Nottinghamshire,UK: An elderly couple were shot and buried in the back garden by their daughter and son-in-law in a plot to steal over Sh 36 million, a jury heard today.
Nottingham Crown Court was told Susan and Christopher Edwards "lied to everybody" for 15 years to cover up the killings of Patricia and William Wycherley.
Opening the case against the Edwards, who both deny murder, prosecutor Peter Joyce QC said William Wycherley, 85, and his 63-year-old wife were both shot twice with a revolver in the upper body over a bank holiday weekend in May 1998.
Susan Edwards, 56, and her husband Christopher, 57, are then alleged to have buried the Wycherleys' bodies in a makeshift grave in the back garden of their home in Blenheim Close, Mansfield.
Addressing a jury of eight women and four men, Mr Joyce said two joint accounts held by the Wycherleys were "cleaned out" in early May 1998, shortly after their deaths.
Mr Joyce told the jury: "A total of Sh 5.8 million or more was taken and has never been recovered.
"The prosecution's case is that Susan Edwards' parents, William and Patricia, were shot and killed by them over that bank holiday weekend, immediately before the bank accounts were closed and a new one opened.
"They were shot with a .38 revolver and over that weekend, they weren't just shot, they were buried in their own back garden.
"Over the next 15 years, in order to continue stealing money and to cover up what they had done, these two defendants lied to family members, they lied to neighbours, they lied to doctors, they lied to financial institutions, and they created and used many false documents."
Alleging that the Edwards "diverted" a total of around Sh 36 million into a joint account in the years after the Wycherleys were killed, Mr Joyce added: "They lied to everybody.
"They deceived and tricked everyone into believing that Susan Edwards' parents, William and Patricia, were still alive.
"They could then cover up the killings and continue to fund their own lifestyle and help to solve their financial difficulties out of monies that were continuing to be paid to the Wycherleys."
Mr Joyce told the court that the Wycherleys moved to 2 Blenheim Close in 1987.
Neighbours described the couple as reserved and rather reclusive and had little contact with them, the jury heard.
Mr Joyce told the jury that the Edwards, who married in 1983, had been in "severe financial difficulties" for much of their relationship.
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The court heard that the couple owed more than Sh 23.5 million to creditors by the time they were arrested last year.
Mr Joyce said the Edwards fled to France after they received a letter from the authorities saying they wished to see her father, Mr Wycherley, because he was approaching 100 years of age.
When they ran out of money in France, Christopher Edwards contacted his stepmother to ask her for money and gave her an account of what had happened in 1998.
His stepmother contacted the police, telling them her son had told her that he had helped Susan to bury her parents.
The Edwards returned to the UK by agreement on October 30 2013, where they were arrested, Mr Joyce said.
The trial continues.
-Mirror
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