Rosemary West

Name

Rosemary Pauline “Rose” West (née Letts)

Background

Rosemary Letts was born in Barnstaple, Devon, to William Andrew and Daisy Gwendoline Letts. Her husband, Fred West, committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial. Fred West was believed to have collaborated with Rosemary West in the torture and murder of at least 10 young women, many at the couple’s home in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. Fred West was known to have carried out 12 murders. Rosemary West had no involvement in the first two murders described.

Rosemary West grew up into a moody teenager and performed poorly at school. Her parents split up when she was a teenager. She lived with her mother before moving in with her father at the age of 16 in Bishop’s Cleeve, near Cheltenham. Her father was prone to violence and repeatedly sexually abused her.

Rosemary began dating Fred West, who was living at Lake House Hotel Caravan Park, Stoke Road, Bishops Cleeve. Her father disapproved of the relationship, threatening to call social services and threatening West directly. Rosemary was caring for West’s daughter Anne-Marie (by his previous marriage to Rena Costello) and his stepdaughter, Charmaine (daughter of Rena Costello and another man). West and Rosemary moved in together at the Lake House Hotel Caravan Park. Charmaine briefly attended Bishops Cleeve County Primary School on Tobyfield Road.

By 1970, Rosemary found herself pregnant by West, and they moved to Midland Road, Gloucester.

Rosemary West and her husband were convicted of sexual assault in January 1973. They were fined for indecent assault of Caroline Roberts (née Owen). Caroline Roberts escaped the couple’s home after being attacked and reported them to police.

Rosemary West’s typical pattern with West was described as picking up girls from bus stops in and around Gloucester and imprisoning them in their home for several days before killing them. She also periodically worked as a prostitute, often while her husband watched.

One of the most frequent visitors to 25 Cromwell Street, now demolished, was her abusive father. Rosemary was often pregnant and was the mother of eight children. Five of these were fathered by Fred West, while three were fathered by clients she met through prostitution. It was reported that even after the birth of her fourth child, Rosemary’s father would still visit her for sex and then rape Fred’s daughter Anne-Marie.

The offence

The crimes for which Rosemary West was convicted occurred mainly between April 1973 and August 1979. She murdered Charmaine West, the daughter of Fred’s previous wife Rena, in June 1971 and buried her in their previous home of 25 Midland Road, Gloucester while Fred West was serving a prison sentence for petty theft.

One of the bodies found at 25 Cromwell Street was that of their daughter Heather. Heather was murdered by Fred in June 1987 at the age of 16, after being abused by Rosemary while Fred raped her. The Wests told friends and concerned parties that Heather had gone away to work at a holiday village. This was described as the last known murder the pair committed.

In the course of the later police investigation and questioning, Detective Constable Hazel Savage and other investigators continued investigating the disappearance of Heather. The investigation also referenced statements about “Heather being buried under the patio” and search activity in February 1994, leading to the uncovering of human bones after West’s arrest.

Investigation

In May 1992, West filmed himself raping one of his other daughters and twice again afterwards. The daughter told friends at school what had happened. On 4 August, one friend told her mother and she went to police.

On 6 August 1992, police decided to investigate. This eventually led to West being charged with rape, with Rosemary as an accomplice. She was also charged with child cruelty and the remaining children were placed in foster care.

The rape case against the Wests collapsed when the two main witnesses declined to testify at the court case on 7 June 1993. Police continued investigating the disappearance of Heather.

After taking statements from social workers about a joke about “Heather being buried under the patio” and from the children themselves, investigators obtained a further search warrant in February 1994 to excavate the garden in search of Heather. They began searching the house and excavating the garden on 24 February 1994.

After West’s arrest the following day, police uncovered human bones. West confessed, retracted, and then re-confessed to the murder of his daughter, denying that Rosemary was involved. Rosemary was not arrested until April 1994, initially on sex offences, but later charged with murder.

In addition, further bodies were found. On 4 March 1994, West admitted that he had carried out nine more murders, including those of his first wife and Ann McFall.

Fred and Rosemary West were brought before a magistrates’ court in Gloucester on 30 June 1994; West was charged with 11 murders and Rosemary with 10. Immediately afterwards, West was re-arrested on suspicion of murdering Ann McFall, whose body was found on 7 June 1994. On the evening of 3 July 1994, he was charged with her murder.

Detective Constable Hazel Savage was described as taking over the case and launching an inquiry into Heather’s whereabouts. It was described that she feared that the rumor was true and that Heather was buried under the patio. The West children were questioned repeatedly, and it was described that Fred West threatened the children that they would “end up under the patio like Heather” if they misbehaved.

In the wider investigation narrative, a search was linked to newspaper reporting and references to the Wests’ past cleared sexual assault of a young girl. The investigation also referenced that Heather’s national insurance number had never been used, indicating she had never worked or claimed benefit since her disappearance.

Arrest

Rosemary West was arrested in August 1992 for child cruelty and was charged with rape as an accomplice. The rape case against them collapsed in June 1993 when the witnesses declined to testify.

After human bones were uncovered following West’s arrest, Rosemary West was not arrested until April 1994. She was initially arrested on sex offences and later charged with murder.

After the magistrates’ court hearing on 30 June 1994, West and Rosemary were charged as follows: West with 11 murders and Rosemary with 10.

Trial

Rosemary West was tried in October 1995 at Winchester Crown Court.

The trial included testimony described as including that of Anne-Marie, who described abuse when she was eight, and other witnesses including Caroline Raine, described as a former beauty queen, who told the court of the night in 1972 when Fred and Rose abducted and sexually assaulted her as she hitch-hiked across Gloucestershire. Prosecutor Brian Leveson, QC, suggested to the jury it was a blueprint for how the Wests were to pick up their victims.

During testimony, there were described delays and medical incidents affecting Mrs Leach, an “appropriate adult.” Another witness described Caroline Raine as having key evidence for prosecution, and the Wests were earlier prosecuted and fined over the incident.

The defense included Richard Ferguson QC. The prosecution was led by Brian Leveson, QC.

Anne-Marie’s testimony was described as delayed after it became clear she had taken an overdose of pills during the night. Mrs Leach fell ill during testimony and the trial was delayed for several days.

Rosemary West did not confess in the trial narrative, and it was described that the evidence against her was largely circumstantial. The trial narrative also included discussions of recordings of Fred West describing how he had murdered the victims when Rosemary was out of the house.

Verdict details included that by the end of the trial, the jurors had been convinced of Rosemary West’s guilt and she was found guilty on all ten counts by unanimous decision.

Sentencing

On November 22, 1995, West was found guilty of 10 murders. The judge, Mr Justice Mantell, sentenced her to life imprisonment, saying:

"If attention is paid to what I think, you will never be released."

The Lord Chief Justice later decided that she should spend at least 25 years in prison. In July 1997, Home Secretary Jack Straw subjected West to a whole life tariff. This was described as only the second instance in modern times of a British woman being condemned to die in prison, the other being serial killer Myra Hindley, who has since died.

At the start of her sentence, West was held at the same prison as Hindley. In 2001 West announced her intention not to appeal while maintaining her innocence.

Appeals

Outcome

Rosemary West was convicted of 10 murders and sentenced to life imprisonment on November 22, 1995.

Fred West hanged himself while awaiting trial in prison on January 1, 1995.

Aftermath

At the start of the sentence, West was held at the same prison as Hindley. West spent many years in HM Prison Durham, but Durham Prison currently holds only men and West has been transferred to HM Prison Bronzefield.

The house at Cromwell Street (along with the adjoining property) was demolished in 1996. The site was described as occupied by a public walkway.

In 2003, West and Dave Glover, bassist with glam rock group Slade, announced their engagement. The engagement was called off shortly afterwards and Glover was fired from Slade.

There were described subsequent events involving Anne-Marie West and Stephen West, including an apparent suicide bid in November 1999 after throwing herself into water from a bridge near Gloucester, and an attempted suicide in January 2002 after Stephen West’s girlfriend left him. Stephen West tried to hang himself but survived when the rope snapped.

Mrs Leach was described as stating that Fred admitted killing Mary Bastholm, a 15-year-old who went missing in Gloucester in 1968, and that he said there were “two other bodies in shallow graves in the woods” and “there was no way they would ever be found.” She also said that he said there were “20 other bodies spread around” and that he would give the police one a year. It was also described that if he had been telling the truth, he took his secrets to the grave and Rose West showed no signs of wanting to reveal any more about the murders as she served her life sentences.

Victims

Rosemary West’s conviction covered 10 murders. The victims described included:

• Charmaine West (born 22 February 1963): killed in June 1971 by Rosemary West while Fred was in prison. No motive was described as having been put forward.
• Catherine Bernadette “Rena” West (born 14 April 1944): killed August 1971. Rena had called to take Charmaine away and it was believed Fred killed her to avoid an investigation into Charmaine’s whereabouts.
• Lynda Gough (born 1 May 1953): killed April 1973. A lodger at 25 Cromwell St, and it was described that Gough and Rosemary would share lovers.
• Carol Ann Cooper (born 10 April 1958): killed November 1973. Cooper was living in a children’s home in Worcester when she disappeared while walking home from the cinema.
• Lucy Katherine Partington (born 4 March 1952): killed December 1973. It was described that she spent Christmas with her family in Cheltenham, visited a friend, disappeared after leaving to catch a bus home, and that there was strong evidence she had been kept alive for at least several days. It was also described that on 3 January 1974 Fred went to a hospital early hours to get a serious laceration stitched; a knife matching the cut was found with Partington’s body and police surmised he sustained the injury while dismembering the body.
• Theresa Siegenthaler (born 27 November 1952): killed April 1974. A student in South London who left to hitch-hike to Ireland and disappeared.
• Shirley Hubbard (born 26 June 1959): killed November 1974. It was described that when her remains were found, her head was completely covered in tape with only a three-inch rubber tube inserted to allow her to breathe.
• Juanita Marion Mott (born 1 March 1957): killed April 1975. A former lodger at 25 Cromwell St; she was living with a friend of her mother in Newent when she disappeared.
• Shirley Anne Robinson (born 8 October 1959): killed May 1978. A lodger at 25 Cromwell St who was a prostitute for the Wests and disappeared after becoming pregnant with Fred’s child.
• Alison Chambers (born 8 September 1962): killed August 1979. Described as the last known sexually-motivated killing.
• Heather Ann West (born 17 October 1970): killed June 1987. It was described that Fred’s attentions focused on Heather after Anne Marie left home, and that Fred claimed he had not meant to kill her. It was also described that Fred and Rose told their children Heather had left for a job in Devon, later changing the story to her having run off with a lesbian lover. Heather’s body was found under the patio that Fred built over the fishpond his son Stephen dug.

Additional victim references within the narrative included Mary Bastholm, a 15-year-old missing Gloucester teenager in 1968. The narrative described that Fred admitted killing her but that no body had been found.

A separate narrative of victims also listed other victims with body-find locations and described them as part of a broader account. Those included:

• Ann McFall (born 8 months pregnant in 1967, described as Scottish nanny and Fred’s lover): body found in a “letterbox field” near Much Marcle.
• Rena Costello (born 1970 context, described as Fred’s first wife, Scottish): body found in a “fingerpost field” near Much Marcle.
• Charmaine West (born 8, described as age 8): body found beneath 25 Midland Road, Gloucester.
• Linda Gough (born 21): body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
• Lucy Partington (born 21): body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
• Carol Cooper (born 15): body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
• Juanita Mott (born 19): body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
• Shirley Hubbard (born 15): body found beneath 25 Cromwell St.
• Therese Siegenthaler (born 21): body found beneath 25 Cromwell St.
• Alison Chambers (born 17): body found in garden of 25 Cromwell St.
• Shirley Robinson (born 18): body found in garden of 25 Cromwell St.
• Heather West (born 16): body found in garden of 25 Cromwell St.

Other details

Rosemary West was described as a British serial killer and an inmate at HMP Low Newton, Brasside, Durham.

Her full name in the narrative included Rosemary Pauline “Rose” West (née Letts) and stated her date of birth as 29 November 1953.

The narrative described the case as involving a “House of Horrors” and included descriptions of media attention, including references to international film crews.

The narrative included the statement:

"Frederick West would have told her that he would 'sort it out' with the police the following day, and that she 'had nothing to worry about' as he 'would take all the blame'."

Geoffrey Wansell was quoted further on the pact:

"Though he would renege on it during his bleakest hours in prison, it was to bind him to her for the rest of his life."

The narrative included a quote from Fred West to Detective Constable Hazel Savage upon arrest:

"The thing I'd like to stress is that Rose knew nothing at all."

Fred West was quoted in relation to a dispute with police diggers via Stephen West:

"I told one of the detectives that they were going to end up making fools of themselves and he just replied 'That's up to us'. " "I wanted to know the reasons why they thought Heather was buried there but they wouldn't tell me."

The narrative included a quote from Mr Wansnip, Hugh Worsnip:

"It had a tremendous impact on the city." "The world's attention was turned to an obscure street in Gloucester." "American and Japanese film crews were in the city and I was doing interviews for TV and radio stations all over the world."

The narrative included Hugh Worsnip further quoted:

"It was regarded by many people in Gloucester as a sleight on the town." "But he said that, with the exception of Lucy Partington, West had deliberately chosen people whose disappearance would not be unduly noticed." "They were the type of people who were drifting in society and were not easily traceable,"

The narrative included another set of quotes attributed to witnesses and participants, including:

"Scar Hand" "Tulip" "Heather's alive and well, right. She's possibly at the moment in Bahrain working for a drug cartel. She had a Mercedes, a chauffeur and a new birth certificate." "Lots of girls disappear," "take a different name and go into prostitution." "You'd better get back home," "They're going to dig up the garden, looking for Heather." "I killed her" "The argument with the headstrong Heather, slapping her for her insolence and grabbing her throat to stop her from laughing at him." "If somebody's sat there looking at you, you're not going to use a knife on that person are you?" "one almighty crack and the leg come loose, like." "horrible noise...like scrunching" " I didn't want to touch he while she was alive. I mean...if I'd have started cutting her leg or her throat and she'd have suddenly come alive..." "He looked at me so evil and so cold. That look went right through me." "We will always be in love... You will always be Mrs. West, all over the world. That is important to me and to you." "The evidence that Rosemary West knew nothing is not worthy of belief." "The evidence only pointed to Fred." "Are there any more bodies?" "Fred said that there were two other bodies in shallow graves in the woods but there was no way they would ever be found." "He said there were 20 other bodies spread around and he would give the police one a year."

Timeline

• January 1973 — Rosemary West and Fred West were convicted of sexual assault; they were fined for indecent assault of Caroline Roberts (née Owen).
• June 1971 — Charmaine West was killed by Rosemary West while Fred West was serving a prison sentence for petty theft.
• April 1973 to August 1979 — Crimes for which Rosemary West was convicted occurred mainly during this period.
• August 1992 — Police arrived at 25 Cromwell Street with a search warrant to look for pornography and evidence of child abuse; Rosemary West was arrested for assisting in the rape of a minor.
• 7 June 1993 — The rape case against the Wests collapsed when the two main witnesses declined to testify at the court case.
• February 1994 — A further search warrant was obtained to excavate the garden in search of Heather.
• 24 February 1994 — Investigators started searching the house and excavating the garden.
• 25 February 1994 — West was taken into Gloucester police station for questioning.
• 4 March 1994 — West admitted he had carried out nine more murders, including those of his first wife and Ann McFall.
• April 1994 — Rosemary West was arrested, initially on sex offences and later charged with murder.
• 30 June 1994 — Fred West was charged with 11 murders; Rosemary West with 10, after being brought before a magistrates’ court in Gloucester.
• 7 June 1994 — Ann McFall’s body was found.
• 3 July 1994 — Fred West was charged with Ann McFall’s murder.
• 1 January 1995 — Fred West hanged himself while on remand in his cell at Winson Green Prison.
• 29 March 1995 — Fred West’s funeral was held in Coventry.
• October 1995 — Rosemary West was tried at Winchester Crown Court.
• November 22, 1995 — Rosemary West was found guilty of 10 murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
• July 1997 — Home Secretary Jack Straw subjected West to a whole life tariff.
• 1996 — The house at Cromwell Street and adjoining property was demolished and the site made into a pathway.
• 2001 — West announced her intention not to appeal while maintaining her innocence.
• 2003 — West and Dave Glover announced their engagement; it was called off shortly afterwards.
• 2001 (later narrative) — It was described that West spent many years in HM Prison Durham and later was transferred to HM Prison Bronzefield.
• November 1999 — Anne-Marie West was rescued after an apparent suicide bid.
• January 2002 — Stephen West attempted suicide at his home after his girlfriend left him.