The Horrific Crimes Of Fred And Rose West—The Truth Behind ‘A British Horror Story'

Forbes

15-05-2025

Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. A still of Rose West and Fred West from Fred and Rose ... More West: A British Horror Story.
Netflix's new documentary Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story explores the case of one of the most prolific serial killer duos in British history. The husband-and-wife pair were accused of committing some of the most gruesome crimes imaginable, targeting their own children and vulnerable women in their community.
In 1994, police in Gloucester, England, were alerted to Fred and Rose's horrific acts after what began as a disturbing family 'joke.' Social services had informed police of a chilling rumor shared by the couple's children: If they misbehaved, they'd end up 'under the patio' like their sister Heather, who had mysteriously vanished in 1986.
The three-part docuseries features more than 107 police interview tapes and 50 hours of interrogation to shed light on what happened to at least 12 women who were senselessly murdered by the Wests.
Read on to learn what Fred and Rose West did, how they were caught, and the horrors police ultimately found buried behind the gates of their home at 25 Cromwell Street.
Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. A still of Rose West from Fred and Rose West: A British ... More Horror Story.
Fred and Rosemary West were a married British couple living in Gloucester, England, with their ten children. Their relationship began in early 1969 when 27-year-old Fred met 15-year-old Rose at a bus stop. She soon left her job at a bakery to move in as a full-time nanny to Fred's children and gave birth to their first child, Heather, in 1970.
Fred later described their relationship as two people acting 'as one.' On police tapes featured in Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story, he said, 'I trained Rose to do what I wanted. That is why our marriage worked out so well. […] She just blended into my way of living."
Before meeting Rose, Fred was married to Catherine "Rena" Costello, with whom he had two daughters, Charmaine and Anne Marie. After Rena left him, Fred hired 18-year-old Ann McFall to help care for the children, but she mysteriously disappeared in 1967.
In 1971, while Fred was in prison for 'motoring offences and theft,' his daughter Charmaine vanished. That same year, Rena also disappeared, according to ABC AU.
One year later, Fred and Rose got married and moved into what would later be known as the 'House of Horrors' at 25 Cromwell Street. The couple had more children and isolated them from the outside world.
"We lived in a vacuum at Cromwell Street. No-one was allowed in without Dad's or Rose's permission, not even our playmates from school," Anne Marie, who said she was sexually abused by her father, wrote, according to the Australian news outlet.
Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story
Fred and Rose West were accused of the rape, torture, and murder of at least 12 people over more than two decades, crimes they committed to fulfill their sexual fantasies. Their victims included their own children, Fred's ex-wife, former nannies, and vulnerable women – many of whom had no guardians.
In 1973, they were convicted of abducting and sexually abusing 17-year-old Caroline Owens, a nanny who escaped and reported them to police. The couple was fined £25 each at the time.
But later that year, their crimes escalated. On April 20, 1973, Lynda Gough became the first known sexually motivated murder the couple committed together. Over time, Fred and Rose would go on to murder at least eight more women, many of them subjected to the worst kind of abuse before their deaths, according to ABC AU.
Ann McFall, Catherine Rena Costello, Charmaine West, Lynda Gough, Carole Ann Cooper, Lucy ... More Partington, Therese Siegenthaler, Shirley Hubbard, Juanita Mott, Shirley Anne Robinson, Alison Chambers, Heather West
Fred eventually confessed to killing 12 people, though the true number may be higher. His first suspected victim was Ann McFall, who disappeared in 1967 while pregnant with Fred's child. In 1968, 15-year-old Mary Bastholm vanished under similar mysterious circumstances. (In 2021, police searched a café cellar for her remains, but her disappearance remains unsolved.)
Nine sets of remains were found buried on 25 Cromwell Street, including Heather West (Fred and Rose's daughter), Charmaine West (Fred's daughter with Rena), and Shirley Robinson (a tenant who was eight months pregnant with Fred's child).
Other known victims include runaways or women without guardians: Alison Chambers, Thérèse Siegenthaler, Shirley Hubbard, Lucy Partington, Juanita Mott, Lynda Gough, and Carole Ann Cooper.
Some remains were found buried in nearby fields in Kempley, including those of McFall and Rena Costello.
Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story - Production Still Image
The investigation began in 1992 after an anonymous tip regarding the sexual abuse of one of their daughters. Anne Marie, who had run away from home, told police about the abuse she saw and endured in the home, according to ABC AU.
As detailed in her autobiography, Anne Marie told police about her missing sister, Heather, saying she had 'looked for since the day she vanished.' (She later retracted her statement.)
Then came the chilling "joke" that turned out to be true after all. One day, one of the siblings said something like, 'Suppose Dad killed Heather and buried her in the garden?'
Mae West said it was a joke, but the more the children thought about it, the more they 'started to wonder if – just possibly – it could be true.' Eventually, the comments about Heather were overheard by social workers, prompting the police to get involved.
On February 24, 1994, police executed a search warrant at 25 Cromwell Street. When asked about Heather, Fred initially claimed his daughter had moved to Birmingham. But the next day, when police returned to question Rose, Fred confessed to Heather's murder.
In the following months, Fred confessed – then recanted his confession – to several of the murders at different moments in the investigation.
Fred initially tried to protect Rose, claiming she knew nothing about the murders. On January 1, 1995, he died by suicide in prison, a month before the pretrial was set to begin, according to Netflix's Tudum.
Rose pleaded not guilty to ten counts of murder, with her defense team claiming she had been manipulated and was unaware of Fred's crimes. However, witnesses – including Caroline Owens – testified that Rose directly participated in the abuse and violence.
Owens said during trial that she was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and held against her will by both Rose and Fred, who threatened to kill her. One neighbor said in A British Horror Story that Rose admitted she would join Fred in searching for vulnerable victims. Because she was a woman in the passenger seat, it was easier to lure victims inside.
The trial lasted more than a month, and Rose West was found guilty of ten murders. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, becoming the second woman in UK's modern history to be given that sentence, per ABC AU. Rose is currently serving her life sentence at HM Prison New Hall.
In 1996, 25 Cromwell Street was demolished. As of March 2024, the surviving West children are still in touch. Mae West told The Daily Mail UK they have "stuck together" in the aftermath of their parents' horrific crimes.
"Sometimes I feel, 'It's all right for [Rose]'," Mae West said. 'She's had counselling, she's done a degree in English; every course she's been offered she's said 'yes' to. She has a full life [of] hobbies, gym, sewing, cookery. She lives in a bubble.'
Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story is streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.