Latest news with #HMPBirmingham
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Prisoners 'plotted to kill Rose West with pool balls and sock' behind bars
Evil Rose West has been behind bars since 1995 for torturing and murdering 10 women and girls alongside husband Fred West - she is said to be deeply unpopular in prison Prisoners plotted to kill sick serial killer Rose West with pool balls and a sock. There was also a plan to set her cell on fire. West was jailed in 1995 for murdering 10 women and girls alongside husband Fred in what became known as the House of Horrors murders in Gloucester. To this day, it is known as one of the most revolting crimes in British history. Multiple bodies were found in their garden under a patio and in a sex-dungeon cellar. Fred killed himself in HMP Birmingham before the trial, meaning he never faced justice to the anguish of the victims' families. But Rose West, 71, has been rotting in prison ever since, as one of few criminals in the UK to ever be given a whole life term that means she'll never be free. And she was reportedly the target of an assassination plot behind bars. The plot in 2008 involved battering her with pool balls in a sock, it is reported. In HMP Durham, she was also targeted in an arson attack when a fellow inmate tried to set fire to her cell. Her former legal representative, Leo Goatley, told The Sun: "Rose was on a female wing with lots of other women serving long sentences, women who just wanted to get on and have some peace and quiet, even though they'd been convicted of some serious offences. "About two years after her conviction, in the late nineties, they had women serving shorter sentences coming into the wing. Someone tried to set light to her cell and that was a total disruption for her." West has also received threats from a fellow serial killer. Joanna Dennehy, convicted of murdering three men within 10 days in Peterborough, allegedly threatened to kill West behind bars. West was moved in 2019 and is now being held in a special unit at the women-only HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire. This week, it emerged Rose can "barely walk" and rarely leaves the wing she's held on. She is also said to have attempted making friends by giving other women gifts, but these efforts fall flat when inmates find out who she is. Netflix released earlier this month. It delves into the nightmarish deeds of the Wests from their unassuming home in Gloucester during the '80s and '90s. The three-part series, which utilises more than 50 hours of previously unseen and unheard police interview tapes from 107 interrogations, promises to cast new light on the murders of at least 12 women by Fred and Rose West.
Edinburgh Live
3 days ago
- Edinburgh Live
Friendless Rose West's life behind bars with unusual prison breakfast
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info New information has emerged about the daily life of infamous serial killer Rose West in prison. Now 71, West and her husband Fred committed horrific crimes at their Gloucester home between 1967 and 1987, raping, torturing, and murdering at least 12 women and girls. Their terrifying deeds didn't come to light until 1992 when their 13 year old daughter Louise accused Fred of rape and Rose of cruelty. The case fell apart after their eldest daughter Anne Marie, who had been abused since she was eight, refused to testify, but the children's accounts raised suspicions with the police. READ MORE - Scottish school worker who called little girl a 'slag' and offered to buy vapes struck off READ MORE - When to expect Edinburgh thunderstorms as rainy spell intensifies The authorities launched a major investigation after learning that the children were frequently threatened with being buried "under the patio like their sister Heather", who had disappeared five years prior. The full extent of the horror was soon revealed, with victims ranging from Rose's eight year old stepdaughter Charmaine to Fred's ex-wife Catherine 'Reno' Costello, aged 27. In 1995, Rose West was given a whole life order, meaning she will spend the rest of her life behind bars, after police found several mutilated bodies buried in the garden, under a patio, and even in a sex dungeon cellar. Fred never faced trial for the atrocities he helped perpetrate, reports the Mirror. He committed suicide while on remand in HMP Birmingham at the age of 53. (Image: (Image: Since ceasing her appeal attempts in 2001, she seems to have accepted the inevitability of dying behind bars, where she has already served nearly three decades. Regular transfers are a part of her life due to violence threats from fellow prisoners. Having spent six years at New Hall, she reputedly leads a comfortable existence. Yet, if things aren't to her liking, she's known to challenge staff members. An insider revealed to 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." Aiming to separate herself from her notorious past, West is believed to have forked out £36 to legally become Jennifer Jones. It's believed that she altered her name via deed poll last December, claiming to acquaintances that it symbolises a fresh start. Nonetheless, her notoriety precedes her at HMP New Hall, a female-only facility near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where her true identity is no secret. Some prisoners snub her overtures of friendship, leaving her to dine solo on tomato soup in her cell for breakfast, followed by long days largely confined to knitting and chatting to her television set due to her limited mobility. West has been moved to a special section of New Hall prison called Rivendell House, where inmates enjoy the luxury of an en-suite cell and access to a laptop to order their groceries. Reports suggest that this part of the jail offers communal spaces that are "more inviting" than other areas. The gruesome legacy of Fred and Rose West is revisited in Netflix's recently released documentary, 'Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story', which aired earlier this month. This chilling three-part saga draws on over 50 hours of unearthed police interview footage from 107 interrogations and aims to shine a fresh light on the ghastly murders of at least a dozen women carried out by the couple from their ordinary-looking Gloucester home in the 1980s and 1990s.
Daily Mirror
20-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Rose West ‘controlled, secretive and full of rage' says lawyer who knew her best
"VERY controlled, secretive and full of rage" — that's how Rose West has been described by the man who knows her better than most. One of Britain's most vile serial killers, West murdered 10 young women with husband Fred at their Gloucester home of horrors. In 1995, she was caged for life after police discovered a series of mutilated bodies buried in the garden, beneath a patio and even in a sex dungeon cellar. Among the victims was their 16-year-old daughter Heather, who had been subjected to horrific sexual abuse by Fred. He forced her to watch porn with him and even tried to impregnate her. Now her former solicitor Leo Goatley, who had a front-row seat to the twisted mind behind the crimes, has told The Sun the 71-year-old will 'go to the grave with many secrets'. He told The Sun of the sickening things West claimed about Caroline Owens, a 17-year-old nanny who was drugged, beaten and sexually assaulted by the couple. Leo said: 'Like Fred, in a lot of her interviews she would deflect blame from themselves to the children. 'She would say things happened with Caroline but she was up for it, she wanted it… She says she was exaggerating. She's making a fuss. 'Fred had this really warped idea that it was a father's right to take his daughter's virginity and that Heather was a lesbian. They claimed they just wanted her to have a good marriage and somehow this shocking abuse would facilitate that.' Interest in the case has exploded again following Netflix 's new docuseries Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. Their horrifying crimes came to light in 1992 when daughter Louise, then just 13, accused Fred of rape and Rose of cruelty. That case collapsed after eldest daughter Anne Marie — abused from age eight — refused to testify, but what the children told police raised red flags. Officers launched a huge investigation after learning the kids were constantly threatened with being buried 'under the patio like their sister Heather', who had vanished five years earlier. The full horror was soon uncovered. In total, the Wests killed at least 12 women and girls — their youngest victim was Rose's stepdaughter Charmaine, just eight, and the eldest was Fred's ex-wife Catherine 'Reno' Costello, 27. Most of their victims were teens. Some lived with them, others were nannies, while some schoolgirls were snatched off the streets. Eight of the victims were just teenagers – some lived with Fred and Rose West, others were hired as nannies, while a few were abducted straight off the streets. Fred never stood trial for the horror he helped unleash. He took his own life while on remand in HMP Birmingham. But his wife, Rose, did face justice – and is one of the few criminals in Britain to receive a whole life order, meaning she will die behind bars. Leo Goatley, who represented Rose between 1992 and 2004, says the woman he came to know over more than a decade was outwardly sociable, even joking – but harboured a dark, simmering rage beneath the surface. 'She could also be very controlled and secretive sometimes, she would fly into a rage and shriek and spit,' he explained. 'I recall one witness described her as being 'rough' during a lesbian encounter. Rose insisted she was tender and got very upset. 'Another time, I'd be reading out a statement and asking her, 'Were you with Fred in this van when you abducted Anne Marie?'. 'She'd trill and say 'it's nothing to do with me,' even though she later admitted to it. It was a primitive human response. 'I don't dispute that, in those moments, she would have been capable of extreme violence. She was, of course, complex and there was a maternal side to her too.' Leo believes Rose has shut off any connection to the depravity of her past, mentally distancing herself from the crimes that shocked the nation. He says she's 'dissociated herself' from the atrocities at Cromwell Street, locking them 'away in a room of her mind'. Instead, Rose has created a new image for herself behind bars — casting off her monstrous past in favour of a new identity as a gentle, sewing-loving prison 'caregiver'. 'She'd much rather be the amenable, kindly old lady who likes to spend tea with a vicar's wife who visits behind bars,' Leo says. This split in personality has helped West remain disturbingly calm and remorseless, he adds — revealing she's only shown emotion on rare occasions, including when Fred confessed to murdering their daughter Heather. Leo Goatley's book Understanding Fred and Rose West is available now.
Belfast Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Man who killed ‘selfless' father by punching him outside nightclub is jailed
Kejuan Malone, 33, hit Kevin Taylor, 51, five times outside Decode Lounge in Lichfield Street in Walsall shortly before 5am on December 7 last year, with the final blow causing him to fall back and hit his head on the pavement. On Monday, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Malone, of Osprey Close in Hall Green, Birmingham, made no attempt to help Mr Taylor as he lay unconscious and instead left the scene in a car with his friends. CCTV footage from outside the club showed Mr Taylor had been moving from group to group talking to people and 'trying to be sociable' before he approached Malone and his friends, who he did not know. While the interaction was initially cordial, Mr Taylor appeared to lightly push Malone, who 'took exception' and hit the victim twice in the face. After getting his phone out to start filming, someone else knocked the device to the ground and as he bent over to pick it up, Malone punched him again twice in the head and neck. The final punch was more 'forceful', the court heard, and led to Mr Taylor stumbling backwards and hitting his head on the pavement. The court was told no-one initially came to help Mr Taylor as he lay unconscious, with some bystanders taking pictures and videos of him while on the ground. A member of the public did then try to administer first aid and paramedics were called but they could not revive him and he was pronounced dead at 5.20am. Malone, appearing in court for his sentencing via video link from HMP Birmingham wearing a green T-shirt and sitting behind a table, seemed to be watching intently as the CCTV footage was played to the court. He looked down as Mr Taylor's daughter Chantel told the court her family had been filled with grief following his death. Describing him as a 'kind and selfless man', Ms Taylor said the family had to ask for financial help to return his body to Zimbabwe for his funeral. Calling him a pillar of the Zimbabwean community, she said: 'Since that day our lives have been filled with grief, pain and a deep sense of loss none of us can describe. 'He was always the first to give even though he didn't have much himself. He never missed a chance to uplift others. He was a man of deep faith. He had a positive outlook on life that inspired everyone around him. 'Losing him so violently has broken us all. Every day is a reminder of what we have lost.' Jailing him for five years and four months, Judge Michael Chambers KC accepted Malone felt genuine remorse for his actions and had pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the earliest opportunity, but said it would have been obvious to him at the time that Mr Taylor was vulnerable and intoxicated. He said: 'As a result of your unlawful violence in a public place, you caused the untimely death of Mr Taylor. 'He was clearly a decent, hard-working family man. He was obviously much loved. 'He was clearly and obviously vulnerable because he had had a lot to drink, as he was perfectly entitled to do. 'Mr Taylor can be seen moving from group to group in a perfectly proper and lawful manner. 'There was some sort of altercation resulting in his pushing you with his left hand. 'On any view, it was a gentle push and it did not justify the assault by you on him. 'His death was caused, in effect, as a result of blunt force head trauma. 'This wasn't a one-punch manslaughter. 'Although there was a push by the deceased, it constitutes minimal provocation. 'It must have been obvious to you he had had a great deal to drink. 'This was a sustained assault in a public place and you did not remain to assist.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man who killed ‘selfless' father by punching him outside nightclub is jailed
A man who killed a 'kind and selfless' father by punching him multiple times outside a club has been jailed for more than five years for his manslaughter. Kejuan Malone, 33, hit Kevin Taylor, 51, five times outside Decode Lounge in Lichfield Street in Walsall shortly before 5am on December 7 last year, with the final blow causing him to fall back and hit his head on the pavement. On Monday, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Malone, of Osprey Close in Hall Green, Birmingham, made no attempt to help Mr Taylor as he lay unconscious and instead left the scene in a car with his friends. CCTV footage from outside the club showed Mr Taylor had been moving from group to group talking to people and 'trying to be sociable' before he approached Malone and his friends, who he did not know. While the interaction was initially cordial, Mr Taylor appeared to lightly push Malone, who 'took exception' and hit the victim twice in the face. After getting his phone out to start filming, someone else knocked the device to the ground and as he bent over to pick it up, Malone punched him again twice in the head and neck. The final punch was more 'forceful', the court heard, and led to Mr Taylor stumbling backwards and hitting his head on the pavement. The court was told no-one initially came to help Mr Taylor as he lay unconscious, with some bystanders taking pictures and videos of him while on the ground. A member of the public did then try to administer first aid and paramedics were called but they could not revive him and he was pronounced dead at 5.20am. Malone, appearing in court for his sentencing via video link from HMP Birmingham wearing a green T-shirt and sitting behind a table, seemed to be watching intently as the CCTV footage was played to the court. He looked down as Mr Taylor's daughter Chantel told the court her family had been filled with grief following his death. Describing him as a 'kind and selfless man', Ms Taylor said the family had to ask for financial help to return his body to Zimbabwe for his funeral. Calling him a pillar of the Zimbabwean community, she said: 'Since that day our lives have been filled with grief, pain and a deep sense of loss none of us can describe. 'He was always the first to give even though he didn't have much himself. He never missed a chance to uplift others. He was a man of deep faith. He had a positive outlook on life that inspired everyone around him. 'Losing him so violently has broken us all. Every day is a reminder of what we have lost.' Jailing him for five years and four months, Judge Michael Chambers KC accepted Malone felt genuine remorse for his actions and had pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the earliest opportunity, but said it would have been obvious to him at the time that Mr Taylor was vulnerable and intoxicated. He said: 'As a result of your unlawful violence in a public place, you caused the untimely death of Mr Taylor. 'He was clearly a decent, hard-working family man. He was obviously much loved. 'He was clearly and obviously vulnerable because he had had a lot to drink, as he was perfectly entitled to do. 'Mr Taylor can be seen moving from group to group in a perfectly proper and lawful manner. 'There was some sort of altercation resulting in his pushing you with his left hand. 'On any view, it was a gentle push and it did not justify the assault by you on him. 'His death was caused, in effect, as a result of blunt force head trauma. 'This wasn't a one-punch manslaughter. 'Although there was a push by the deceased, it constitutes minimal provocation. 'It must have been obvious to you he had had a great deal to drink. 'This was a sustained assault in a public place and you did not remain to assist.'
