A court heard that a pig farmer who allegedly murdered his wife and disposed of her body in a septic tank showed her “little or no affection” during their marriage and preferred their dog.
David Venables, 89, is accused of killing his 48-year-old wife Brenda in 1982 in order to flee with his secret lover.
Mrs Venables’ body was discovered in an underground cesspit near the couple’s former home at Quaking House Farm in Kempsey, Worcester, in 2019 – 37 years after she went missing.
Venables is accused of murdering Brenda between May 2 and May 5, 1982, and is on trial at Worcester Crown Court.
Mrs Venables had become depressed before her death as a result of her husband’s “multiple affairs” and her inability to conceive, according to the trial, which is now in its third week.
She had seen both her primary care physician and a consultant psychiatrist for help with her mental health.
According to reports, she told her psychiatrist, Dr. Richards, that she and her husband had not had sex since 1969 and were sleeping separately.
Doctors attempted to schedule appointments to see the couple together, but Venables repeatedly stated that he was ‘too busy.’
Despite this, when questioned by police, he claimed their marriage was routine and that they were still sleeping together.
Dr. Richards reportedly attempted to have Brenda hospitalized some time before her death, claiming she was depressed and needed treatment, but the move was thwarted by her husband, according to court documents.
Dr Richards called him a ‘typical farmer – displaying little to no affection to his wife, but showering praise on the family dog’.
Venables was accused of having a “long-standing affair” with his mother’s former caregiver Lorraine Styles behind his wife’s back.
When questioned by police, Venables admitted to being in a 14-year relationship with Ms Style, but denied having an affair with her.
‘I wouldn’t call it an affair – it was quite casual,’ he said.
An officer replied: ‘Having sex with a woman over a 14-year period, I think she would say that’s some sort of relationship. That’s not casual.’
Venables, on the other hand, said the relationship had been ‘overplayed,’ and that he had ‘never’ planned to leave his wife for Lorraine.
A statement from Venables’ mistress Lorraine Styles, a married mother-of-three who died of lung cancer in 2017, was read to the jury on the third day of his murder trial.
She described Venables’ visit to her home two weeks after Mrs Venables’ disappearance, where he appeared ‘calm’ and ‘composed’ and simply watched TV.
‘I couldn’t understand why he was so calm about the whole situation,’ said Ms Styles, Venable’s mother’s care assistant.
The nurse also stated that Venables attempted to have sexual relations with her the same night, but she declined his advances.
Prosecutor Michael Burrows QC read the statement to the court, which detailed their 15-year “on and off” relationship.
The couple met in 1967, when Ms Styles, a mother of three at the time, was caring for Venables’ mother.
Venables called Ms Styles on May 5, 1982, the day after he reported his wife missing to police.
‘He seemed quite composed and suddenly told me his wife had disappeared the night before and he was phoning to let me know before I read it in the paper,’ she said, adding that the relationship ended soon after.
Venables, of Kempsey, Worcestershire, denies the charge of murder.
The trial continues.