Member-only story

The Husband Kills and Hides His Wife’s Body in a Septic Tank for 40 Years So He Can Have An Affair

He got away with the crime for nearly 40 years until his wife’s skull was found in the septic tank when it was being emptied in 2019.

Behind the Crime Scene
3 min readAug 21, 2022
David Venable. Source: metro.co.uk/Picture: PA

A retired pig farmer has been found guilty of the 1982 murder of his wife, whose body was found hidden in a septic tank at their farmhouse 37 years later. Workers on his 440-acre pig farm in Worcestershire dubbed him “Dirty David” after he bragged about his sordid affairs.

David Venables and Brenda Bolton first met at a Worcester and Kidderminster Young Farmers club social in 1957, when he was 25 and she was 23. They were married in Brenda’s local parish church in Rushock in 1960 and the following year moved into Quaking House Farm, built by Venables on land gifted to him by his father and boasting’magnificent views’ of the surrounding countryside.

Brenda Venables pictured. Source: news.sky.com

But by the end of the decade, their marriage was having difficulties. They had no children, a situation that distressed Brenda, according to her friend Vicky Jennings. Venables had begun a series of…

--

--

Behind the Crime Scene
Behind the Crime Scene

Written by Behind the Crime Scene

I’m on my journey diving into cold cases, unsolved mysteries, and the stories behind the crimes that haunt us. Join me by following along!

Responses (3)