A woman has pleaded guilty to her parents’ murders after “confessing to poisoning her father with prescription medication and stabbing her mother”.
Virginia McCullough, 36, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court via prison video link on Thursday, pleading guilty to the murders of John and Lois McCullough, both in their 70s. The defendant, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, acknowledged killing the couple between June 17 and June 20, 2019.
According to Essex Police, McCullough admitted to killing her parents at their home in Pump Hill in the summer of 2019, concealing their bodies within the property, and continuing to reside there. To disguise her tracks, she repeated relentless lies about their whereabouts, routinely informing physicians and relatives that her parents were ill, on vacation, or gone on long vacations, Essex Police said.
Her actions were discovered after her parents’ GPs expressed concern about missed appointments in 2023, and police executed a warrant at the Pump Hill house on September 15, 2023.
She later confessed to poisoning her father with prescription drugs and stabbing her mother shortly after, according to the police. McCullough, who wore a grey top when she appeared in court via video link on Thursday, spoke to confirm her name, enter a guilty plea to both counts, and declare she understood the judge’s remarks.
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Judge Christopher Morgan stated, “You will understand that there is a single sentence that can be imposed on you in these circumstances. However, consideration must be given to the minimal term.”
An inquest into the death of Lois McCullough, 75, previously heard that she died from knife wounds to the chest.
In October of last year, Essex County Coroner Michelle Brown announced that Lois McCullough’s provisional cause of death was “stab wounds to the chest”.
She reported that “human remains believed to be” 74-year-old John McCullough were discovered at the same spot.
Ms Brown stated that his provisional cause of death was “pending further investigation”.
The inquests into their deaths were opened and deferred.
Detective Inspector Lydia George of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate stated, “At the heart of this investigation are John and Lois – and their entire family.”
“Virginia’s actions have had a major and emotional impact on the family unit, and our thoughts today are primarily with them.
“We have worked very closely with them and supported them from the outset as we established the circumstances around John and Lois’ deaths and gathered the evidence which has led to today’s guilty pleas.”
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Ms George continued, “Clearly, this was a highly complicated investigation from the start.
“Officers were faced with an extremely difficult scene and worked at the address for several days to conduct forensic investigations.
“This involved expertise and insight from several teams across the force and it is thanks to the work of dozens of dedicated officers and staff that we were able to bring this tragic case to court and, now, a satisfactory conviction.”
McCullough was characterized as “quite chatty” and a “little bit odd” by residents of Pump Hill in September last year.
A worker at a nearby shop, who wanted not to be identified, said McCullough informed him her parents had relocated to the coast.
He stated that he had not seen them since before the Covid-19 outbreak, but that “I would see them two or three times per week” earlier.
The worker stated that he did not speak much with her parents, but they “seemed nice, normal people”.
“We were told they had moved to be near the seaside,” he stated, adding that McCullough informed him.
“We’re all shocked, we didn’t think she was capable of this.”
He stated that McCullough would chat with workers in the local shops and purchase them items.
“If anything she was just like a pest,” stated the man.
“She would be talking about the problems she had in the street.”
He described her as being a “little bit odd sometimes”, pointing out: “She would come in and go ‘do you want a coffee’ then five minutes later there would be a coffee sitting there.”
He claimed she had told him she was pregnant, and he didn’t know whether to trust her.
According to neighbor Phil Sargent, McCullough was “quite chatty” and “would always come and descend on you”.
“It would be a fair comment to say she was slightly irrational with her thinking,” he told me.
“She didn’t appear to be a threat of any kind.”
He told you that McCullough “would buy you things, gifts and leave them outside your door – stuff from the Chinese takeaway, regularly”.
“She would all of a sudden appear at 10 pm and want to talk,” he informed me.
“If you were heading out, she’d see you and come out.
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“You would get this story or other on what’s happening to her and her world, most of it was just made up.”
Another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, characterized McCullough as “pleasant”, “generous”, and an “artist”, adding that he had not seen her parents in at least two years.
Neighbor Dave Oldershaw claimed McCullough had been “carrying on, going up to the Chinese (takeaway) like nothing had happened.”
He stated that he “thought she lived on her own” at the house, adding, “I only knew her to say hello to – she wasn’t trouble.”
McCullough will be sentenced on October 10 and 11.