David Venables has been jailed for life 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 even applies for parole. His defense team said he should die in prison. Sentencing at Worcester crown court, Mrs Amanda Tipples told Venables what he did to his wife’s body was “disgusting and disgusting” and he must have been planning it. The prosecution had argued that Venables wanted his wife, who was 48 when she disappeared, out of the picture so he could pursue a relationship. Tipples told him: “I’m sure you killed Brenda Venables to get her out of your life and the complications she might 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 evident in your decision to dispose of her body in the septic tank.’ Venables showed no emotion throughout his sentencing remarks, but was heard shouting: “No” repeatedly after he was taken to the cells. The farmer was arrested after bones were found during work to empty the tank on 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 police, the family said: “We wish Brenda could leave her marriage. Venables’ control of her was absolute to the end.’ In a joint victim impact statement submitted to the court, the family added: “Brenda’s disappearance has been 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 emotional and practical. They just couldn’t understand how Brenda could just disappear.”
