The West family appeared to be a normal married couple who lived at 25 Cromwell Road. Nobody thought that they would be any different from them. Under they realised that Fred and Rose West were responsible for the rapes and deaths of young women, including Fred’s daughter.
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Over the course of 20 years, Fred and Rose West raped and murdered 12 young women. Fred claimed that his behaviour began as a child when his father and mother abused him and his sisters. West claimed that incest was part of family life, his sisters would sleep with their father but he never admitted sleeping with his mother although he did imply that it happened. His brother claimed that this was all lies and that Fred had made a sick fantasy for himself. This theory of fantasy is supported by claims from family members that Fred suffered emotional outbursts, mostly fits of rage, after a motorbike accident left him with a broken arm, a broken leg, and a fractured skull. The injuries left him unconscious for a week. The crash happened when he was 17 years old but he suffered another serious head injury when he fell from a fire escape at 19 years old and was unconscious for 24 hours. It is possible that Fred had suffered a brain injury that affected his behaviour. It was after this that he committed his first rape on a 13-year-old girl in 1960 when he was 19 years old. He was caught but escaped a prison sentence. His family disowned him after this apart from one sister who took him in.
Fred married a prostitute named Catherine Costello. Costello had been a former girlfriend who had reconnected with Fred when he was 21 years old in 1962. At the time she was pregnant with another man’s baby (possibly a client of Pakistani origin) who was born in 1963. They named the child Charmaine Carol and claimed that she was adopted due to her skin colour. A year later they had a daughter together named Anne Marie. In 1965, Fred West killed a 4-year-old boy with his ice-cream van when he ran him over. West feared that he would be targeted afterward so the couple moved to Gloucestershire. By 1966 Costello had begun to regret the marriage to West and fled with her friend to Scotland, leaving the children in his care. Anne McFall, another friend of Costello’s, had fallen for West and stayed with him to help with the children. McFall had a relationship with West but disappeared in August 1967 when she was 8 months pregnant with his child. Her body would later be found in June 1994 in some fields.
Fred West was 27 years old when he met Rose in 1968. The two met on Rose’s 15th birthday and moved in together when she turned 16. In October 1970, they had their first daughter together, Heather Ann. Two months after Heather was born, Fred was sentenced to 6 months in prison for theft. While Fred was in prison it is believed that Rose committed her first murder alone. Charmaine was last seen alive while Fred was in prison, although Rose claimed that Costello, Charmaine’s mother, had taken the child to live with her in mid-June. Costello did come to take Charmaine away with her in August 1970 but she disappeared too.
In January 1972, Fred and Rose were married and had another daughter, Mae, in June 1972. At some point during the year, Fred convinced Rose to start working as a prostitute. They moved to the infamous address in Cromwell Road and Rose conducted her business from an upstairs room. While Rose was with clients, Fred could watch through peepholes. But clients were not the only people who visited “Roses Room”. Rose had a sexual relationship with her father, Bill Letts. He would often visit and have sex with Rose, with Fred’s permission.
In October 1972, a young woman named Caroline Roberts was hired to be a nanny to the couple’s children. She did not last long and left after a few weeks when she was invited to join the couples sex circle. The couple tracked Roberts down and apologised for what had happened. They invited her for a cup of tea at their house to make up for what had happened. Roberts believed that they had confused themselves with what she was wanting from them. Once the Wests had her back in Cromwell Road, Rose began to kiss her. Roberts pushed her away and tried to escape but was bound and gagged. The couple then raped Roberts and threatened to leave her in the cellar to be used as a sex toy. Roberts was able to leave the house the next day when she convinced the couple that she would come back as their nanny. Instead, Roberts went to the police and made a statement. The couple was arrested but were only charged with indecent assault and were fined £50.
In 1973, they began raping and abusing Anne Marie when she was 8 years old. The abuse continued for years until she left home at 15 years old. Once Anne Marie had left the home, the couple turned their attention to Heather Ann and began raping her instead. Heather Ann was believed to be the daughter of Bill Letts, Rose’s father. In 1987, Heather had told her friends what her parents were doing to her. When news of what Heather was claiming got back to the Wests, they decided to kill Heather. When anyone asked about Heather, the couple told them different stories as to where she was. The other children were told that if they misbehaved, they would end up under the patio just like Heather.
In May 1994, West began filming himself raping one of his daughters. She complained to her friends about the abuse, and one of the friends mothers reported it to the police. The couple was arrested for rape and social workers finally began to dig into the family. When the other children were asked about Heather, they told the social worker about how their parents joked that she was buried under the patio. The police decided to investigate the matter and began searching the house and the garden. On 25th February, Fred West was arrested and the police began to find the bones of his victims.
Fred West hung himself on 1st January 1995 while he was being held on remand. Rose was found guilty of ten murders and was sentenced to life in prison in November 1995.
The list of victims includes-
Anne McFall – Born in Glasgow in 1949, she was believed to have been killed in 1967 by Fred West before he met Rose. She was a nanny to the children of West and his first wife Rena West and was pregnant at the time of her death.
Charmaine West (nee Costello) – She was Fred West’s step-daughter who is understood to have been eight years old when she was killed in 1971. Rose West was convicted of her murder.
Rena West – Rena West was Fred’s first wife and the mother of Charmaine. Only Fred was charged for her murder, which is thought to have taken place in August 1971.
Lynda Gough – Born in 1953, she had attended a private school and later worked as a seamstress. She was killed in April 1973 and her body was later found in Cromwell Street.
Carol Ann Cooper – She was murdered at the age of 15 but her body was not found until two decades later. She had been living at a children’s home but had been allowed to visit her grandmother the day she was reported missing.
Lucy Partington – The victim was a student who had come home for the Christmas holidays and had been visiting friends before she vanished. She was 21 in 1973 when she is thought to have been abducted and killed. Her body was also found 20 years later in Cromwell Street.
Therese Siegenthaler – She was also a student who had told her family she was planning to hitchhike to Ireland. She is believed to have been killed in 1974.
Shirley Hubbard – The victim was a 15-years-old shop worker in Worcester – she is believed to also have been abducted and killed.
Juanita Mott – She had lodged for some time at 25 Cromwell Street and was 18 when she accepted a lift home from them. Her body was found at the address in 1994.
Shirley Robinson – She is believed to had been having an affair with Fred West, and was pregnant with his child at the time of her death in 1977, The Sun reports. She had also lived for some time at Cromwell Street.
Alison Chambers – She was born in West Germany but lived much of her life in Swansea before moving to Gloucester at the age of 16 to train at a solicitors’ firm, according to Gloucestershire Live. She was reported missing and her body was found years later under the patio at Cromwell Road.
Heather West – Heather was Fred and Rose’s first daughter, born in October 1970. She was last seen alive in 1987 but was never reported missing. Her body was found under the patio in the back garden of Cromwell Road.
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