Elderly couple ‘shot dead and buried by daughter and son-in-law’

An elderly couple were shot dead by their daughter and son-in-law, who then buried their bodies, stole from their bank account and tricked family members into believing they were still alive, a British jury heard.

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 over a bank holiday weekend in May 1998.

Susan Edwards, 56, and her husband Christopher, 57, are than 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.

Alleging that the Edwards “diverted” £245,000 into a joint account in the years after the Wycherleys were killed, Mr Joyce added: “They lied to everybody.

The couple owed more than £160,000 to creditors by the time they were arrested last year.

Jurors were told that Susan Edwards has admitted the manslaughter of her mother on the basis of provocation.

She told police she believed her mother had shot her father during the bank holiday weekend, and she had then argued with Mrs Wycherley before shooting her more than once.

The case continues.