Trigger Warning: This article contains graphic details of abuse, murder, and violence
Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves to read one of the most intriguing and horrifying crime stories in British history. The story is about a couple, Fred and Rose White, who terrorized the Gloucester area between 1967 and 1987. The couple might look like an ordinary next-door pair, but behind their innocence and chilling smiles lies a dark, depraved secret that would haunt the nation forever.
Thirty years ago, in 1994, the couple’s horrific crimes finally came to light after decades of sexual abuse, torture, and murder. The pair killed 12 young women and girls between 1967 and 1987, but detectives fear the true number may be even higher.
When the couple was caught after a decade-long killing spree, no one could ever imagine that the walls of 25 Cromwell Street could witness such a horrific case.
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As per Time Magazine, their horrifying crimes only came to light when the couple’s children made disturbing comments to social workers, joking that their missing sister Heather was “under the patio.”
While the comments made by the youngsters were dismissed as dark humor, they later gained attention in February 1994, when Heather was still missing and the cops were about to issue a search warrant at their Gloucestershire home.
When searched, Fred eventually made a chilling confession; Heather’s body was indeed in the garden, just not where they were digging. When the digging happened, the authorities found Heather’s femur first and then the rest of her skeletal body parts. Then came another bone, this time from someone else entirely.
When questioned, Fred confessed to murdering and burying 18-year-old lodger Shirley Robinson. He then led officials to another grave, this one including the remains of 16-year-old runaway Alison Chambers.
Furthermore, a fourth body had also been found, and it was clear that Fred and Rose’s house was a mini-graveyard. However, police still lacked evidence to implicate Rose. She was released on bail. Fred confessed that he never wanted to kill his daughter but only wanted to convince her to stay at home.
In the Netflix documentary series titled Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story, there are old interviews with Fred West’s lawyer, law enforcement officials, and journalists who reported on the case that shocked the UK in the 1990s. There, Fred confessed to attacking Heather with a bread knife and strangling her with an electric cord to ensure she was dead.
John Fitzgerald, a government child protection advisor involved in the case, describes the children’s experiences as “appalling abuse.” Moreover, lunatic Fred reportedly abused both Heather and his other daughter, Mae.
While Fred refused to comment on the allegations when he was questioned, their eldest son, Stephen West, is heard saying, “We felt a lot happier to be at school where we felt safe. It was a better place to be than to be at home.”
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Moreover, Rose West also had violent outbursts, and she used to beat the kids, as per their son, Stephen West. All the remaining kids confessed that they were too scared to tell people or seek legal help, as they were brutally threatened. Fitzgerald noted, “These murders would never have come to light if it weren’t for the children of the Wests saying they had a sister under the patio.”
Meanwhile, Fred said in the recordings that he didn’t tell the whole truth, which means that there were more victims than the ones we told you about. Reportedly, Rose West also became involved in sex work upon her husband’s request and Caroline Owens, a former nanny for the family, confessed to being forced into the sex circle alongside the couple.
In addition, Fred also had an affair with one of the victims, and the entire story was of nothing but two lunatics and their behavior, which was beyond human comprehension. Their victims included lodgers, runaways, and even their children. Many were drawn into the house under the impression of kindness, only to be tortured and murdered. Several of their targets were buried in shallow graves beneath the home.
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Among those murdered was Fred’s stepdaughter, Charmaine West, who was just eight years old when Rose killed her. Charmaine’s mother, Rena West, was also murdered soon after. Other victims included 21-year-old student Lucy Partington, Swiss hitchhiker Therese Siegenthaler, and pregnant lover Shirley Robinson.
Fred built false walls and fake fireplaces and poured concrete over cellars to cover his crimes. Police would eventually discover the remains of ten young women in the home and garden. Police could finally charge Rose West after enough evidence was collected against her on June 30, 1994.
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Meanwhile, Fred, who was in prison, died by suicide without any justice in January 1995 while awaiting trial. He left Rose to face justice alone. As per the Sun, in November 1995, Rose was found guilty of ten murders and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. She remains behind bars to this day. Their iconic house in the U.K. (Cromwell Street). It is still there today.
Stream the documentary now on Netflix.
