VIRGINIA McCullough murdered her parents in 2019, hid their bodies and lived with their mummified remains for years.
She was jailed for life in 2024 — the case is examined in Channel 5’s Killed by Our Daughter: The McCullough Murders.
Living a lie
Virginia McCullough lived with her parents, John and Lois McCullough in Great Baddow, in Essex.
Whilst living with John and Lois, McCullough began to spend their pensions and ran up large debts on credit cards in their names.
She was trying to conceal a financial black hole that she had created, whilst lying to them about her employment prospects.
McCullough even claimed that her painting hobby would yield huge financial benefits in the future, which she would use to look after her parents.
According to Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby: “McCullough lied about almost every aspect of her life, maintaining a charade to deceive everyone close to her and clearly taking advantage of her parents’ good will.”;
Cold-blooded murder
McCullough decided to murder her parents in 2019.
She poisoned her father, John, using prescription medication and struck her mother with a hammer before fatally stabbing her.
It was later revealed that Lois had also been poisoned with prescription medication.
After committing her horrific crime. McCullough went to great lengths to conceal her parents’ bodies.
She told her parents’ friends, relatives and GPs a range of lies about John and Lois’ whereabouts, including claims that they were unwell or were on holiday.
This led neighbours to become suspicious, when they didn’t see John and Lois leaving their house.
A GP raised a welfare concern after not seeing either John or Lois, prompting a missing persons investigation.
McCullough initially claimed that her parents were traveling, but police eventually decided to launch a murder investigation.
A chilling confession
A police search of McCullough’s home, in September 2023, found that John’s body had been hidden in a tomb of breeze blocks and blankets.
This led neighbours to become suspicious, when they didn’t see John and Lois leaving their house.
A GP raised a welfare concern after not seeing either John or Lois, prompting a missing persons investigation.
McCullough initially claimed that her parents were traveling, but police eventually decided to launch a murder investigation.
A chilling confession
A police search of McCullough’s home, in September 2023, found that John’s body had been hidden in a tomb of breeze blocks and blankets.
The tomb was covered with McCullough’s paintings.
Lois was found hidden behind some bedding in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough instantly confessed to the murder of her parents and was subsequently arrested at the family home.
Whilst being handcuffed, she said “cheer up, at least you've caught the bad guy”;.
She added: “I did know that this day would come eventually.
“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.”
It was later revealed that she had spent £21,000 on online gambling between 2019 and 2023 and that she had benefitted from over £149,697 of her parent's money.
Life behind bars
In court, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Nicola Rice said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“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.
“Working with the police we built a strong prosecution case to show the level of McCullough’s deceit both before and after the killings, which helped deliver a guilty plea, thereby sparing the victims’ loved ones the pain of a trial.
“This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”;
McCullough was convicted for the murder of her parents at the age of 36 and she will spend at least 36 years behind bars before she is eligible for parole.
Killed by Our Daughter: The McCullough Murders
The documentary explores the chilling case of McCullough, who murdered her parents and lived with their bodies for four years.
Killed by Our Daughter: The McCullough Murders delves into how Virginia planned and executed the murders in June 2019, before concealing their bodies and living with their decaying remains for four years.
It looks at the charade Virginia maintained — that her parents were alive — and how she tried to fabricate evidence supporting this, including sending fake messages and claiming their pensions.
The true crime show follows every twist, turn and revelation of this shocking case.
You can catch Killed by Our Daughter: The McCullough Murders on Wednesday, March 26 at 10.15 pm on Channel 5.
