Pig farmer 'got away with murder' after dumping wife in septic tank 40 years ago, court hears

A pig farmer, who was having an affair with a nurse, murdered his “prim and proper” wife and hid her body in a septic tank where it lay undiscovered for almost 40 years, a court has heard.

David Venables, 89, went to police in May 1982 claiming his wife Brenda had disappeared after becoming depressed because she could not have children.

But Worcester Crown Court was told Mr Venables – who was aged 48 at the time – had in fact killed his wife because he “wanted her out of the way” so he could rekindle his long-standing affair with nurse, Lorraine Styles, who had been a carer for his elderly mother.

Mr Venables is accused of disposing of his wife’s body in the “perfect hiding place”, a septic tank in a secluded and overgrown corner of his sprawling farm in Kempsey, Worcestershire.

Her remains lay undiscovered for 37 years until his nephew who bought Quaking House Farm from him had the septic tank cleaned and workers discovered a human skull.

When Mr Venables was questioned by police he hinted that Fred West might have been involved in his wife’s disappearance and detectives later discovered a book about the notorious serial killer in his dining room.

Michael Burrows QC, opening the prosecution case, told the jury that at the time of his wife’s disappearance, Mr Venables had been having a long-term affair with Ms Styles, who had looked after his mother.

The court was told the romance had begun around 1967, but had been on and off for more than a decade, with the nurse even marrying another man at one point.

But over Christmas 1981, Mr Venables had rekindled the affair, just months before his wife disappeared.

The couple split permanently in December 1982 – seven months after his wife went missing – when Mr Venables was said to have “lost interest” in his mistress.

The jury was told Mr Venables had reported his wife missing at Worcester police station on May 4 1982.

Mr Burrows explained: “He said he had awoken that morning and that his wife was not in bed nor in the house. He also said she had been depressed.”

A police investigation failed to find any trace of Mrs Venables and it was assumed by some that she had taken her own life.

She had suffered from mental health problems in the past and seen a psychiatrist after becoming depressed.

Mr Venables lied to police about the affair and later downplayed its significance, insisting his wife had been depressed because she had been unable to have children.

But Mr Burrows went on: “The truth, say the prosecution, is that it was David Venables who killed her. He wanted her out of the way: he wanted to resume his long-standing affair with another woman.

“He knew about the septic tank in its secluded location. It was for him almost the perfect hiding place.”

He added: “And for nearly 40 years, it was the perfect place and he got away with murder.”

The jury heard that when he went to the police to report his wife’s disappearance, one of the officers noted that he “did not seem anxious in any way and was quite calm”.

Another officer described him as “cold and showed no emotion and did not seem worried in any way”.

Ms Styles had also described her lover as remaining “quite composed” and “calm” after his wife went missing.

The police concluded there was no evidence that he had murdered his wife and it remained as a missing person’s enquiry.

By 2019 Mr Venables had sold the farm to his nephew, and it was in July that year that contractors, clearing out the septic tank, found bones, including a human skull.

In July 2019, when police contacted him to confirm they had discovered his wife’s remains, he expressed surprise, pointing out that the septic tank had been cleaned out several times before.

Mr Burrows told the jury: “He also said that around the same time he knew another woman who had gone missing.

“He said she had been picked up by Fred West and managed to get out of his car.”

On July 30 2019 a police officer again went to his home and arrested him. That day and the next day, they searched his property. In the dining room there was a book on Fred and Rose West

Mr Venables sat in court wearing a suit and tie and earphones in order to follow proceedings.

The pensioner denies murdering his wife between May 2 and May 5, 1982, and the trial, which is expected to last up to last six weeks, continues.