An 89-year-old retired pig farmer who tried to blame the serial killer Fred West for the disappearance of his wife in 1982 has been jailed for a minimum of 18 years after being found guilty of murdering her and dumping her body in a septic tank.
David Venables was given a life sentence for murdering Brenda Venables, whose remains were found hidden in the tank in the garden of the Worcestershire farmhouse they once shared.
The sentence means Venables will be 107 before he can even apply for parole. His defence team said he was bound to die in jail.
Passing sentence at Worcester crown court, Mrs Justice Amanda Tipples told Venables what he did with his wife’s body was “disgusting and repulsive” and must have taken planning.
The prosecution had claimed Venables wanted his wife, who was 48 when she vanished, out of the picture so that he could pursue an affair.
Tipples told him: “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. Your complete lack of respect for Brenda is obvious from your decision to dispose of her body in the septic tank.”
Venables showed no emotion throughout the sentencing remarks but could be heard shouting: “No” repeatedly after he was taken to the cells.
The farmer was caught after bones were found during work to empty the tank at the farm near the village of Kempsey in July 2019, six years after he sold the property.
At the time of his wife’s disappearance Venables told police he thought she had probably killed herself, but during the trial, his legal team said Fred West had links to the area where the couple lived.
Brenda Venables’ family said she had been the victim of coercive control. In a statement issued through the police, the family said: “We wish that Brenda had been able to leave her marriage. Venables’ control of her was absolute by the end.”
In a joint victim impact statement submitted to the court, the family added: “Brenda’s disappearance was devastating for her parents, who were in their 80s. Brenda was their main carer, shopping and looking after them, so the impact on them was both emotional and practical. They just couldn’t understand how Brenda could simply disappear.”
