Wilding, KC, said, revealing how the pandemic helped McCullough continue her sick charade.
McCullough devoted up to eight hours a day keeping up pretences, texting her siblings from her dead mum’s phone with excuses. She sent pre-printed Moonpig birthday cards and postcards from Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, where she claimed her parents had moved to. And McCullough went so far as to impersonate her mum in a phone call to one of her sisters and wrote letters to her uncle, posing as Lois.
The home where her hideous crimes were discovered
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Her crimes only came to light when GP flagged concerns that they hadn’t seen her parents, and their prescriptions hadn’t been collected. When she was finally confronted by police, body-worn footage filmed McCullough admit the murder and tell officers: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy”.
Detectives branded McCullough as a manipulative liar, who weaved a “shocking web of deceit” to cover up the murders while splurging £149,000 of her parents’ money, including £21,000 on online gambling.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson said: “You think more of money than you do of humanity. Your parents were entitled to feel safe in their own beds and their own home, and they were entitled to feel safe with their daughter. You, nevertheless, made a full, conscious and deliberate decision to murder each of your parents.” The McCulloughs’ grieving family said Virginia’s actions had “undermined faith in humanity.” Essex Police ’s Det Supt Rob Kirby admitted even hardened murder detectives were left “shocked and horrified” by the case.
Dena Thompson was dubbed the ‘Black Widow’ after murdering her husband
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Richard Thompson, 42, leaves Lewes Crown Court, West Sussex
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‘Black widow’
Dena Thompson was dubbed the ‘Black Widow’ after murdering her husband with a poisoned curry on his birthday.
Thompson laced second husband Julian Webb’s dinner with a lethal dose of antidepressants before attempting to cash in on a £36,000 death benefit.
Her 1994 killing was exposed by police six years later – after she was accused of trying to kill her third husband, Richard Thompson.
The serial swindler, 64, who targeted lonely, single men, was jailed for 16 years in 2003.
Following her conviction, Detective Chief Inspector Martyn Underhill said: “This woman is every man’s nightmare, the most dangerous woman I have ever met.”
Jeremy Bamber shot dead five members of his family
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Bamber, 63, murdered adopted parents Nevill and June, both 61
White House Farm murders
Jeremy Bamber shot dead five members of his family in the notorious White House Farm murders.
Bamber, 63, murdered adopted parents Nevill and June, both 61, sister Sheila Caffell, 28, plus six-year-old nephews Daniel and Nicholas.
He then placed the rifle and a bible on Sheila’s chest to imply she had committed the murders before killing herself.
But police pointed the finger at Bamber, who stood to inherit his wealthy parents’ farmhouse in Tolleshunt d’Arcy, Essex.
His fingerprints were later found on the gun and his girlfriend, Julia Mugford, revealed he had talked about killing his parents.
Bamber, who maintains his innocence, is serving a whole life sentence with no prospect of parole.
Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed who were both found guilty of murder
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Couple murdered ‘westernised’ Muslim daughter
A couple murdered their “westernised” Muslim daughter because they believed her conduct brought shame on the family.
Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed were jailed for life nine years after the honour killing of 17-year-old Shafilea in 2003.
The teenager was suffocated with a plastic bag in front of her brother and sisters at her home in Warrington, Cheshire, after enduring a long campaign of domestic violence.
Shafilea’s parents could not tolerate the life which she wanted to live – to dress like her friends, have boyfriends and socialise with the “white community”.
They killed her just months after she evaded a forced marriage in Pakistan.
Her body, dumped in the Lake District, was found a year later – with her parents leading the community in mourning.
They were each jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years.
Jerome Ellis (L), then just 14, and brother Joshua Ellis, 23, murdered Neil Tulley, 54
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Baby-faced killer
A baby-faced killer stabbed his stepfather to death on the living room sofa. Jerome Ellis, then just 14, and brother Joshua Ellis, 23, murdered Neil Tulley, 54, as he slept in Guildford, Surrey, in 2013.
Once they had killed him, the brothers ran into a nearby forest where they planned to take their own lives. But the boys did not go through with it, and were arrested by police after confessing to a local bell ringer: “We’re killers.”
Joshua was convicted of murder and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 14 years. Jerome was found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of loss of control. He now lives with a different name under a new identity.