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All we know about serial killer Fred West and his wife Rose

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All we know about serial killer Fred West and his wife Rose
All we know about serial killer Fred West and his wife Rose

FRED West remains one of the most notorious criminals in British history.

Here's what we know about the heinous crimes he committed with his wife Rose West.

 Fred with warped wife Rose, who was jailed for life for killing 10 girls eiqrrietiqhkprw
Fred with warped wife Rose, who was jailed for life for killing 10 girlsCredit: Rex Features

Who was Fred West?

Fred West was born in Much Marcle, a village in Herefordshire, in September 1941 - and went on to become one of Britain's worst serial killers.

He and his wife Rose abducted, tortured, raped and murdered young women over 20 years - including his first wife Rena Costello.

Many of the women they murdered were buried under the floorboards of their home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, which was later torn down.

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Fred committed suicide awaiting trial for 12 murders in January 1995.

He claimed his mother introduced him to sex at 12 years old, and he believed in incest because his father had sex with Fred's sisters. Fred's brother Doug dismissed these claims.

In 1961, he was accused of impregnating a 13-year-old girl who was a friend of the Wests.

At his trial for the rape of the family friend, he escaped a jail sentence as it was claimed that he was suffering from fits as a result of a head trauma.

He was, however, convicted of child molestation.

How did he meet Rose?

Fred was 28 years old when he met Rose when she was just 15 in early 1969.

He, then living in a caravan, pursued the teenager and within weeks she became a nanny to his children Charmaine and Anne Marie.

Rose's father Bill was a paranoid schizophrenic who repeatedly sexually abused her.

He disapproved of the relationship because of the age difference and threatened Fred.

The couple moved to a flat in Gloucester and Rose began working as a prostitute.

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They married in secret in January 1972 and, a few months later, they moved to 25 Cromwell Street.

How many children did the Wests have together?

Rose was often pregnant and was the mother of eight children.

Five of her children were fathered by Fred, while three were fathered by clients she met through her prostitution.

Fred also had another daughter, Anne Marie, from his first marriage which ended in 1971 - when the maniac murdered her mum Catherine.

He went on to have two other girls, Heather Ann and Mae, with partner-in-crime Rose — plus two sons, Stephen and Barry, who died of a suspected overdose in 2021.

Tragically, Heather became the couple’s final murder victim in 1987.

Cops discovered the couple's house of horrors after Heather vanished at the age of 17.

The monstrous pair had strangled her and beheaded her.

Her mutilated corpse was dug up at their Gloucester semi by police — who were stunned to find eight other bodies.

Who were the serial killers' victims?

Police uncovered a number of mutilated female bodies in the garden and cellar of the Wests' Gloucestershire home.

In 1995 Rose was convicted of 10 murders, while Fred who admitted 12 murders hanged himself while on remand in prison.

He had confessed to killing up to 30 victims., but that number could be even higher.

West was suspected to be involved in the disappearance of 15-year-old Mary Bastholm who was last seen near to the site in Southgate Street, Gloucester, more than fifty years ago.

Detectives have been searching a cafe in Gloucester for her remains and are digging up six "anomalies" found in the building.

How did Fred West die?

Ahead of his trial, the notorious rapist and killer had been on strict suicide watch.

However, these rules were relaxed and he died on January 1, 1995, by hanging himself.

West left a suicide note in his cell which featured a drawing of a gravestone and a message to his wife Rose.

Nicola Stow

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