An elderly couple who were murdered in cold blood by one of their daughters as she helped herself to £150,000 in their name were ‘quiet’ and ‘dowdy’ people who kept to themselves, according to locals who knew them before they disappeared.

John and Lois McCullough, 70 and 71, were killed by daughter Virginia at their home in Chelmsford after she racked up £60,000 in debts while pretending she had a full-time job as a web designer.

The 36-year-old schemed to kill them over several months before she slipped prescription medicine into their drinks in June 2019, killing Mr McCullough in his sleep. She then battered her mother with a hammer the next day before stabbing her eight times.

McCullough, described in court as showing signs of a personality disorder, then bundled her loving parents’ bodies up into sleeping bags and barricaded them away for four and a half years in a wardrobe and a makeshift tomb fashioned like a bed.

The couple, who had raised her from birth, were in such a state of decomposition when they were discovered that they could only be identified via dental records.

It was a tragic end for a couple described by locals in Great Baddow as quiet and largely reclusive.

The McCullough’s other daughters, meanwhile, are still in mourning for their parents, whom they described as caring, thoughtful and hardworking.

Today, after she admitted murder, a judge sentenced Virginia to serve a minimum of 36 years in prison for what he called a ‘gross violation of the trust between parents and their children’.

Mr Justice Johnson said: ‘You say you murdered them because you felt trapped. The reality is you were trapped only by your own dishonest behaviour.’

The court heard McCullough is the youngest of five daughters born to John and Lois. The other four moved away while Virginia remained at home.

Mr McCullough, a university lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University and published author, was ‘on the autistic spectrum’ and ‘very much a man of routine’.

Mrs McCullough, meanwhile, was described by her children as having ‘OCD which would manifest as cleaning with disinfectant’. 

There were rules about who used which towel in the bathroom and separating laundry for example. The siblings said Mrs McCullough had a fear of microscopic germs. 

She had a pen-pal up until her death, with whom she corresponded about what she believed were fraudulent bank transactions and scams – but had in fact been perpetuated by her own daughter.

A friend of Mr McCullough’s was left shocked at his decision to leave without notice, considering they had met most Fridays for a drink at the local White Horse pub. But again, trusting locals didn’t think to call his daughter’s bluff.

Phil Sargeant, who said the couple had already lived in their home for some time when he moved to the area 20 years ago, was told by Mr McCullough that he was a retired business studies lecturer at Chelmsford College.

‘Her parents were quiet and kept to themselves. They didn’t really mix at all,’ he said.

‘If you did see him, he would be scurrying around and looking busy. He would march out of his door and be off.

‘The mum was very dowdy and seemed to be shy, introverted and downtrodden. She would walk along, looking down at the pavement and not making eye contact with anyone.’

Born at the tail end of the 1940s, the couple were described by their other children as being ‘old fashioned in their ways… not prone to displaying affection’. 

This extended to how they raised their children – extolling the virtues of discipline in the way that many of their generation did.

Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC told Chelmsford Crown Court today: ‘The defendant’s siblings speak of their upbringing as being one which involved discipline and being smacked when they were children.

‘One of the children used to wet the bed and was punished for it by Lois. Social services became involved for a period of time.

‘Notwithstanding this, John and Lois are described by the defendant’s siblings as ‘functional rather than affectionate’. 

‘Also, ‘loving parents who did love and care for their children’, and ‘old fashioned in their ways not prone to displaying affection’.’

The couple slept separately for as long as their children could remember, the court heard. 

Residents told the Mail how they largely kept to themselves – punctuated by the  occasional sound of Mrs McCullough screaming at someone. Who the vitriol was aimed at was never clear. 

Virginia had claimed to police that her mother was angry and violent – a ‘happiness hoover’ who would smack her when she was bathed until she was 13 years old.

This was denied by her siblings, however, who called their murderous sister ‘socially awkward’ and a ‘compulsive liar’, who the court heard faked a pregnancy and a miscarriage to her parents.

Residents became aware of McCullough living with her parents in Pump Hill around five years ago.

Locals believed she was unemployed – a fact confirmed in court, when it emerged she had not held down a job since working as a barmaid in 2017.

But no one thought to question her claim that she was there to oversee long-running ‘repairs to a retaining wall’ while John, 70, and Lois, 71, had supposedly moved to Clacton because they were ‘fed up with people gossiping about them’.

An elderly friend of the couple claimed to have been sent postcards from Clacton that he now says must have been written by McCullough, who signed them in her parents’ names in an attempt to signal all was well.

In reality, she had killed them and entombed them in a makeshift bed and a wardrobe, denying them ‘dignity in death’, as the judge said today.

When they were found in September last year, nearly four and a half years after they had been killed, the family could barely comprehend how they had been deceived for so long.

They urged the judge to lock Virginia up for good for the cruelty she had unleashed upon those who had raised her with love.

Lois’s brother Richard Butcher said: ‘Virginia is very dangerous. Her ability to kill her parents undermines my faith in humanity.

‘Virginia used our hope to see Lois and John to manipulate us. I have been manipulated over the years to think my sister is alive.

‘I couldn’t comprehend what has happened and still can’t. I believed I was in communication with Lois, John and Virignia before hearing the awful news.

‘I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t understand why Virginia would do such a thing, and still can’t.

‘Due to her wicked act I’ve now lost two close relatives. I have been going through every possible scenario, it has played on my mind every single day, whether i could have done anything to prevent this or how it could be different.

‘I can never get this time back with my sister and her husband. My biggest fear is that Virginia is dangerous, and she will now have a lot of time to plan something else.’

Other relatives of Mr and Mrs McCullough spoke of being left ‘devastated and bereft’ and being forced to endure ‘a living nightmare’ for the rest of their lives.

One said Virginia’s ‘immeasurable amount of lies is sickening’ and blasted her ‘lies, laziness and greed’.

Another relative said the murders had left them ‘utterly sick to my core’, adding: ‘How dare Virginia rob our entire family of the inherent right [to see John and Lois again].’

One relative said: ‘So many horrific lies were told by Virginia to cover up the disgusting truth that she had killed them.’

In a letter to her, one relative expressed their ‘profound disbelief and hate’ for McCullough, writing: ‘The evilness and vindictive nature of your actions have rocked our family to its core.’

Sending McCullough down earlier today, Mr Justice Johnson said: ‘You are described by one of your sisters as a compulsive liar, but that hardly captures the elaborate and enduring web of deceit you spun over numerous years. 

‘These murders were done in the expectation you would gain financially from your parents’ deaths. They were murders done for gain. You think more of money than you do of humanity.

‘Your conduct amounted to a gross violation of the trust between parents and their children.

‘The fact you concealed your parents’ bodies for so long and maintained the deceit that they were still alive robbed them of dignity in death.’

McCullough nodded as the sentence was passed and she was taken to the cells but showed no other emotion.

After she was sentenced, the family paid tribute to a couple they described as caring, hardworking and thoughtful.

In a joint statement, they said: ‘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.

‘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.

‘Our Mum was kind, caring and thoughtful. Mum delighted in her grandchildren.

‘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.

‘Mum and Dad loved their trips to the seaside together, where they enjoyed many walks and visited lots of different attractions.

‘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.

‘Our family has been left devastated and heartbroken at the deaths of our parents who were taken from us so cruelly.

‘As we try to move forward with our lives, we will remember the happy times we enjoyed with them.

‘Our Mum and Dad are forever in our hearts, and are loved and missed beyond any measure.’ 

The killing horrified detectives at Essex Police, who initially launched a missing persons investigation before realising the horrific truth.

Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby said today: ‘Virginia McCullough murdered her parents in cold blood.

‘Her actions were considered, meticulous and carried out in such a way as to conceal what she had done for as long as possible.

‘These were the actions of someone who had taken time to plan and carry out the murder of her parents in the interest of self-preservation and personal gain, before living within meters of the bodies of her two victims for a number of years.

‘Throughout the course of our investigation, we have built a picture of the vast levels of deceit, betrayal and fraud she engaged in. It was on a shocking and monumental scale.

‘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.

‘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.

‘The details of this case shock and horrify even the most experienced of murder detectives, let alone any right-thinking member of the public.

‘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.

‘They have been left utterly devastated by the circumstances of this case and they continue to feel the loss of John and Lois each and every day.

‘This process, from the finding of John and Lois’ remains, to the unravelling of McCullough’s web of lies, has taken a huge toll on the wider family network.

‘With this sentence and with all that we have uncovered throughout our investigation, we hope they can now start to find a way forward with their lives.

‘The family have continued to struggle with the intense media interest in this case and I would repeat, in the strongest possible terms, their wish for their privacy to be respected as they continue to grieve their loss.’