Virginia McCullough, 37, was jailed for killing her parents in November 2024, with her sister now revealing her take on the horrific crimes that robbed John and Lois McCullough of their lives
Louise Hopkins opens up on the murder of her parents
The sister of a woman who brutally murdered their parents and hid their bodies for four years has spoken out about the horrific crime – saying she forgives the killer but will never visit her in jail.
Louise Hopkins was left reeling when police told her they feared her mum and dad were dead. But nothing could have prepared her for the truth: her younger sister, Virginia McCullough, had poisoned their father and bludgeoned and stabbed their mother to death before concealing the corpses in their Chelmsford home.
Virginia, now 37, continued to live in the house, telling family and friends the couple were still alive by impersonating them via texts, phone calls and cards – all while spending nearly £150,000 of their money.
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Speaking to The Sun, Louise, 49, said: “I have forgiven her for what she’s done. I am not drinking other people’s poison.” But she added she would never visit her sibling behind bars, admitting: “I walked away from all of them in 2018 after physically leaving home in 1997.”
Louise, who appeared on the Speakmans Hope Clinic podcast, revealed how the trauma led to flashbacks, OCD and overwhelming guilt. “The worst thing is that my parents were left to rot,” she said. “The grief has haunted me.”
Virginia was jailed for life in October last year with a minimum term of 36 years after admitting to the 2019 murders. She told arresting officers: “Cheer up – at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
Virginia continued to live at her parent’s home after carrying out the brutal murders, spending almost £150,000 from their pension, benefits and credit cards – including more than £21,000 on gambling. She used the Covid lockdown to get away with her crimes, and even posed as her mum during phone calls.
The family GP surgery eventually raised the alarm in September 2023 after John failed to turn up for repeated health checks. Louise became estranged from her parents in 2018 due to her dad’s alleged drinking and her mum’s controlling behaviour.
The elderly couple lived in their home in Pump Hill, Chelmsford, with Virginia at the time of their deaths. John was a retired business studies lecturer who had worked at Anglia Ruskin University, while neighbours later described Lois as a quiet woman who did not engage in small talk.
Neighbours had described Virginia as “chatty” and “a little bit off” but were shocked to discover her crimes. Behind closed doors, John had been fighting alcoholism and Lois suffered with anxiety, agoraphobia and obsessive compulsive behaviour.
Growing up, Louise said that her dad – described in court as being in poor health with high cholesterol and diabetes – would down a “bottle of wine in ten or 11 minutes.” She told the Speakmans: “It was crazy. When I hit 18, he’d make me go to the off licence and buy him whisky because he couldn’t stop.
“I thought I must be to blame. I tried to save them but dad was a violent alcoholic. They wouldn’t help themselves.” She adds: “I will never forget them. I loved them, but I didn’t like them.”
Louise began struggling with OCD as she came to terms with the murders, “washing her hands obsessively” and suffering “memory blanks”. Louise never attended her sister’s trial after Virginia pleaded guilty to murdering her parents between June 17 and 20, 2019.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how Virginia gave her father a fatal dose of sleeping tablets in his drink. When she found him dead the next morning, she decided her mother could not be allowed to find out.
While Lois lay in bed listening to her radio, her daughter hit her with a hammer and stabbed her eight times in the chest and neck, apologising as she did so. When police finally knocked on the door four years later and started asking Virginia about her parents, she eventually said: “I know why you’re here. My father is in there. I murdered him.”
After stuffing her mum’s body into a wardrobe, which she taped up, putting a breeze block against it, she built a DIY mausoleum for her dad. The structure was made from masonry blocks and wooden panels and covered with multiple blankets, with pictures and paintings on top.
The court was told that Virginia was a “compulsive liar” who told her parents she was a web designer and made up medical conditions such as thunderclap headaches. She made 238 calls to Essex police about trivial matters that “showed paranoia” and 185 to the GP surgery, including calls pretending to be her mum. Meanwhile, Louise is attempting to rebuild her life.
She said: “My children are happy and healthy, I’m more positive than negative and I have a good support network.”
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