West, Fred

Fred West was born into a poor family of farm workers in Bickerton Cottage, Much Markle , Herefordshire . His parents were Walter Stephen West (July 5, 1914 - March 28, 1992) and Daisy Hannah Hill (1922 - February 6, 1968). He was the second of their six children ^[2] . West later claimed that his father had an incestuous relationship with his daughters ^[3] . There is speculation that incest was an integral part of family life, and that his father taught him atrocities from an early age. In an interview with the police, West said that his father several times told him "do what you want, just don’t get caught" ^[4] . He also claimed that at the age of 12 he was harassed by his mother, although he failed to prove it ^[5] . In 2014, Fred’s brother, Doug, condemned his allegations and called him a liar and a visionary regarding their life in general and their upbringing in particular ^[6] .

At school, West had abilities for woodworking and art, but he did not succeed in school, and in December 1956, at the age of 15, he left school.

At the age of 17, in November 1958, Fred, while driving a motorcycle, had a serious accident: he had a broken skull, a broken arm and leg; for a week he was unconscious. His family said that after the accident, West became prone to sudden fits of rage. Two years later, falling from the fire escape, he hit his head and after that was unconscious for 24 hours ^[7] .

In 1960, at the age of 19, Fred was arrested for molesting a thirteen-year-old girl. He was convicted, but escaped imprisonment ^[8] . His mother sent him to live with his sister Violet in the English village of Much-Markle, while the rest of the family renounced him ^[9] .

In September 1962, at the age of 21, Fred West met his ex-girlfriend Katherine Costello, who by then had become involved in prostitution , and therefore used the pseudonym Rena. Costello, already pregnant by another man, married West on November 17, and then moved with him to Cottbridge ( Lanarkshire ). On February 22, 1963, she gave birth to a daughter named Sharmain Carol. Costello and West claimed that they adopted Sharmane and that her father was a Pakistani bus driver. In July 1964, Costello gave birth to a daughter from West, who received the name Ann Marie. During his life in Cotbridge, West worked as a truck driver with ice cream. On November 4, 1965, he killed a four-year-old boy in his van ^[10] .

Then the family, along with Isa McNeill, who took care of the couple’s children, and Costello’s girlfriend, Anne MacFall, moved to Lakeside Caravan Park in Bishops Cleve , Gloucestershire at the end of 1965, when West decided to hide from Cotbridge due to the tragedy of an ice cream truck. Due to the sadistic sexual needs of West, Costello and McNeill moved to Scotland in 1966. McFall, left to look after the children, in turn began to get carried away by West. Costello continued to visit the children every few months. In August 1967, Anne McFall, who was pregnant from West and was eight months pregnant, disappeared. She was not found missing; her remains were found by the police and buried in June 1994 .

In September 1967, Katherine Costello returned to the West, but the next year again left him, leaving him with children.

At the age of 27, West, while still married to Costello, met his future wife, Rosemary Letts . They met on November 29, 1968 , on the day of her fifteenth birthday. On her sixteenth birthday she moved to him. A few months later, they moved into a two-story house in Midland Road, Gloucester . On October 17, 1970, Rosemary gave birth to a daughter named Heather Ann. On December 4, 1970, Fred West was sent to prison for theft, where he stayed until June 24, 1971.

Rosemary West allegedly killed Sharmane Carol shortly before Fred left prison in June 1971. According to Anne Marie West, both sisters were often beaten. Sharmane infuriated Rosemary with her refusal to cry no matter how seriously she was beaten. Sharmane disappeared in mid-June. Rosemary explained this by stating that her mother, Katherine Costello, had taken her back to Scotland. In fact, Costello arrived at the end of August, intending to pick up Charmain, and also disappeared.

On January 29, 1972, Fred and Rosemary got married in Gloucester. On June 1 of that year, Rosemary gave birth to a second daughter, named May. At this time, West supported his wife in an effort to engage in prostitution. In total, Rosemary gave birth to seven children. Needing a large house, the family moved to Cromwell Street 25, ( 51 ° 51′42 ″ N 2 ° 14′36 ″ W ), where West converted the upper floor into a living room . The walls of the Rose Room (Rosemary’s room, which was used for prostitution) had openings for West to watch, there was also a red light outside the door - a warning for children not to bother her when she was “busy.” Like West, Rosemary also had incest in the family; Rosemary's father, Bill Letts, with the approval of Fred, often visited their home to have sex with his daughter ^[11] .

In October 1972, the West couple hired sixteen-year-old Caroline Roberts as a baby sitter. They picked up the girl at night on a country road. She informed them that she had run away from her cruel stepfather; a week later she moved to Cromwell Street 25 to care for three children. Rosemary, who was receiving clients in her bedroom at that time, explained to Roberts that she works as a “masseuse,” which is why men often visit her ^[12] . According to Caroline, while working with them, Fred told her that if she ever needed an abortion, he would be able to do it. She began to suspect something was wrong when Fred began to boast that many of the women he had received for an abortion were so pleased that they offered him sexual services as a reward ^[12] . She rejected Fred and Rosemary's suggestions to enter their “sex circle” and left them a few weeks later ^[13] .

On December 6, 1972, the Westes met Roberts again on the same road and apologized for what had happened. They invited her to their home to make amends with a “cup of tea” ^[12] . Roberts believed in the sincerity of their apologies, and decided that she was simply mistaken in them. Upon returning to Cromwell Street, 25, shortly after the promised cup of tea, Rosemary began to kiss her, then bound her and raped her with her husband. According to Roberts, Fred remarked that “her vagina was unusual” and that he “had to change that” ^[12] . When she screamed, Rosemary smothered her with a pillow and tied her neck. Fred threatened her that they would keep her locked up in the basement, then they would call some of the black men who “visited” Rosemary, and after her “use” they would bury her under the paving stones of Gloucester ^[12] . Fred boasted that they had killed hundreds of young girls, and the police would never find them. ^[12] Quickly realizing that they would otherwise kill her, Caroline allowed the Westes to do whatever they wanted with her ^[12] . The next day, as soon as Roberts promised that she would return to them as a nanny, Fred allowed her to leave. At the first opportunity, Roberts reported the rape to the police, but dropped the charge when it came to trial. The Westes pleaded guilty to indecent behavior and were fined £ 50 ^[14] .

In early 1973, the Westes locked an eight-year-old Anne Marie in the basement, where they tied her up and shut her mouth, and then Fred raped her, while Rosemary watched it ^[15] .

After the age of fifteen, Anne Marie left home, the focus of Fred was Heather Ann West, Rosemary and her sixteen-year-old daughter (who, perhaps, is actually the daughter of Bill Letts ^[16] ). Heather complained to friends about the abusive treatment by her parents; when she returned home, Fred and Rosemary decided to kill her ^[16] . In June 1987, Fred and Rose killed Heather Ann. Her disappearance, confusion in the testimony of Rosemary and Fred, who could not tell her whereabouts accurately, and their threats to other children that they would “end their lives buried in the yard like Heather,” if they behaved badly, led to West’s arrest 1994 year.

In May 1992, West raped one of his seven daughters. This was repeated at least 4 times later. At school, the girl told friends about this. On August 4, one of her friends spoke about what she heard to her mother, who then turned to the police. On August 6, 1992, police began an investigation, and West eventually confessed to rape , indicating Rosemary as an accomplice. Rosemary has also been charged with child abuse. Children were removed from the family and then sent to a foster family. The rape case collapsed when the two main witnesses refused to testify during the trial on June 7, 1993.

Police continued to investigate the disappearance of Heather Ann. After testimonies from social workers and children telling about a joke about Heather Buried in the Yard, the police received a search warrant in February 1994, which allowed them to excavate in the West Garden in search of Heather. On February 24, 1994, they began to search the house and dig up the garden.

The day after West’s arrest, police discovered human bones ^[17] . He confessed to the murder of his daughter, then refused his testimony, and then re-confessed, denying that Rosemary was an accomplice. Rosemary was arrested in April 1994. Initially, she was charged with sexual offenses, but was later charged with murder. Other bodies were found on March 4, 1994. West admitted that he committed nine more murders, including the first wife, whose body was found on April 10, 1994.

Fred and Rosemary West appeared before the Magistrates Court in Gloucester on June 30, 1994; he was charged with 11 murders, she was 10. Immediately after that, Fred West again appeared in court on suspicion of the murder of Anne McFall, whose body was found on June 7, 1994. On the evening of July 3, 1994, he was charged with her murder; he was due to appear in court the next morning.

Fred West was found hanged on January 1, 1995 in his cell at Winson Green Prison, Birmingham. ^[18] His funeral was held in Coventry on March 29, 1995. The body was cremated in the presence of four people ^[19] . The ashes were later dispelled on the beach of Barry Island near Cardiff. ^[20]

Fred West became the hero of the 2001 animated film based on the Viz comic , which also featured yet another British serial killer - Harold Shipman . Some relatives of Shipman victims expressed indignation at the cartoon ^{[21] [22]} .

• THE WEST MURDERS: DMP
• MEDIA INFORMATION PACK
• A Horror Story by Theodore Dalrymple
• West family documentary on YouTube
• Article on West in the New Criminologist
• TRUE TALES of Liberty Denied
• If You Sit Very Still, by Marian Partington