Moment calm woman who killed parents tells cops ‘cheer up, you got the bad guy’

The following morning, she put on gardening gloves from Wilko and struck her mum with a hammer as she sat in bed listening to the radio.In total she benefited from more than £135,000 following her parents’ murder.

Virginia McCullough chillingly told police she had murdered her parents
Virginia McCullough chillingly told police she had murdered her parents
John and Lois McCullough had not been seen since August 2018
John and Lois McCullough had not been seen since August 2018
McCullough has been jailed for life
McCullough has been jailed for lifeCredit: PA

In fact the only emotion she showed is when she mentions the bloody hammer she used to murder her defenceless mum. And even then there’s not a real tear in sight. “Yeah, I know. I know but I’m trying to help so you find everything. It will still have blood on it. It’s rusted but will still have traces on it.”She adds: “I did know this would kind of come eventually. It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”“Their love for the seaside was so great, they were hoping to move to the coast in their retirement years. Mum and Dad always enjoyed the time they spent with us, family was their pride and joy.

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Twisted McCullough then hid her dad’s body in a “makeshift tomb” in a ground floor bedroomShe also killed her 70-year-old dad-of-five John by poisoning him with a “cocktail” of prescription medication crushed into his drink.She poisoned her dad, who suffered from diabetes, then left him to die before going to bed.McCullough had “manipulated and abused her parents’ good will for financial gain” and lied about her own success.

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A post mortem found John had a number of medications in his system that had not been prescribed to him.Virginia McCullough stabbed her mum Lois, 71, multiple times and hit her with a hammer “like someone badly playing a xylophone” at their home in Chelmsford, Essex.McCullough had stacked masonry blocks together, which were secured with filler, to make the tomb then covered it with blankets and paintings.“Dad enjoyed lots of hobbies, with particular favourites being golf and snooker. As we think of Dad, we remember the numerous jokes he used to tell us and the laughs he gave us.The killer would claim her parents had gone on holiday and hid behind the Covid lockdown to shoo away concerned relatives.The footage then switches to the killer in a custody suite giving detailed instructions about where they can find the knife she used to murder her mum.She was interviewed but officers were unaware the bodies were inside and no search was carried out as there was no indication of anything suspicious.

McCullough calmly told police where her parents bodies were
McCullough calmly told police where her parents bodies were
She says she deserves what is coming to her
She says she deserves what is coming to her
The killer later broke down while in custody
The killer later broke down while in custody

McCullough then points down the hallway before asking: “Can we go in there for a second just so I can tell you something?She the chillingly adds: “Cheer up, at least you caught the bad guy.McCullough interrupts and tells him “it’s a double wardrobe” before signing the account.“Mum and Dad loved their trips to the seaside together, where they enjoyed many walks and visited lots of different attractions.This was due to her “lack of emotional empathy, together with the callous nature of the fatal assaults”.I’ve seen bodycam arrest footage where murderers feign surprise, ask for a cigarette, break down and a fair few “you’re joking” outbursts directed at police.He said that while she had traits of autism spectrum disorder she “knew what she was doing was wrong”.McCullough later admits her parents’ bank card, which has been using “over the last few years”, is in her handbag.There were also 11 layers of “plastic and other material” covering his body, which was wrapped in a sleeping bag.

John and Lois’ devastated family pay tribute

Police even visited the home on August 18 last year for a welfare check.“She had friends from around the world through her penfriend hobby, many of whom she had written to for several decades. Mum had a passion for history, and maintained a keen interest in the royal family.Thank God the police – in McCullough’s own words – caught the bad guy because who knows how long she would have carried on living in that house of horrors with Lois and John unable to rest in peace.She appears eerily calm as she tells officers “I’ll cooperate” while they handcuff her.Chillingly, McCullough didn’t flinch as she walked police past the bedroom where her dad had lain dead for four years.A missing person’s enquiry was launched but McCullough claimed her parents were travelling and would be back in October.”I need to tell you something about what’s upstairs on the top floor as well.”In a joint statement, the family of John and Lois said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Essex Police, and in particular the Major Investigation Team for their tireless work in trying to achieve the best possible justice for our beloved parents.“The details of this case shock and horrify even the most experienced of murder detectives, let alone any right-thinking member of the public.The officers and McCullough make their way past a wooden door, where the killer says: “My dad’s body is in there”.Voice cracking, the monster adds: “So on the ground floor underneath the stairs, there’s a few like storage boxes and things and in the middle, I think it’s in both boxes or in a bag or something…if you want to shush after this I will but every bit helps…it’s a hammer.She continued her deceit after their deaths by constantly lying about her mum and dad’s whereabouts in a twisted bid to cover her tracks.

Most killers just continue lying in the hope their deceit will see them through to a not guilty verdict.Chilling footage has now been released of the moment McCullough was finally arrested at the home where she lived with her parents’ rotting bodies.McCullough seemed more bothered by the sleeves on her top than the gruesome revelation she was making.”I deserve to get whatever’s coming sentence-wise because that’s the right thing to do and that might give me a bit of peace.”While Lois had suffered eight stab wounds to her neck, shoulder and chest.“We would also like to thank other specialist services for their invaluable contribution to this investigation, and to everyone who has supported our family over the last year.With her blonde bob and pink sweatshirt, you could be forgiven for thinking McCullough is simply gossiping with her neighbours about something gruesome she read in a local Facebook group.He added: “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.Despite brutally murdering both her parents in cold blood there is nothing that suggests even the slightest glimpse of remorse.Evil MCullough has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years.The court heard she murdered her parents “in cold blood” in the summer of 2019.Suspicious police then started a murder investigation and stormed the house to finally arrest McCullough.She even signed her confession like she was signing for an Amazon package.Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby from Essex Police, said McCullough murdered her parents “in the interest of self-preservation and personal gain”.

Never have I seen a killer so calmly confess to their gruesome crimes

THIS is the chilling moment an eerily calm woman who slaughtered her parents told police: “Cheer up, you caught the bad guy”.McCullough tells the officers they can find her Lois’ body in a wardrobe “behind the bed at the back next to a sink”.On the the day after the fatal attack on her mum, she sent one of her four sisters a text from Lois’ phone that read: “your dad and I are at the seaside in walton this week. Mum x”.“We request privacy as we continue to grieve the loss of our dear parents.”All the while, she was using their bank cards to spend their hard-earned pensions – splurging £21,193 on gambling.Never so calmly has a monster admitted to their crimes with such brutal honesty that even the cops are telling her to stop.Even when she is warned by the officers they can’t question her properly yet, McCullough continues to reveal all about her gruesome crimes.“She is an intelligent manipulator who chose to kill her parents callously, without a thought for them or those who continue to suffer as a result of their loss.IN all my years reporting on some of the most high-profile court cases, I have never seen a confession as chilling as Virginia McCullough’s.Her web of lies finally unravelled in September 2023 when a worried GP raised the alarm over missed appointments.“Our Dad was caring and hardworking and he had a passion for education and writing. He worked tirelessly in his career in university education, which spanned many years.McCullough shows her first hint of emotion as she tells police what she believes is the “most grisly detail”.

They discovered a “homemade mausoleum” where John’s body had been entombed.“Our Mum was kind, caring and thoughtful. Mum delighted in her grandchildren.She previously admitted murdering the pair between June 17 and June 20, 2019 – although the couple had not been seen alive since the previous August.“As we try to move forward with our lives, we will remember the happy times we enjoyed with them.The court was told Professor Nigel Blackwood, the psychiatrist who assessed McCullough, found her behaviour following the horror was “more typically found in psychopathic personalities”.After deciding the hammer was “too messy”, McCullough got a kitchen knife and stabbed Lois, who she described as a “happiness hoover”, eight times in the chest and neck.Their bodies lay undiscovered for four years until police were called following a concern for welfare report in September 2023.“Our family has been left devastated and heartbroken at the deaths of our parents who were taken from us so cruelly.One officer then relays the information to her – stating how John’s body is under the bed in a ground floor room and Lois is “upstairs in a cupboard next to the sink”.By Holly Christodoulou, Digital Court Editor“Our Mum and Dad are forever in our hearts, and are loved and missed beyond any measure.As the group stands in a separate room, she is asked about her mum but explains it’s a “little bit more complicated”.The following day, she wrapped her mum in a sleeping bag and left her in an upstairs wardrobe.

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“It therefore follows that the wider family of John and Lois, understandably, could never have guessed or anticipated that McCullough would be capable of undertaking these murders before committing herself to this level of deceit.”Lois begged “what are you doing?” as she desperately tried to protect herself from the blows.

McCullough stabbed her mum to death and poisoned her dad
McCullough stabbed her mum to death and poisoned her dadCredit: PA
She then used her parents' bank cards after getting into debt
She then used her parents’ bank cards after getting into debtCredit: PA

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