Rose West's last days in jail - name change, vape bribes and barely able to move

Daily Mirror

29-05-2025

Depraved serial killer Rosemary West is one of only four women in Britain to be given a whole life order. Amid new reports of her cell conditions, the Mirror takes a look at what the life of UK's most reviled woman looks like now
Rosemary West is living out the rest of her days in isolation from behind bars as her health rapidly declines - a far cry from her previous 'luxury life' in jail.
The serial killer, 71, was sentenced to life in prison after she raped, tortured and killed at least 12 women with her husband Fred West. They committed their crimes from their own home in Gloucester, 25 Cromwell Street, which later became known as a 'House of Horrors.'
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The evil couple were arrested on February 25, 1994, on suspicion of the murder of their daughter Heather, who'd been missing since 1987. The following day, the teenager's skeletal remains were recovered in their back garden.
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The tragic discovery was only the tip of the iceberg. Over the course of 20 years, the Wests brutally slayed at least ten vulnerable young women and girls, whom they subjected to depraved acts of torture and sadism. Fred West died by suicide on New Year's Day, 1995, leaving his wife Rose West to stand trial in October of that year.
Although she protested her innocence, trying to portray Fred as the sole killer, grim witness testimonies painted a very different picture with many even viewing her as the dominant force behind the sick crimes. Rose is now being held in a special unit at HMP New Hall known as Rivendell House, where 30 prisoners each have an en-suite cell and are allocated a laptop, which they can use to order food from. She is reportedly now barely able to move, according to The Sun, and only leaves her cell when she's escorted by prison officers.
Her change in routine comes after she was forced to move from her cushy cell in top-security jail Low Newton in 2019, after another notorious serial killer threatened to murder her. She had spent a decade enjoying Bake-Off competitions and providing salon services for fellow inmates, according to reports at the time.
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Here, we take a look at the killer's new life in jail where she will live out her dying days...
'Disabled room and vape bribes'
A source told The Sun:"She's in a disabled room now because she can barely walk. She never really leaves the wing she's held on and is escorted all the time by prison officers if she goes anywhere. Sometimes she sits in the communal areas on her own.
"No one talks to her because everyone knows who she is and what she did, even if she has changed her name. When I was there, she tried to make friends with the other women and gave them gifts, like vapes, but she was rejected. She likes to watch nature documentaries on the TV in her cell, especially ones about birds."
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Some inmates spurn her attempts at friendship, and she often eats tomato soup in her cell alone for breakfast, before spending most of her time in her cell knitting and talking to the TV, because she can barely walk.
Name change failure
In the hope of distancing herself from her evil crimes, West reportedly paid £36 to change her name to Jennifer Jones. It's understood she changed her name by deed poll in December last year and told friends it's her way of moving on.
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But the decision reportedly infuriated fellow inmates at New Hall women's jail, near Wakefield, West Yorks hire. A pal said, "Rose thinks the name will give her some anonymity, but there's a lot of anger about it. She's chosen the new surname because it's so common, and the Christian name just because she's always liked it. For her, it's more about getting rid of any association to Fred for good."
Myra Hindley 'fling'
Two of the most despised and feared women in Britain started having a 'love affair' in prison, according to reports. Myra Hindley, along with her boyfriend Ian Brady, was jailed in 1966 for killing five children, Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans, in what became known as the Moors Murders.
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She was sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars for her twisted crimes and was jailed in HMP Durham when she first met West in the mid-1990s. The two women are said to have quickly become close, and one fellow prisoner has insisted they were more than just friends.
Prisoner relationships are allowed, but sex is against the rules because the ­premises are ­regarded as public places. The pair reportedly enjoyed a fling, with West telling her former solicitor Leo Goatley: "Yeah, Myra, she's all right, we get on, I want to see how it goes."
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Mr Goatley claims West was "impressed by Hindley's knowledge and ability" as the serial killer had studied with the Open University. The lawyer, who represented West for 12 years, published the book, Understanding Fred and Rose West, in which he revealed the relationship between the two women.
He said: "Rose's first paramour was the Moors murderer, Myra Hindley, who happened to be on the hospital wing at HMP Durham at the same time in 1995 an early 1996." However, Mr Goatley claims their relationship didn't last long with West saying Hindley could be "very manipulative".
He told the Daily Mail: "When I visited a few months later, Rose's opinion of Hindley had changed dramatically. She was saying, 'You have to watch Hindley, mind. She is very manipulative. You don't realise it, but she gets you doing stuff for her. Oh, she's clever, all right. She's flippin' dangerous, that one. She ain't going to take me for a c*** again.' And so heralded the end of the romance."
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'Prison matriarch'
West was reportedly enjoying a 'middle class' life behind bars in November 2017. She spent her days listening to The Archers, baking cakes and getting foot massages. Having taken a hairdressing and beauty therapy course, West started cutting her own hair in a short, feathered style, dyed dark brown at HMP Low Newton, County Durham, according to reports at the time.
She also provided a hairdressing service to other prisoners, although she was only allowed to use blunt-nosed scissors under prison rules. Despite rumours West was suffering from a life-threatening illness, a prison insider said: "There's nothing wrong with her, more's the pity. But it's hardly surprising, is it? She's treated like royalty in there."
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West spent most of her time on F-Wing, along with other women prisoners serving life and long-term sentences, in her own en-suite cell, complete with curtains at the window, a 'fluffy rug' on the floor and a coffee machine, TV and radio.
According to sources in the jail, West liked to see herself as the prison matriarch. "She is always very welcoming to new convicts and often befriends some of the harder cases coming into the prison," said a second source.
"Despite her years in prison, she has always maintained her innocence and encourages others to fight their cases if they also claim they are not guilty. She sees herself as a barrack-room lawyer and will spend a lot of time helping people with legal problems."
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Bake-off winner
The notorious killer won first prize in a prison bake-off competition with a Victorian sponge cake, it was reported in October 2018. West impressed fellow prisoners with her offering, and her sweet treat was voted the best in the contest, which was held among inmates in Low Newton Prison's F-Wing in County Durham.
Despite her horrific crimes, West enjoyed baking cakes and was reportedly allowed to use knives under the supervision of staff. A source told the Daily Star she used her skills in the kitchen to win over lags, claiming: "West uses her cooking skills to win people over.
"There are some very violent women on the wing, and a lot of them are very aggressive towards West because of her crimes. But she tends to defuse situations by offering other prisoners cakes and biscuits."
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Obesity struggle
In February 2019, it was reported that West was "dangerously overweight" after ballooning to 18 stone. She was told to lose weight by doctors or face an early death, so she chose a ketogenic diet in a bid to lose excess fat, according to reports.
Her unhealthy diet behind bars consisted of cake, crisps and chocolate, but she was told to ditch the sugary treats for more nutritious foods such as fish, salads and vegetables to see her health improve. Medics said West suffers from high blood pressure and risks developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
"West has been told on a number of occasions that she is dangerously overweight," one jail source told The Daily Star. "She has opted to go on the keto diet, which promises rapid weight loss quickly if you stick strictly to the rules. She is so heavy that she is often out of breath and sometimes has to have help getting off the toilet." West could only have 20g of carbohydrates a day and was told not to consume more than 1,500 calories daily.
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Prison move after killer threat
West was moved out of her cushy prison cell after more than a decade in July 2019 because another notorious serial killer threatened to murder her. West burst into tears as prison chiefs packed up her belongings for a secret transfer after psycho stabber Joanna Dennehy was moved to the same jail.
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Insiders at top-security Low Newton, where West has been held for more than 10 years, said she was gutted to lose her easy life. But jail bosses feared Dennehy, who stabbed three men to death, would carry out a similar attack on West after saying: "I'll kill that bitch."
The double transfer was ­carried out amid high ­secu­rity because prison bosses did not want them in the same jail. A source said, "Rose West lived a life of luxury in there. She's got it made because she's in the lifers' unit. She doesn't even leave her cell, and they bring food to her. So she was gutted when she had to leave. She was in tears, and the prison officers just packed her things up. She was really upset.
"She didn't want to go. It's been her home for more than ten years, and West is an elderly woman. Low Newton is the highest ­security prison for women in the country, and they had to send Dennehy there. She's one of the UK's most dangerous inmates. She said, 'Send me there and I'll f***ing kill Rose West.' Prison officials took the threat seriously. They moved West to another prison because they said it was a massive security threat."
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Strictly fan
West is said to be a huge fan of some of the nation's biggest celebrity talent shows. The serial killer is a huge fan on both Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice, according to reports.
In 2021, it was revealed that West has been watching the ITV skating contest from prison every week and getting her friends to cast votes for her. A source told The Sun: "Rose is a huge fan. Every weekend, she clears a slot in her evening to watch the latest episode - it's a big part of her prison life. She's got a friend outside prison who she chats to and who makes the call to put a vote in for Rose. If you were the dancer she was backing, it'd be enough to send a shiver down your spine."
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Underwear sale
Last month, the Mirror reported that West's underwear was on display at the True Crime Museum in Hastings after its curator splashed an extraordinary £2,500 on a pair of the murderer's knickers. Museum curator Joel Griggs managed to get hold of the undergarments after they were discovered at HMP Bronzefield – Europe's largest women's prison and current residence of Lucy Letby – where West was incarcerated for four years until 2008.
Joel shared: "A prison worker retrieved them from a laundry basket and later offered them to us for a ridiculous amount of money, which we turned down at the time. Tiny squares of material from the knickers were then offered for sale on eBay, but because the sale contravened eBay's rules and procedures, the items were taken down and the sale never proceeded. On the underwear, you can see small biro marks which the seller planned to cut around to sell off bit by bit.
"When our tenth anniversary came round, I thought it would be worth contacting the prison worker, now retired, again, which I did, and that resulted in us buying them for £2,500."