25 years ago the chance remark of a child taken into care led to one of the biggest murder investigations in British history. Gloucestershire police began digging up the garden of the home of Fred and Rosemary West. What they found would uncover the depraved and shocking secrets that had bound the Wests together for years. Fred and Rose West: The Real Story with Trevor McDonald, ITV 2019
They were also sexually abusing their children. ibid.
West had now admitted to eleven murders: nine hidden away in the garden and cellar of Cromwell Street and two others buried elsewhere. He also divulged the location of a twelfth body. ibid.
They started to take in lodgers. ibid.
Myra Hindley and Rose West are Britain’s most notorious serial killers. Between 1963-1965 Myra Hindley was involved in the murder of five children and teenagers. Three decades later, Rose West was jailed for her part in the killing of ten women and girls. They were the first two women in Britain to be given whole-life sentences. What happened to Rose West and Myra Hindley in prison is an extraordinary and untold story. Rose West & Myra Hindley: The Untold Story with Trevor McDonald, ITV 2020
Myra Hindley had been in prison for nearly 30 years when Rose West arrived in Durham. They met almost at once. ibid.
In the heart of Gloucester one three-storey terraced home has become the focal point of the city’s biggest criminal investigation. The Killer in My Family s1e1: Fred West, Quest Red 2019
In February 1994 the crimes of the prolific serial killers Fred and Rose West began to be uncovered. ibid.
‘As a man Fred had an insatiable sex drive.’ ibid. Emma Kenny, psychologist
Anna McFall [mistress]: Murdered 1967 … Rena West [wife] leaves Fred 1969 … Charmaine West [daughter] murdered 1971 [aged 8]… Shirley Robinson [18] … Shirley Hubbard [15] … Rena West murdered [27] … Anne McFall murdered [18] … Lucy Partinton [21] … Therese Siegenthaler [21] … Juanita Mott [18] … Lynda Gouch [19] … Heather West [daughter, 16] … Twelve victims across three locations. ibid. captions
‘Rose was 15 at the time and they met at the bus station.’ ibid. lady
‘Both Rose and Fred enjoyed sexual sadism and they found a perfect ally in each other.’ ibid. Emma Kenny
In a maximum security prison cell in Yorkshire a woman who waged a murderous campaign over two decades will see the end of her days. Rose West and her husband Fred formed one of the most infamous serial killing couples in British criminal history. Between them they claimed the lives of at least twelve young women, including two of their own children. Their home on Cromwell Street, Gloucester, was dubbed the house of horrors by the tabloids after the discovery of bodies buried in the cellar and garden. Making a Monster s1e1: Rose West: Matriarch of Cromwell Street, CI 2020
Britain’s worst serial killing couple. ibid.
Rose West was born in Devon in 1953, the fifth of seven children. When Rose’s parents decided to separate, she chose to stay with her mother. Only to come home one day to find her mother disappeared. ibid.
In 1970, aged just 16, Rose fell pregnant by Fred: he set them up in a family home. ibid.
Rose no longer saw the victims as human beings, they were sex objects to be played with and discarded at will. ibid.
The murder that would ultimately bring the Wests’ reign of terror to an end was that of their own daughter Heather. ibid.
We always knew there would be more bodies, more victims, but just imagine finding them. Fred & Rose West: The Search for the Victims, old boy, Channel 5 2021
The horrors of Fred West are once again haunting Gloucester. A white tent outside while inside the building police prepare to search for a body buried beneath. ibid.
The police continue to recover human remains from the cellar. This new evidence begins to reveal how the victims died. ibid. caption
‘Enjoyment turned to disaster, that’s what happened with all of it. Well most of it anyway.’ ibid. Fred
In total, nine women were identified among the remains found at 25 Cromwell Street. ibid.
‘I seen Rose do that to a girl once that she did so much damage to her, she had to kill her. Fred & Rose West: The Search for the Victims II, Fred
Nine young women have been found buried at Cromwell Street including Fred West’s daughter Heather. Now the investigation looks further afield. ibid. caption
With no conclusive evidence that Mary Bastholm is the 13th victim, Fred West is charged with 12 murders. Rose is charged with 10 murders, excluding Rena Costello and Anna McFall. ibid.
The relationship between Fred and Rose West formed one of the most murderous partnerships in British history. For almost 30 years their crimes went undiscovered while they tortured and murdered 12 young women between the ages of 8 and 27. But over the years evidence of a more chilling truth has emerged. We’ve now learned that there were in fact 96 possible search locations known to the authorities in relation to the West inquiry. And there are claims of 20 other possible victims who have never been found. Fred & Rose West: Reopened, ITV 2021
Three months later, new evidence was handed over to the police initiating Operation Tryfan. The investigation is ongoing. Fred & Rose West: Reopened II
After making a discovery in the café during our search for Mary Bastholm we contacted the police. ibid.
Our team … have discovered leads pointing to other locations … The probable location of the farm described by Fred West’s former employers … The possible 20 victims Fred claimed to have buried at the farm, as described by his appropriate adult at Rose’s trial. ibid.
She knew it was wrong. And she would still be alive now if she hadn’t got in that van. And I miss her so much. Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story, mother of victim, Channel 5 2022
[Fred] couldn’t, to use the vernacular, shut the fuck up. ibid. Fred’s solicitor
Whilst the children had been in foster care, they’d talk about the family joking about Heather being buried in the garden. ibid. dude
On the second day of the police search of Cromwell Street, Fred West makes a shocking confession. ibid. captions
In police interviews, Fred West says his motive for killing Shirley Robinson was to hide their affair from Rose. ibid.
In 1961, Fred’s 13-year-old sister Kitty accuses him of sexually assaulting her. Fred is arrested. ibid.
In 1994, 25 Cromwell Street was the centre of one of Britain’s biggest murder investigations. It was the home of Fred and Rose West. But Fred West’s crimes began long before Cromwell Street. Fred West: The Glasgow Girls I, Sky Crime 2023
‘Fred West perfected his technique of seduction and capturing young women in Glasgow.’ ibid.
‘The inquiry then focused on trying to find Rena.’ ibid.
‘He was involved in petty crime up there … He was alleged to have knocked over a child in his ice cream van … He continue to involved himself in deviant behaviour with other women.’ ibid.
The investigation into the disappearance of Rena Costello led to another revelation. Her friend Anne McFall was also missing. Fred West: The Glasgow Girls II: Anne
‘Fred’ and Rena’s time in Glasgow was very volatile. Very quickly Rena found that Fred was violent. ibid. witness
Rena had to get the children back and she knew that would be difficult. So she decided to go down to Gloucester to find them. ibid.
Anne was about fifteen when she met Rena and Fred. ibid.
Rena’s daughter was also missing. No-one had seen Charmaine since 1971 when she was 8 years old. Fred West: The Glasgow Girls III: Charmaine
Rose was jealous of Charmaine because Charmaine was brighter than Rose. ibid.
‘Gloucester builder Fred West appeared in court charged with the murder of his daughter Charmaine. The remains of her body were found under the kitchen floor in West’s former home.’ ibid. TV news
Fred and Rose West were married for 23 years. In that time they tortured and killed at least twelve women in England. Most of their victims were found buried in their house of horrors. True Crime Recaps: Fred & Rose West, Youtube 25.33, 2021
By the time he was released, Rose had murdered his eight-year-old stepdaughter, Charmaine … Her fingers and toes had been cut off. ibid.
25 Cromwell Street: This is the house that will always be known as the House of Horrors. ibid.
She had three children by one of her clients. ibid.
His appetite for sex and violence was matched only by his wife’s. ibid.
The police showed up with shovels in February 1994. ibid.
Why would he volunteer to help the police? ibid.