David Venables accused of wife Brenda’s septic tank murder not one ‘to show emotion’, jury told

The jury had already heard evidence that David Venables, 89, was “calm” after his wife Brenda’s 1982 disappearance.

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.

Venables said he searched for his spouse after he awoke to find her missing on May 4, 1982, reporting the disappearance to police later that afternoon.

His barrister Timothy Hannam QC asked about claims from police officers, who first arrived at the farmhouse, that Venables appeared “calm and emotionless” about his wife’s “mystery” disappearance.

Venables replied: “Well, I think I’ve never been one to show a lot of emotion – ever.

David Venables in court (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

“I was very concerned about it, and very worried but I’m not a person to show emotion.”

Earlier, the trial heard evidence read from the notes of a consultant psychiatrist – whom Mrs Venables had been seeing in early 1982 for depression.

The physician recorded Venables was a “typical farmer – displaying little to no affection to his wife but showering praise on the family dog”.

Mr Hannam also asked Venables about accounts from some witnesses that “life went on” after Mrs Venables vanished, with the land-owner replying that was right “up to a point”.

Venables said: “I had got a job to do…  we just had to get on with what we were doing.”

He added: “It was a complete mystery to us where she’d gone.”

Venables also told jurors he never mentioned the septic tank to police search teams, as it “never entered” his mind.

But he also claimed to have twice seen police searching the tank.

Venables said he then replaced the access cover with a “paving slab” for safety, as there was a public footpath within a few feet of the tank.

Venables, of Elgar Drive, Kempsey, denies murdering his wife between May 2 and May 5 1982.

The trial continues.