UK - Lois and John McCullough, 70s, daughter accused of killing parents between 21 Aug 2018 and Sept 2023, Chelmsford, Essex, 15 Sept 2023

[Bethan]

Now she didn’t need to kill them and obviously could have just left and never seen them again but after reading about how her parents behaved you can kinda see how perhaps she just snapped one day. As someone who lived with ‘authoritarian’ parents that made my childhood hell, I can feel some empathy for her especially if the other children weren’t sharing the caring. Just to be clear, I’m not saying what she did was right nor am I condoning violence, I’m just explaining how I think she might have snapped.

Thank you @callmehenry I agree.

Philip Larkin summed it up perfectly in “ This be the Verse”

( I’ll not link, it contains the F word & may offend)

I know not everyone will agree with these sentiments, and if you don’t understand, consider yourself fortunate. I am sad for ALL the victims in this sorry situation.

MOO

 

[Deleted member 339775]

Thank you @callmehenry I agree.

Philip Larkin summed it up perfectly in “ This be the Verse”

( I’ll not link, it contains the F word & may offend)

I know not everyone will agree with these sentiments, and if you don’t understand, consider yourself fortunate. I am sad for ALL the victims in this sorry situation.

MOO

I never heard that poem before it it sums it up nicely imo!

 

[Kittypoo]

That's possible but if that's the case why do they say they have been robbed of spending time with their parents? I just think there's probably a bit more to it. I'll hold my hands up and admit the first time I saw a photo of the parents I thought it looked very awkward and both didn't look well. Reading now that their mother was agoraphobic and had anxiety whilst the father may have been on the spectrum makes sense. I do wonder if Virginia inherited some of that. Perhaps other siblings kept their distance as a result? Virginia must have been very convincing as it wasn't any of the siblings who raised the alarm.

I think she definitely inherited something, who could live with their parents dead bodies in the house for 4 years. Or 4 days for that matter. I can’t help but wonder what the smell was like? Maggots ? Didn’t anyone visit for 4 years? What about maintenance people if something went wrong in the house JMO

 

[Grouse]

That's so calm it's unnerving.

To quote a song "her ad lib lines were well rehearsed". I bet she planned that a long time ago. She weirdly seemed to be enjoying the attention and the interaction with the police. IMO.

 

[cnmccarthy]

From the link above....

Ultimately it was his failure to attend for review appointments with his GP that triggered an enquiry and subsequent police involvement


but it seems to have taken 5 years for that trigger to occur ??

Right? This is what’s so confusing. My dad sees his cardiologist yearly for his hypertension. Like were the meds being prescribed each month? I still don’t understand how she got away with this and pretending to be them for five years.

 

[Grouse]

Right? This is what’s so confusing. My dad sees his cardiologist yearly for his hypertension. Like were the meds being prescribed each month? I still don’t understand how she got away with this and pretending to be them for five years.

If they were on regular monthly prescriptions she could have collected them on their behalf - in the UK that's really easy to do, me and my partner often pick up for the other at the pharmacy and the only security check is to verbally confirm the first line of our address.

After a year or so there would usually be a prescription review, often done over the phone. If that didn't happen I think it would then depend on the GP. I think some would just suspend the prescription at that point and leave it to the patient to get back in touch.

Our IT systems in the public sector (govt,NHS,education) are notoriously disjointed so while you would hope something would trigger an alert I wouldn't like to bank on it.

 

[Cedars]

If they were on regular monthly prescriptions she could have collected them on their behalf - in the UK that's really easy to do, me and my partner often pick up for the other at the pharmacy and the only security check is to verbally confirm the first line of our address.

After a year or so there would usually be a prescription review, often done over the phone. If that didn't happen I think it would then depend on the GP. I think some would just suspend the prescription at that point and leave it to the patient to get back in touch.

Our IT systems in the public sector (govt,NHS,education) are notoriously disjointed so while you would hope something would trigger an alert I wouldn't like to bank on it.

Perhaps, given his heart etc conditions, there was an NHS obligatory visit within max. 5 years - and for elderly patients (who may have developed dementia, for example) if the patient has refused, their case will go to social workers after a police wellness check. It's probably built into the system, just like mandatory checks of infants at certain ages.

JMO

 

[Bethan]

Plus we had several periods of lockdown in the UK in 2020.
Her parents being in their 70’s & with health issues may have been ‘shielding’. There was a long period of time when face-to-face consultations with a doctor/nurse just didn’t happen, except in an emergency.

After lockdown ended, GP’s and patients had got used to telephone & online consultations & these continued. Even now many more consultations take place by telephone rather than face-to-face.

[ Eg I have a telephone consultation next week, with an orthopaedic consultant to review my fractured shoulder, 8 weeks post-injury.
If all is going well, I will have seen him only ONCE during the entire process! Not entirely sure how he can assess my shoulder without seeing it or re-Xraying however…….]

The usual medication & health reviews were put on hold & families did not see each other. Younger family members hesitated to visit their elderly relatives for fear of giving them Covid….long after lockdown ended.

As the mother is said to have suffered with agoraphobia, she may not have been able to meet her more geographically-distant relatives outdoors, as we were all advised to do.

It was a very difficult time for everybody & put immense pressure on families ‘cooped up’ together in a house, causing mental health problems & exacerbating pre-existing conditions.

I can easily see how this situation ( of the missing parents) lasted longer than it would have done in more ‘normal’ times.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9068/

 

[davidt]

I found this quote in tbe BBC article interesting.

The curtains were always drawn and you couldn't see if anybody was in the house," said Phil Sargeant, who lived next door to the McCulloughs for 20 years.
"They were just like shadows, they'd move very quickly from A to B."

As the neighbour uses the word "they" I imagine he's referring to a time when the parents were still alive. I do wonder when Virginia started isolating her parents from everyone. We know she successfully managed a scenario where for 4-5 years after the murders she managed to keep everyone away without seemingly arousing suspicion. I wonder if in part that was due to the parents already having been at least partly isolated by Virginia so that others were used to not seeing them around. I also wonder when any of her siblings last had any direct contact with either parent. We know Virginia had been raiding their assets for some time. We don't know what the situation was prior to that or if the parents had any friends or were active in the local community in any way. I suspect the whole backstory if it is ever told will be extremely sad and distressing.

 

[Grouse]

Wonder if it's of any significance that her mother met the more violent end (though possibly that was only done because the drugging didn't work) and also she just stuffed her mum in a wardrobe, whereas she made a "tomb" for her father.

 

[realanastasia]

Wonder if it's of any significance that her mother met the more violent end (though possibly that was only done because the drugging didn't work) and also she just stuffed her mum in a wardrobe, whereas she made a "tomb" for her father.

In the news story linked here, VM is quoted as describing her mother to police as a “happiness Hoover” (which I think means that, wherever she went, she sucked up any joy or good feelings) and she told police that Lois had physically and emotionally abused her kids at least until they reached adolescence. So it doesn’t surprise me that VM seems to have been more brutal in killing her mother than her dad.

Chilling moment Virginia McCullough confesses to killing her parents

Virginia McCullough, 36, was arrested by police last year four years after murdering her parents John, 71, and Lois, 70, at their home in Pump Hill, Chelmsford and covering up her crime.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[TootsieFootsie]

'Homely' prison with pink cells and TVs housing woman who murdered parents

One single cell was bright pink with bedding, walls and curtains all matching in colour

www.essexlive.news

Inside the 'homely' prison with pink cells and TVs which housed killer daughter who murdered her parents​

 

[Grouse]

In the news story linked here, VM is quoted as describing her mother to police as a “happiness Hoover” (which I think means that, wherever she went, she sucked up any joy or good feelings) and she told police that Lois had physically and emotionally abused her kids at least until they reached adolescence. So it doesn’t surprise me that VM seems to have been more brutal in killing her mother than her dad.

Chilling moment Virginia McCullough confesses to killing her parents

Virginia McCullough, 36, was arrested by police last year four years after murdering her parents John, 71, and Lois, 70, at their home in Pump Hill, Chelmsford and covering up her crime.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Thanks for that, hadn't seen that one.

Interesting it states "the repeat pattern of booking and cancelling appointments on behalf of her parents caught the eye of a GP receptionist". Was discussing the GP alert upthread.

 

[Grouse]

There's a 1 hour programme on this on Channel 5, might not be available outside the UK, and may require registering but it's free to view.

No access outside UK

 

[Skigh]

There's a 1 hour programme on this on Channel 5, might not be available outside the UK, and may require registering but it's free to view.

No access outside UK

I watched it last night and did not think it gave any more information than had previously been in the media.

 

[Grouse]

I watched it last night and did not think it gave any more information than had previously been in the media.

I'll still watch it when I get a moment.

 

[Alyce]

I watched it last night and did not think it gave any more information than had previously been in the media.

Agree. I was hoping for some more info, but we actually have far more details than they provided in the docu. Not blaming them of course, they were probably restricted in what they could say re wider family.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I find that most true crime documentaries don't have anything that we here on WS don't already know.

 

[Grouse]

I find that most true crime documentaries don't have anything that we here on WS don't already know.

No and I generally don't expect them to, but sometimes I find they help to build a picture.

 

[sunspun]

'Homely' prison with pink cells and TVs housing woman who murdered parents

One single cell was bright pink with bedding, walls and curtains all matching in colour

www.essexlive.news

Inside the 'homely' prison with pink cells and TVs which housed killer daughter who murdered her parents​

View attachment 537568

This is her prison cell? Did they let her paint it herself? And order pink bedding?