Woman who murdered and lived with her dead parents for 4 years freaked out locals with eerie behavior after the killings

The woman who murdered and lived with her dead parents' bodies for four years did some pretty 'odd' things in the village, locals who knew her have said.

Back in 2019, Virginia 'Ginny' McCullough murdered her elderly parents John, aged 70, and Lois, aged 71, in what the prosecution said was a pre-meditated and meticulously planned attack from their Pump Hill home in Great Baddow, Essex, UK.

Though she successfully poisoned her father, Ginny confessed the toxic concoction hadn't worked on her mom, and instead brutally killed Lois using a hammer while she slept.

Afterwards, Ginny stuffed her mom's beaten body in a closest and built her father a tomb in his office, made of breeze blocks and blankets, which she lived alongside for four years until police knocked on her door.

While the Chelmsford murderer has cited years of 'emotional abuse' from her 'alcoholic' father and 'OCD' mom is what drove her to commit the crime in a confessional letter told for the first time in the Paramount+ documentary, Confessions of a Parent Killer, people who interacted with Ginny on a regular basis have also had their say.

Ginny was arrested years after killing her parents and living alongside their bodies (Essex Police)

The 90-minute movie hears the testimonies of dozens of locals - grocer Paul Hastings, shopkeeper Alan Thomson, florists Debbie and Rachel, as well as some of Ginny's former employers, classmates and other acquaintances, many of whom agreed she was 'odd' or 'eccentric' but 'not murder-your-parents-and-hide-their-bodies weird,' as one said.

Alan said he considered her a 'slightly unusual girl' but otherwise 'easy to talk to.'

"You wouldn't think you're chatting to a murderer," he added.

However, dozens of other locals said they had strange interactions with Ginny over the years, noting how she suddenly 'appeared' in the village one day shortly before saying her parents had travelled away.

The florists said she was 'very strange,' recalling how she wandered around the store 'going la la la,'; her former employer similarly she would do 'strange things - like stand right behind you'.

Ginny continued to spook villagers further with her odd behavior - by being excessively generous.

The grocer said it started 'with the odd coffee' before Ginny started regularly showing up with food for the staff, like donuts, cakes and takeaways.

Lois was stabbed to death while John was poisoned by Ginny (Essex Police)

"It got to a point where I was turning her down because I wanted to lose weight and the stuff she was buying was making me fat," Paul stated.

Debbie and Rachel also said Ginny used to buy them 'loads of stuff' and bring them bags of food - at one point trying to hand handing them cash in the region of £100 to £150 (roughly $200).

The pair said they turned her down, so she instead bought extravagant bouquets of flowers for people in the neighborhood.

"I don't understand why. I thought maybe she was trying too hard. Maybe she was trying to make friends? It was almost childlike in a way," they said.

During her trial, the court heard how Ginny ordered a new credit card in Lois' name on the day she killed her and 'went on a spending spree.'

The prosecution argued the killer, straddled with around £48,000 ($64,500) in gambling debts, was motivated by financial gain, stealing more than £150,000 (roughly $200,000) from their pensions after their deaths.

John's body was concealed in a makeshift tomb (Essex Police)

In her confessional letter, Ginny admitted stealing but shockingly tried to justify it, stating: "I did not buy any holidays, vehicles, designer items or anything high end."

She added: "It is true that I bought some locals food and takeaways and other things on regular occasions to be kind. I was addicted to the smile it would put on their faces and the friendly behavior that then followed."

It wasn't just her gift-giving and cash-splashing that raised eyebrows in Great Baddow either as many locals said they got the impression Ginny was a 'fantasist' with some of her stories.

She was reportedly banned from certain shops and would tell locals outlandish theories, such as her internet being hacked, or her Ring Doorbell, to the police being out to get her and her post going missing.

Alan added that she would sometimes 'say something completely off the planet' - like that her neighbors were spying on her.

Prior to her arrest, several also said Ginny had told them she was pregnant, sometimes appearing to 'rub' her stomach while other days it appeared to have disappeared.

Ginny when she was arrested in 2023 'instantly confessed' (Essex Police)

In another instance, she claimed she was attacked by her neighbors and appeared with bruises and lacerations that some stated in the documentary appeared self-inflicted.

It was Ginny's supposed lie about being assaulted that ultimately exposed her intricate web, leading police to investigate the whereabouts of her missing parents until she cheerily confessed from their knock at the door: "Cheer up, at least you caught the bad guy."

Experts later determined Ginny was likely a pathological liar with psychopathic tendencies, exhibiting a lack of empathy, impulsivity and manipulation.

The then 36-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years behind bars before she can be considered for parole on October 11 last year.