A social media explorer filmed inside a home where a daughter killed her parents, claiming he did nothing wrong despite the family’s grief
Chelmsford: So, there’s this urban explorer named Ben. He’s in hot water after posting a video from a house where a woman killed her parents. He insists he did nothing wrong. He’s got a huge following online, and people love watching him explore abandoned places.
In his video, he shows the inside of the home where John and Lois McCullough were found. They had been hidden for four years. Ben says the place hadn’t been cleaned since their daughter, Virginia, was arrested in 2023.
EssexLive saw the footage but decided not to share it because it’s pretty graphic. The police are looking into how Ben got the video. The McCullough family is understandably upset about this whole situation.
Ben claims he found the door open and didn’t think he was doing any harm. He says the house has since been cleaned up. He feels he was respectful and didn’t take anything from the place.
He mentioned that some might find his video insensitive. But he argues that crime scene photos online can be much worse. He just wants to document these forgotten places with dark histories.
Ben was aware of Virginia’s arrest and thought it was bizarre. He said it felt like something out of a horror movie. Living with two dead bodies for four years? That’s just wild.
Virginia had poisoned her dad, John, and then attacked her mom, Lois. She was sentenced to at least 36 years in prison in 2024. Ben described the house as frozen in time, with everyday items still lying around.
He saw orange squash on the counter and noodles in the sink. It was eerie, like nothing had changed since Virginia was taken away. The scene downstairs was particularly grim, with John’s remains untouched.
Virginia had even spray-painted the bathroom fixtures black in a careless way. The house has been left like that for a year and a half. No one’s going back there, and neither is she.
After killing her parents in June 2019, Virginia racked up debts in their names and spent their pension money. Their bodies were hidden in sleeping bags, with Lois stuffed in a wardrobe and John in a makeshift mausoleum.
A missing persons report was filed in September 2023, leading to Virginia’s arrest. She had lived with her parents’ bodies for four years. The judge made it clear that her actions were a huge betrayal of trust.
