In England, a 36-year-old woman received a life sentence for killing her parents by poisoning. This case, which dates back to 2019, came to light in 2023. The accused woman is Essex resident Virginia McCullough. Chelmsford Crown Court delivered the verdict this week, setting a minimum sentence of 36 years.
The facts date back to 2019, when John and Lois McCullough disappeared. Virginia, living with her parents at the time, was able to cover up their deaths by making up that they had moved to the Clacton area on the Sunshine Coast. The confinement imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic made his lie easier. Witnesses say that “the curtains were always drawn”, which prevented them from seeing what was happening inside.
It was not until September 2023 that a general practitioner noticed the couple’s prolonged absence and alerted the authorities. The bodies were then discovered: John, aged 70, was found buried in a grave made of cinder blocks, while Lois, 71, was hidden in sleeping bags upstairs in the house.
The BBC revealed that Virginia McCullough was in heavy debt, regularly gambling online and spending £21,000 over four years. She allegedly extorted her parents to finance her habits. In total, she embezzled £149,697 from her parents’ pensions and assets.
Confronted with her crimes, Virginia expressed her acceptance of the sentence: “I deserve to get what’s coming to me, sentence by sentence, because it’s the right thing to do and it might bring me some peace.” . »
