Inside 25 Cromwell St

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Discovery Networks Europe commissioned a documentary focusing on the West Murders as part of their Crimes that Shook the World series. Titled Crimes that Shook the World: The Wests, this documentary was released in 2006 and is narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith. [264] August: Catherine "Rena" Costello, (27). Rena is believed to have travelled to the Wests at 25 Midland Road to either enquire about or obtain custody of her two daughters in mid- to late-August 1971. It is believed Fred killed Rena to avoid any investigation into Charmaine's whereabouts. She is believed to have been strangled to death by Fred before her extensively mutilated body was buried in Letterbox Field. [215] Killed Another Twenty: Fred West Reveals". The Canberra Times. 15 November 1995 . Retrieved 1 July 2023.

April: Thérèse Siegenthaler, (21). A sociology student at Greenwich Community College. Siegenthaler was abducted by the Wests as she hitchhiked from South London to Holyhead. Fred mistook her Swiss accent to be a Dutch one, and always referred to her as either "the Dutch girl" or "Tulip". She was reported missing to Scotland Yard by her family in Switzerland when communication from their daughter ceased. [222] Fred later further concealed Siegenthaler's remains by building a false chimney breast on her grave. The West children also divulged their mother had inflicted most of the physical abuse and that their father frequently said that if they told anyone about the goings-on in the household they would be "buried under the patio" like their sister Heather. [145] Investigation [ edit ] As police attempted to lead Fred from the hearing, he resisted their efforts, and again attempted to move towards Rose, who again winced and attempted to writhe away from his grasp. [171] At the bottom of the suicide note found in his cell was a drawing of a gravestone, within which was written: "In loving memory. Fred West. Rose West. Rest in peace where no shadow falls. In perfect peace he waits for Rose, his wife." [174] Trial of Rose West [ edit ]

June: Heather West, (16). Heather was likely to have been murdered because Fred and Rose considered her efforts to leave the household as a threat, as she divulged to her classmates the extensive physical and sexual abuse which occurred at Cromwell Street. [57] Fred claimed he had not intended to kill his daughter, but carpet fibres found on two lengths of rope, discovered with her remains, suggested that she had been restrained and subjected to a sexual assault prior to her murder. Her body was dismembered with a heavy serrated knife and later buried in a hole in the garden which Fred had his son dig, under the pretence of installing a fish pond. [210] The 1994 police investigation into Heather's disappearance led to the discovery of her body, and the arrest of both her parents. West, Anne Marie (1995). Out of the Shadows: Fred West's Daughter Tells Her Harrowing Story of Survival. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-71968-5. Rose's parents forbade their daughter from continuing to date Fred, but she defied their wishes, prompting them to visit Gloucestershire social services to explain that their 15-year-old daughter was dating an older man, and that they had heard rumours that she had begun to engage in prostitution at his caravan. [54] In response, Rose was placed in a home for troubled teenagers in Cheltenham in August 1969, [55] and only allowed to leave under controlled conditions. When allowed to return home to visit her parents at weekends, Rose almost invariably took the opportunity to visit Fred. [55] As well as the 12 confirmed victims, police firmly believe Fred is also responsible for the 1968 disappearance of 15-year-old Mary Bastholm, but to date no body has been found. [214] West's son, Stephen, has said he firmly believes the missing teenager was an early victim of his father, as Fred had openly boasted of having committed Bastholm's murder while on remand. [228]

He promised to demonstrate Rose's controlling and sexually sadistic character and her efforts to deflect suspicion about the disappearance of their victims. In 1946 the family moved to Moorcourt Cottage, a semi-detached building adjacent to Moorcourt Farm, on the outskirts of Much Marcle, where Fred's father worked as a milking herdsman and harvest hand. The cottage had no electricity and was heated by a log fire. [5] By 1951 Fred's mother had given birth to eight children, six of whom survived; Fred was always his mother's favourite. [6] He was seen as a mother's boy and relied mostly on his siblings for companionship.

Some investigators believe the victim Fred claimed to have murdered while he worked on a construction project in Birmingham may have been 23-year-old Elizabeth Swann, who disappeared while hitchhiking from Birmingham to Gloucester on 1 July 1974, having informed acquaintances she had obtained a receptionist's job in Gloucester and that she intended to hitchhike to the city. [204] Masters, Brian (1996). She Must Have Known: Trial of Rosemary West. London: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-40650-5.