A “GENTLEMAN farmer” accused of murdering his wife and putting her in a septic tank in 1982 claimed Fred West “was responsible” for killing his spouse, a court heard.

Retired David Venables, 89, is said by prosecutors to have “got away with murder” for nearly 40 years, 

The remains of Mrs Venables, 48, were found in the underground cesspit at the former marital home, Quaking House Farm, in Kempsey, Worcestershire, in 2019.

The jury at his Worcester Crown Court trial heard on Friday, (June 24) accounts of the police’s interviews with Venables after he was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of murdering his wife nearly 40 years after she vanished.

Malvern Gazette: TRIAL: David Venables. Picture: PATRIAL: David Venables. Picture: PA

“One thing did happen,” Venables told police.

“A lady rang me up – I vaguely knew her, actually, she used to keep house with a friend I knew – she said Fred West picked her up in Worcester at a bus stop early one morning, and she managed to escape.

“I wondered since whether he was responsible for picking her (Mrs Venables) up and eventually disposing of her body.”

The police then asked Venables: “Who was that lady (who rang you)?”

 

READ MORE: David Venables 'got away with murder of Brenda Venables'

READ MORE: David Venables trial: Timeline from Brenda Venables disappearance

 

“I can’t tell you, I can’t even remember what her name was,” said Venables.

“The friend she kept house with died 3-4 years ago.”

He also told officers his wife had been “depressed” at the couple being unable to have children, but that she appeared “normal” on the night of May 3, 1982 - when he has claimed she vanished.

Venables said the couple had watched a news report about the Falklands War on the television and his wife had been playing with the couple’s new West Highland Terrier.

He claimed to have last seen his wife of 22 years “in bed”, after she had changed into her nightdress.

“When I woke the next morning she wasn’t in bed," he said.

“I went to look and she had just disappeared.”

Venables was asked by interviewing officers about any personal effects she had left behind, with him recalling she had removed her engagement ring – and placed it on the bedside table.

Malvern Gazette: KILLER: Serial killer Fred West. Picture: PAKILLER: Serial killer Fred West. Picture: PA

Serial killer Fred West committed at least 12 murders between 1967 and 1987 in Gloucestershire, dying in prison in 1995.

Venables, of Elgar Drive, Kempsey, denies murdering his wife between May 2 and May 5 1982, and the trial, scheduled to last six weeks, continues.