UK couple get life term for killing parents, burying bodies, collecting pension checks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Undated handout file photos issued by Nottinghamshire Police and made available on Friday, June 20, 2014, of Christopher Edwards, 57, and Susan Edwards, 56, who have been found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of murdering her parents. A British husband and wife have been convicted of murdering the woman's parents, burying their bodies and collecting their pension checks for 15 years. A jury at Nottingham Crown Court found Susan and Christopher Edwards guilty Friday of shooting William and Patricia Wycherly in May 1998. (AP Photo/PA, Nottinghamshire Police) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE (The Associated Press)
A British husband and wife who murdered the woman's parents and collected their pension checks for 15 years have been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
A jury convicted Susan and Christopher Edwards of shooting William and Patricia Wycherly in May 1998. They were sentenced Monday.
Prosecutors said the debt-ridden couple collected almost 250,000 pounds ($425,000) by pretending her parents were still alive, even selling the Wycherlys' home with the bodies buried in the backyard.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They used some of the money to buy celebrity memorabilia, including autographs of Gary Cooper and Frank Sinatra.
Judge Kathryn Thirlwall said that the crimes were "so serious and your culpability so high" that she had no choice but to impose the harsh sentence.