WYCHERLEY TRIAL - WW2 revolver ‘most likely murder weapon’

Giving evidence on the second day of the trial of Susan Edwards (56) and her 57-year-old husband Christopher, firearms expert Khaldoun Kabbani said a total of four bullets were found with the remains of William and Patricia Wycherley.

Their remains were dug up in the rear garden of their Blenheim Close home last year, more than 15 years after they were last seen alive.

Mr Kabbani, who examined the bodies of Mr and Mrs Wycherley at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, told Nottingham Crown Court that they had both been shot twice and the bullets that killed them were found with their skeletal remains.

Both the Wycherleys had damage to their pelvic bones caused by .38mm bullets, one of which was found lodged in Mrs Wycherley’s spine, the court heard.

The bodied were found wrapped in bedding and three of the bullets were found in the sheets, the court heard.

Mr Kabbani told the court that the reclusive couple had most likely been shot by a Second World War Colt Commando revolver, which fires low velocity bullets.

When asked by defence counsel if the Wycherleys could have been shot by another make of revolver, he said it was unlikely due to marks left on the recovered shells.

The court was also told how rubble had been piled on top of the bodies in a bid to hide the smell and to prevent them being uncovered.

Prosecutor Peter Joyce described to the jury how money had been diverted from the Wycherleys from Tuesday, 5th May 1998 - two says after they were killed - until 2012 when the Edwards fled to France.

Accounts were set up to divert funds and the Wycherley’s accounts were closed down, the court heard. The Edwards also applied for loans in the Wycherley’s name and used them to pacify creditors, the court heard.

Yesterday, the court heard that on the Tuesday following the deaths, a joint account was opened in the names of Susan Edwards and Patricia Wycherley at a Halifax Building Society branch in Mansfield, and other accounts belonging to the Wycherleys were closed down, the court heard.

But the Edwards had a poor track record with money and, at the time of their arrest, owed a total of £160,000 to various creditors.

“From the very beginning they had the means to channel all monies payable to the deceased into their own hands, whether by way of state benefits and pension payments, or by obtaining credit in the names of the deceased, or by selling their house,” Mr Joyce told the court.

“Between 5th May 1998 and the defendants’ arrest, £173,767.40 was diverted from benefits and pension payments, and a further sum of in excess of £66,000 was obtained from the illicit selling of their home.”

A total of £245,000 were transferred from the Wycherleys to the Edwards between 1998 and 2012, the court heard.

The Edwards also forged letters and cards to friends and relatives, and concocted a web of lies about where the old couple were, the court heard.

Susan and Christopher Edwards both deny murder.

The case continues on Monday.