Landscapers on Sky Atlantic tells the chilling tale of double murderers Susan and Christopher Edwards – but where are they now?
Their deadly crimes are the focus of the darkly comic four-part series.
Olivia Colman stars opposite David Thewlis in Sky Atlantic’s most compelling new drama of 2021.
But what did Susan and Christopher Edwards do, how did they get caught and where are they now?
Here’s everything you need to know about the true story behind Landscapers…
Read more: Landscapers on Sky Atlantic: First trailer is released
What did Susan and Christopher Edwards do?
Landscapers is based on the true story of Susan Edwards and her husband Christopher.
Susan Edwards, played by Olivia Colman, plotted to murder her own parents in cold blood, just to get her hands on their fortune.
David Thewlis plays her mild-mannered husband Christopher Edwards.
He is one half of a seemingly normal married couple who are very much in love.
But they are hiding a tragic secret – they murdered her parents and hid it for years.
Susan and Christopher shot dead Patricia and William Wycherley at their home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend in 1998.
The next working day, daughter Susan cleared £40,000 from their account.
They buried the bodies in the garden and spun a web of lies to fool friends and family into thinking Patricia and William were still alive.
How did they get away with murder for so long?
Neighbours thought that Patricia and William Wycherley had left their home in a village near Mansfield.
They received Christmas cards every year from their daughter Susan.
William even received a telegram from the Queen on what would have been his 100th birthday.
The truth was that their daughter Susan had shot them dead and buried them in a shallow grave in their back garden.
Why? Susan, with the help of husband Christopher, murdered them in 1998 to access their bank accounts.
Once they had the money, they splurged on Hollywood memorabilia.
Yes, sickening, isn’t it?
Read more: True story behind Olivia Colman Sky drama Landscapers as first images released
How did Susan and Christopher Edwards get caught?
In 2005, a driver accidentally veered off the road and crashed a car through the garden fence of the Wycherley family home.
Susan and Christopher quickly sold the property in fear that the bodies may be discovered, and again forged the needed signatures.
They went on the run and ended up in France.
While abroad, Christopher contacted his stepmother to ask for money.
He told her the story the couple gave in court – that Mrs Wycherley had shot her husband, Mrs Edwards shot her mother after being provoked and they had buried the bodies a week later.
His stepmother called the police, who tried to contact the couple but failed.
A month later, the police received an email that they were giving themselves up.
They eventually turned themselves in in 2012.
Police found the Wycherley’s remains in the garden in October 2013.
Where are Susan and Christopher Edwards now?
In 2014, Susan and Christopher Edwards were convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.
The judge called Susan “an accomplished liar and a fantasist”.
To this day, they maintain their innocence.
Susan, now 63, and Christopher, now 64, are still behind bars.
A jury at Nottingham Crown Court found the pair guilty of murder just over 16 years after they committed their crime.
Police believe Christopher shot both his in-laws with a World War Two .38 commando revolver, as he had experience of using guns.
Susan Edwards lost an appeal in 2015.
Her father sexually abused her as a child, she claims.
Her barrister said the length of sentence did not take into account this “provocation”.
All episodes of Landscapers are available to watch from Tuesday December 7 2021 on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
Will you be tuning into Landscapers starring Olivia Colman? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.