Fred & Rose: The Full Story of Fred and Rose West and the Gloucester House of Horrors

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Upon Fred's release, Rose left her parents' home to move into the Cheltenham flat Fred then lived in. It captures perfectly what made them tick while still providing readers with enough facts to make sense of their crimes without glorifying or sensationalising them too much. According to Anna Marie, she and Charmaine were frequently subjected to criticism, beatings, and other forms of punishment throughout the time they lived under Rose's care at Midland Road. Rose was always present in the room when these acts occurred, [99] to ensure Anna Marie did not reveal her true age.

He and Rena continued their affair, and McLachlan became increasingly aghast at Rena's bruises and black eyes. Her limbs had been carefully disarticulated, and many phalanges (finger bones) were missing from her body—likely to have been retained as keepsakes; her unborn child may also have been cut from her womb.

On one occasion when Anna Marie was aged 13 or 14, Rose took her to a local pub, insisting she drink several glasses of barley wine.

Rose, who had begun to engage in prostitution by this time, explained to Owens that she worked as a masseuse when the younger woman enquired about the steady stream of men visiting her. There was also a criminal element-one former resident was serving a prison sentence for attempted murder. Three things stand out to me in this book, (1) the utter depravity of Fred and Rose West; (2) the horrible failure of the Gloucestershire Social Services; and (3) the amazing tenacity of one Detective Constable Hazel Norma Savage, without her involvement, the bodies might never have been found. It was this sort of incompetence which allowed the Wests to then kidnap, rape and kill four young women in that same house within a 12 month period.Of course, if they had thought in advance, and had not responded to their every passing whim, many young women would not have died agonizingly. In her subsequent statement to police, Owens stated that, at Cromwell Street, she was given a drugged cup of tea to drink, then again gagged and subjected to a prolonged sexual assault from Fred and Rose. Seeing her escape avenue, Owens agreed, and vacuumed the house to indicate her belief in becoming an extended member of the family.

Hospital records reveal Charmaine had received treatment for a severe puncture wound to her left ankle in the casualty unit of the Gloucester Royal Hospital on 28 March 1971. In her later testimony at Rose's trial, Shirley stated she and her family had lived in the upper flat of Midland Road in 1971 and that her two daughters had been playmates of Charmaine and Anna Marie. The room included a private bar, and a red light outside the door warned when Rose was not to be disturbed.Over a period of several years, Fred and Rose West murdered a series of young women, burying many of the bodies under their own house at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester - their victims including one of their own daughters. Although her mom and siblings were beaten by dear old dad, Rose was spared, most likely because she was as dumb as a box of rocks. There has never been a more relentless murderer in British penal history than the Gloucester builder Frederick West, who escaped justice by hanging himself in Winson Green Prison on 1 January 1995. The author himself reads this updated version of the audiobook, bringing the gruesome story to life while exploring the reasons Fred and Rose became two of Britain’s most notorious serial killers. This looked at the effect that sitting in on the interviews between Fred West and the police had on the woman designated his ‘appropriate adult.