A woman made a bizarre nine-word statement to police after she was arrested following the murder of her parents, whose bodies she lived alongside for four years.
Virginia McCullough, 36, killed her father, John, 70, by poisoning him with prescription drugs, and later fatally stabbed her mother, Lois, 71, in the chest at their Chelmsford, Essex residence, per BBC News.
Their murders occurred in June 2019, but their remains weren’t discovered until 2023 when their medical practice raised concerns about missed medical appointments.
During that period, McCullough concealed their bodies and continued residing in the house, constructing a "makeshift tomb" for her father, while misleading friends and neighbors by claiming that her parents had either moved away, were ill, or on extended vacations.
McCullough was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 36 years after pleading guilty to two counts of murder at Chelmsford Crown Court in July. She admitted her crimes "moments after" police arrived at the property following the doctor's report.
Bodycam footage captured officers breaking into the home and encountering McCullough in the hallway.
She calmly informed them she would "co-operate," and directed them to another part of the house, where she revealed: "my dad's body is in there."
An officer then asked: "What about your mum?"
McCullough responded: "[That's] a little bit more complicated... upstairs there are about five wardrobes, it's behind the bed at the back, next to the sink. It's the second one."
Reflecting on the situation, she told officers: "I did know that this would kind of come eventually. It's proper that I serve my punishment."
She then chillingly uttered these nine words: "Cheer up, at least you caught the bad guy."
McCullough later disclosed the location of the murder weapon.
Referring to the knife used to kill her mother, she said: "It's in the middle underneath the stairs, it will still have blood on it, it's rusted, but it will still have blood traces on it."
Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC told the court that McCullough "built a makeshift tomb" for her father, which was "covered with multiple blankets, and a number of pictures and paintings over the top."
In court, it was also described as a "homemade mausoleum," located in a ground floor room that had been her father’s bedroom and study, "constructed with masonry blocks stacked together."
McCullough "hid her mother’s body, wrapped in a sleeping bag, inside a wardrobe in her mother’s bedroom on the top floor of the house," the prosecutor explained.
McCullough remained in custody until her court appearance earlier this year.
Local residents described her as "chatty" but "a little bit odd."
Detective Inspector Lydia George, of Essex Police, said the investigation was a "hugely complex" case.
"Officers were met with an incredibly challenging scene and worked at the address over the course of several days to carry out forensic enquiries," she noted.
"Virginia's actions have had a significant and emotional impact on the family group and our thoughts today are first and foremost with them."
