On 19 April, she moved into their home on Cromwell Street.
Their only known victim after 1979 was their daughter Heather, although the police believe the couple murdered more.
She was arrested the following month and returned to Gloucester to face trial. In response, Rose calmly wrapped her hand in a towel and said: "Look what you done, fella.
Despite being told “she’s left home”, the detective searched further and found no proof of life. [223], As a direct result of her tenacity in investigating the Wests, DC Hazel Savage was placed upon the annual New Year's honours list. At 11:15 that morning, Fred formally admitted to police he had indeed killed his daughter, albeit in an act of manslaughter.
An ‘estimated value’ is a computer generated price calculated and supplied monthly by Hometrack Australia using automated statistical models based on …
To improve your experience. Welcome back. [130] On more than one occasion, Fred and Rose persuaded an unknown acquaintance to fake a phone call from Heather to her parents. You will always be Mrs. West, all over the world. Several weeks later, Louise garnered the courage to confide in a close friend what her father had done; this friend told her own mother what had happened on 4 August.
They committed one further murder in 1979, followed by an eight-year lull until they murdered their daughter in 1987.
Further questioned as to the contradictory explanations she and Fred had given as to Heather's disappearance, Rose claimed these discrepancies had stemmed from telephone conversations she had had with Heather after she had left home. When Rena discovered her husband's infidelity, she began an affair with a man named John McLachlan.
Rosemary told an inquiring neighbour the following day that she and Heather had had a "hell of a row" so it is believed Rosemary may have initiated her death. This is an angle I've been. [160] Both were ordered held on remand.
With details of the ordeal the two of them went through throughout and after the time living with their parents, it can be rather harrowing in places. As well as the 12 confirmed they believe West also killed 15-year-old Mary Bastholm in 1968, but to date no body has been found. [32] Another time, McLachlan witnessed Charmaine—little older than a toddler—ask Fred for an ice cream from his van; in response, Fred struck her across the head, triggering another beating from McLachlan.[32]. The victim was a 19-year-old named Lynda Gough, with whom Fred and Rose became acquainted through a male lodger in early 1973.
British journalist Trevor McDonald has been covering what has become known as ‘The Gloucester house of horrors’ since the grim remains of the victims were first discovered in the early 1990s. During that time, they killed 12 people - with police finding nine bodies buried on the property and another three bodies elsewhere.
[9] Fred was cleared of any wrongdoing by police,[31] but feared the hostile reaction and potential reprisals for the accident from the locals, whom he relied upon to make his living. In 1946, the family moved to Moorcourt Cottage at Moorcourt Farm, where Fred's father worked as a milking herdsman and harvest hand. Police had to seal off the street to traffic, with a police guard set up to prevent people taking objects from the house or garden as souvenirs. Later, Fred returned downstairs.
An inquest later recorded a verdict of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.
[12] When a girl acquiesced to his advances, she would find his sexual performance unsatisfying, as his primary objective was his own gratification. It was extensively dismembered, but no restraining devices were found with these remains, making a sexual motive for this murder unlikely.
[2][155] The site was later redeveloped into a public pathway.
“When I look back now, I do wonder why I was babysitting for the children. [50] Several months later, Rose introduced Fred to her family, who were aghast at their daughter's choice of partner. What there seems to be far less of are the stories told from the perspective of the killer's family; a snapshot of life at home behind the scenes and the unravelling and discovery of the horrific actions of their loved ones and whatever was to follow.
At least eight of these murders involved the Wests' sexual gratification and included rape, bondage, torture and mutilation; the victims' dismembered bodies were typically buried in the cellar or garden of the Wests' Cromwell Street home in Gloucester, which became known as the "House of Horrors".
She was also charged with child cruelty and the remaining children were placed in foster care.