Daughter who murdered parents built makeshift tomb inside home, court told

A girl murdered her parents past lived alongside their bodies for 4 years, with her father’s assemblage recovered successful a “homemade mausoleum” successful his bedroom, a tribunal has heard.

Virginia McCullough poisoned her begetter John McCullough, aged 70 astatine the clip of his death, with medicine medicine that she crushed and enactment into his alcoholic drinks, authoritative Lisa Wilding KC said.

The pursuing day, connected June 18 2019, McCullough “beat her parent with a hammer and stabbed her aggregate times successful the thorax with a room weapon bought for the purpose”, the barrister said.

Lois McCullough was 71 astatine the clip of her death, and the 36-year-old suspect continued to unrecorded astatine the location successful Pump Hill successful Great Baddow, Essex, afterwards.

McCullough “built a makeshift tomb” for her father, who had worked arsenic a assemblage lecturer astatine Anglia Ruskin University, Ms Wilding told Chelmsford Crown Court.

The structure, successful a crushed level country of the household home, which had been Mr McCullough’s chamber and study, was “composed with masonry blocks stacked together”.

It formed a “rectangular tomb” and was “covered with aggregate blankets, and a fig of pictures and paintings implicit the top”, Ms Wilding said.

“She concealed the assemblage of her mother, wrapped successful a sleeping bag, wrong a wardrobe successful her mother’s chamber connected the apical level of the property,” the barrister said.

Her actions were uncovered aft her parents’ GPs raised concerns implicit missed appointments and constabulary forced introduction to the location connected September 15 2023.

She had told persistent lies astir their whereabouts, often telling doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, connected vacation oregon distant connected lengthy trips.

McCullough gave a elaborate account, to officers successful custody aft her arrest, of however she had killed her parents.

The defendant, who has shoulder-length dyed blonde hairsbreadth and wore a purple dress, wept successful the unafraid dock of the tribunal arsenic this relationship was work to the tribunal by the prosecutor.

A custody serviceman brought McCullough a container of tissues and she wiped tears from her eyes.

Ms Wilding said the suspect “had been reasoning astir sidesplitting her parents since March 2019 and had been readying for it”.

She said that McCullough “has not been employed for galore years”.

The authoritative said the suspect “engaged successful online gambling” and spent £21,193 successful transactions related to gambling betwixt June 1 2018 and September 14 2023.

Ms Wilding said that McCullough “made arrangements to guarantee that she continued to bask the payment of the pensions that continued to beryllium paid successful their names” aft the deaths of her parents.

The authoritative said McCullough “benefited from” £59,664.01 from the authorities pension and £76,334.58 from Mr McCullough’s Teacher’s Pension betwixt June 18 2019 and September 15 2023.

Ms Wilding said wealth appeared to person been “frittered distant and the probe has not revealed immoderate expenditure connected expensive, luxury oregon extravagant items”.

McCullough admitted to murdering her parents betwixt June 17 2019 and June 20 2019 astatine an earlier proceeding astatine Chelmsford Crown Court.

Richard Butcher, member of Lois McCullough, said successful a unfortunate interaction connection that his niece – the suspect – was “very dangerous” and that what had happened had “undermined my religion successful humanity”.

The sentencing proceeding continues.