A CHEATING pig farmer who murdered his wife then dumped her body in a septic tank has died in prison.
David Venables was jailed for life in 2022 – 40 years after he carried out the gruesome killing.
David Venables has died in prison[/caption]
He murdered his wife then hid her body for 37 years[/caption]
Brenda was found in a cesspit at the couple’s home[/caption]
It today emerged the 92-year-old died at HMP Stoke Heath on December 16 last year.
No further details surrounding his death have been released.
A Prison Service Spokesperson said: “David Venables died on December 16 2024 at HMP Stoke Heath.
“As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”
Venables was having a “long-standing affair” with his mum’s former carer Lorraine Styles behind wife Brenda’s back.
He slaughtered Brenda in 1982 and hid her body in a cesspit at the couple’s farmhouse in Kempsey, Worcs – leading to a 37-year mystery.
The 48-year-old’s remains were discovered in 2019 at the couple’s farmhouse in Kempsey, Worcestershire, and Venables was arrested and charged.
Venables screamed “no” repeatedly as he was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years after being convicted of murder in 2022.
Jurors heard how Venables “wanted Brenda out of the way” so he could continue his affair with Ms Styles.
He embarked on the tryst in 1967 but in 1981, she begun to have “doubts” about his feelings for her.
The pair rekindled their affair over Christmas that year and months later, Brenda disappeared.
After murdering his wife, Venables found the “perfect hiding place” in the secluded septic tank.
He dumped Brenda’s body then called police on May 4, 1982, and reported her missing.
Venables played the part of worried husband to the best of his abilities – claiming he woke up to find Brenda gone.
He was seen searching surrounding lanes and close to the nearby River Severn as a hunt got underway.
Venables also lied to officers about Brenda being depressed – leading locals to believe she had taken her own life.
For 37 years she lay undiscovered in the cesspit as her disappearance was treated as a missing person‘s enquiry.
As prosecutor Michael Burrows QC said, Venables had “got away with murder” during that time.
But his evil web of lies unravelled in 2019 when Brenda’s skull and other bones were discovered during work to empty the underground chamber after the monster sold the house.
Bizarrely, after he was arrested, Venables tried blaming Fred West for his wife’s killing.
The fiend claimed the serial killer had links to Kempsey and had worked emptying septic tanks.
‘DECEIT, LIES AND FABRICATION’
Venables also said a female friend told him that “Fred West picked her up in Worcester at a bus stop early one morning, and she managed to escape”.
The pig farmer told officers: “I wondered since whether he was responsible for picking her up and eventually disposing of her body.”
Speaking after the verdict Brenda’s nieces and nephews said in a statement: “We are relieved that today, after a wait of 40 years, at last there is justice for Brenda.
“Venables can no longer get away with having murdered his wife, the hiding of her body, and all his deceit, lies and fabrications.”
Brenda’s family previously won a legal bid to claw back her fortune from Venables.
After her disappearance, the killer inherited her estate, which is believed to be made up of a share of their farm and a lucrative stake in the family business.
Brenda’s remains were discovered in 2019[/caption]
She had vanished in 1982 from her farmhouse in Kempsey[/caption]
She was finally found in the cesspit in 2019[/caption]
Venables was jailed for life in 2022[/caption]
Source
