Jail for ex-farmer who killed and dumped wife's body in septic tank, blaming Fred West for her death
A retired pig farmer who killed and dumped his wife's body in a septic tank at their farmhouse in Worcestershire in 1982, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years.
David Venables, who is 89, tried to blame serial killer Fred West for the murder of his wife Brenda in Kempsey, but was convicted by a jury on the 15th July.
The five-week trial at Worcester Crown Court was told Venables had a 14-year affair with another woman.
He had been in an on-off relationship with his mother’s former carer Lorraine Styles, in the run-up to his wife’s disappearance.
The Crown alleged Venables, who was then 49, killed his wife, 48, and dumped her body in a septic tank in the grounds of "remote" Quaking House Farm, off Bestmans Lane, Kempsey, Worcestershire, where the couple had lived since 1961.
His legal team argued infamous serial killer Fred West had links with the village of Kempsey, where Brenda disappeared - but a jury took 17 hours to find Venables guilty of murder.
The court heard Venables had gone unpunished for his crime for more than 40 years.
Brenda's remains were discovered in the underground chamber, in what was once a "rough", overgrown and "secluded" spot - 37 years after she vanished.
Her family said they are "relieved there is finally justice" for their aunt.
Mrs Justice Tipples said David Venables was responsible for many aspects of his wife's mental illness.
Addressing the motive for the killing, she told the retired farmer:
"I am sure you killed Brenda Venables to remove her from your life and the complications she may have presented to you in any divorce proceedings.
"There is no doubt an element of greed and selfishness."
The judge added:
"I do not accept that your life expectancy must be short."
Mrs Justice Tipples said Venables had taken advantage of his wife's depression to create a "carefully thought-out story" that she had left home in the middle of the night, apparently to take her own life.
The judge told him that the evidence showed he had used a manhole cover to weigh down Brenda'a body.
The judge also rejected defence claims that the killing had been carried out in the heat of the moment, telling Venables the whole process of disposing of the body in the septic tank, and then leaving no trace, must have required considerable planning.
The judge said:
"You killed Brenda Venables in her own home, where she was recuperating with an injured leg and suffering from depression.
"You were Brenda's husband and she should have been able to trust you. Your complete lack of respect for Brenda is obvious from your decision to dispose of her body in the septic tank.
"The fact that is what you did with her body is disgusting and repulsive."
Venables showed no emotion throughout the judge's lengthy sentencing remarks.
He was heard shouting "no" repeatedly after he was taken out of the courtroom towards the cells.
Douglas Marshall from the Crown Prosecution Service said:
“After 40 years of heartache for the family of Mrs Venables, the conviction of David Venables for his wife’s murder finally brings them justice.
"During this time he had consistently claimed to know nothing of her whereabouts, despite having concealed her body in the septic tank buried in his garden.
“Although the time elapsed between Brenda’s murder and discovery in 2019 made it impossible to say how she was killed, other evidence was able to piece together a compelling case against David Venables, who suggested as part of his defence that Fred West may have been responsible.
“Unfortunately this verdict comes too late for some of Brenda’s family who have sadly passed away during the intervening decades but I hope that it now brings some measure of comfort to her remaining family and friends.”