37 years after his wife vanished, farmer is arrested for murder
A FARMER aged 86 has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife after human bones were found 37 years after she went missing.
David Venables was held after a dawn raid at his bungalow yesterday.
On July 12, maintenance workers discovered body parts in a bag in a septic tank at a farm where he used to live.
Mr Venables’s wife Brenda mysteriously vanished from the address in the Malvern Hills in 1982 aged 48. Yesterday, forensic officers could be seen carrying out searches at his £300,000 bungalow in the village of Kempsey, Worcestershire. He remained in custody last night.
The pensioner used to run a nursery and had a piggery at the farm where the bones were found. It was sold to a relative for £467,000 five years ago and he moved into the bungalow nearby.
The farm is less than eight miles from where police have been digging for estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, who vanished 33 years ago.
People in the village said rumours swirled after Mrs Venables went missing in the middle of the night. One claimed Mr Venables told people his wife had moved to Spain. Others were led to believe she had taken her own life.
In May 1982, Mr Venables told the Worcester Evening News how he had woken to find his wife gone. He said she had been depressed after having flu. Describing how he spent 48 hours waiting by the phone for news, he said: ‘She has never done anything like this before and I haven’t the faintest idea what has happened to her. I have been unable to sleep a wink since she left and I can only hope and pray that she is safe.’ Her bank account was never used again. At the time, police used a helicopter to search the countryside.The couple are not thought to have any children.
Some years ago, Mrs Venables’s name was added to her parents’ gravestone. A family source said it was a way of remembering her despite the absence of a body.
Mrs Venables’s sister Rita, 88, said she had been informed by detectives of Mr Venables’s arrest and that he was taken to Worcester police station for questioning.
She said: ‘I haven’t seen David in years, not since he sold the farm and moved to his bungalow.
‘It’s all just such a shock after all these years. That’s all I can really say.’ Her daughter-in-law Armida Sheppy added: ‘We need to wait for the police to do their work.
‘But I have faith in the justice system and I really hope we can find closure.’ Neighbours said Mr Venables was a quiet man who ‘kept himself to himself’. He is said to be in good health and was spotted returning from a game of bowls at his local club last week. One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: ‘You can see the blinds are down and that’s all of the time. We don’t see him, really.’
A spokesman for West Mercia Police said detectives were still awaiting DNA results but said ‘the general circumstances lead us to believe’ that the remains were likely to be those of Mrs Venables.