Latest news with #HMPNewHall
The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
‘Lonely' Rose West's bizarre morning ritual & bribe to make friends in jail as serial killer's last days are revealed
ROSE West has a bizarre morning routine after three decades behind bars, The Sun can reveal. Britain's most notorious female serial killer, now 71, is serving a whole life sentence for helping her husband Fred torture and murder ten girls and women in the 1970s and 80s. 6 6 6 The murders and sexual assaults, committed at their House of Horrors in Gloucester, etch Rose into public memory as Britain's most abhorrent female killer. After 30 years behind bars, West is now increasingly frail and can barely walk. Read how Rose West is spending her final days in prison exclusively in Sun Club. She is understood to spend a lot of time in her cell and almost never leaves the wing she is kept on. Each morning she has a strange habit of taking down her handmade curtains, The Sun has learned. A source told The Sun: 'She made her own curtains for her cell but would only keep them up for an hour or so and then take them down, fold them, and put them away in her clothing cupboard.' Prisoners are allowed to wear their own clothes and Rose would often wear plain black or blue work trousers with a red top. The Sun revealed earlier this week that West would sometimes order tomato soup and eat it in her cell for breakfast. The strange details shed light on her routine inside one of a handful of Britain's women's only prisons, HMP New Hall near Wakefield in West Yorkshire. The couple's horrendous crimes have come back into the spotlight after the release of new Netflix docuseries Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. Netflix documentary delves into the crimes of Fred and Rose West with new testimony and footage Now known as Jennifer Jones after changing her name by deed poll in 2020, West spends her days watching nature documentaries in her cell. She is shunned by other inmates despite her attempts to make friends. A source told The Sun: 'She's in a disabled room now because she can barely walk. 'She never really leaves the wing she is 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. 6 6 6 "No one talks to her because everyone knows who she is and what she did, even if she has changed her name. 'She tried to make friends with the other women and gave them gifts, like vapes, but she was always rejected. 'She likes to watch nature documentaries on the TV in her cell, she likes ones about birds.' Prison protocol means that whenever West walks anywhere in the prison she is surrounded by guards on each side. Since she abandoned her attempts to appeal for conviction in 2001, West is understood to be resigned to dying in prison, despite still maintaining her innocence. West was moved to New Hall in 2019 after spending 11 years at Durham's Low Newton. Before that she was kept at Bronzefield prison, in Ashford, Surrey, before a plot to attack her with a sock filled with pool table balls was uncovered and she had to be moved. It is believed she was moved from Low Newton after fellow serial killer Joanna Dennehy reportedly made threats towards her. West is now being held in a special unit which houses women with personality disorders or those with enhanced status. Each of the 16 prisoners in Rivendell House has an ensuite cell and the communal areas are 'more inviting' than other blocks in the prison, according to inspection reports. Raised flower beds and manicured lawns are also designed to form a 'psychologically informed environment'. Lags held there can take part in yoga classes, film nights, and knitting classes. The Sun revealed previously how West had written letters to pals on the outside about her joy at taking part in the prison book club. Hinting at her cushy life at New Hall, she wrote: "I love stories, I like hearing stories being read, and also I have enjoyed taking part. "It's really good to be able to join in with something that doesn't mean too much stress." However, insiders revealed West sometimes lashes out at staff if she does not get her own way. Incredibly, she also still receives letters from twisted 'fans'. The source added: 'She can be quite abusive to officers if she doesn't get what she wants and she's very set in her ways. 'If she asks for something and it doesn't happen within five minutes, she'll get the hump. 'No one wants to talk to her or be close to her. She sits in the social areas around everyone else just to annoy the other women, knowing they don't want to be around her. 'Often she's just in her cell on her own and the other prisoners can hear her talking to the TV if they walk past. 'Her hair is grey now and she's put on some weight but she still looks the same and she still wears her glasses. 'She never gets any visitors but still gets loads of post and cards from sick admirers on the outside, which has to go through security checks before it gets to her.' West is one of 36 women serving life sentences at the jail, and one of around a dozen female prisoners there over the age of 60. Collectively Fred and Rose West killed at least 12 women and girls, the youngest of which was Rose's eight-year-old stepdaughter Charmaine. Their daughter Heather, 16, was murdered in June 1987 and buried under the patio after being abused by her parents all her life. Some of the young women who were murdered lived with the couple, while others were abducted from the street. Fred never faced justice for his crimes as he killed himself in HMP Birmingham while awaiting trial. In 2021, police began searching for the body of Mary Bastholm, who was 15 when she disappeared in 1968, in the basement of a Gloucester cafe once frequented by Fred. Detectives made it clear they would quiz Rose if they found the teenager's remains. Police did not find Mary's body and West was ultimately never questioned. The family home on Cromwell Street, Gloucester, was demolished after their horrific crimes came to light. Horrors hidden for years By Julia Atherley FRED and Rose West's gruesome killing spree went undetected for decades. The couple raped, tortured and killed at least 12 women and girls between them, from 1967 to 1987. Their atrocities came to light in 1994 after their children told social workers a sister — Heather, who had not been seen since 1986 — was 'under the patio'. Detectives then uncovered the remains of nine women and girls at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. Rose had met Fred in 1969 when she was 15 and he 27. She became pregnant with Heather, and looked after Fred's two daughters from a previous marriage, Charmaine and Anne Marie. Charmaine was eight when murdered by Rose in June 1971. Her mum Catherine was also killed. After giving birth to her second child, Mae June West, Rose started working as a prostitute at the house. The Wests also lured lodgers to their death. Lucy Partington, Juanita Mott and Shirley Hubbard were found in the basement. Therese Siegenthaler was hidden under concrete in front of a false fireplace. Police also discovered lodger Lynda Gough, whose jaw was taped to silence her, and Carol Ann Cooper. Fred killed himself at HMP Birmingham on New Year's Day 1995 while awaiting trial for 12 murders. In November 1995, Rose was convicted of ten murders at Winchester crown court. She tried to pin all the crimes on Fred. An appeal was refused. She is one of only four women to be given a whole life order, along with triple killer Joanna Dennehy, baby murderer Lucy Letby, and Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, who died in 2002.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘Lonely' Rose West gifting vapes to make friends in prison
Rose West is trying to gift fellow inmates vapes to make friends in prison, a source has claimed. The serial killer has been in jail for nearly 30 years following her conviction for her role in the rape, torture and murder of at least 12 women and girls. In a case which horrified the British public, West and her husband, Fred, were found to have even killed her daughter Heather, 16, as well as her eight-year-old stepdaughter, Charmaine. Despite her changing her name, fellow inmates know of her crimes. As a result, they refuse to associate with her and she spends most of her days in her prison cell, knitting and talking to her television, according to The Sun. 'No one talks to her because everyone knows what she did,' the prison source told the paper. 'She's in a disabled room now as 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.' Rose now calls herself Jennifer Jones after changing her name by deed poll in 2020. But the source added: 'No one talks to her because everyone knows who she is and what she did, even if she 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 is said to enjoy watching nature documentaries in her cell, knitting or growing vegetables at the women-only HMP New Hall, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire. West, now aged 71, will die in prison after Jack Straw, the former home secretary, imposed a whole life tariff on the serial killer in 1997. The remains of nine of Rose West's victims – Lynda Gough, 19, Carole Ann Cooper, 15, Lucy Partington, 21, Therese Sigenthaler, 21, Shirley Hubbard, 15, Juanita Mott, 18, Shirley Ann Robinson, 18, and Alison Chambers, 17 – were found buried at the couple's home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester in 1994. It was only the second time the tariff had been used on a female prisoner after serial killer Myra Hindley in 1990, who West would later go on to have a romantic relationship with while at Durham Prison. The serial killer, who has never shown remorse at any point during her incarceration, reportedly enjoys going to the prison's chapel. She has never divulged her secrets about the murders although experts think there could be as many as 30 further victims. Earlier this month, Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story was released on Netflix looking into the killings.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Inside the lonely prison life of Rose West as she struggles to walk and is shunned by everyone... except the serial killer's twisted fans who send her letters
Serial killer Rose West - who has spent the last thirty years behind bars for her depraved crimes - spends her days in isolation and has become increasingly frail, it has been revealed. Rose and her husband Fred remain among Britain's most prolific serial killers, after they carried out a campaign of abuse so vicious that they were branded 'the epitome of evil.' Between 1967 and 1987, the deviant couple tortured, raped, and murdered at least 12 young women in Gloucester, before Fred died by suicide and Rose was sentenced to life in prison in 1995. Three decades later, Rose - who has since changed her name to Jennifer Jones - remains an inmate at women's only HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire. New details of her life in prison suggest that she spends her days alone in her cell knitting and watching nature documentaries, The Sun reports. 'Often she's just in her cell on her own and the other prisoners can hear her talking to the TV if they walk past,' according to a source. Although she 'sometimes sits in the communal areas on her own,' fellow inmates do not talk to her 'because everyone knows who she is and what she did, even if she has changed her name,' a source said. It is also claimed that Rose has tried to befriend other prisoners by offering them gifts, but her efforts have been continuously rejected. Rose and Fred West collaborated on their heinous crimes but Fred escaped justice when he died by suicide while awaiting trial while Rose was sentence to life imprisonment She will also repeatedly sit in social areas around other inmates just to annoy them, knowing that they do not want to be around her. The convicted serial killer is also said to have resigned herself to dying in prison despite having maintained her innocence. She is understood to be living in a disabled room because she now struggles to walk. Rose has been described to be 'very set in her ways' and is allegedly 'abusive' to prison guards when things don't go her way. But despite being shunned by fellow inmates, the prisoner reportedly receives letters from twisted fans and admirers. Rose and Fred's sadistic story has returned to the limelight following the release of a Netflix true crime docu-series which re-examines the chilling case, including how cops unearthed the remains of their victims. Over 20 years, the couple murdered at least 12 young women, including two of their own daughters, in their home on Cromwell Street in Gloucester. It is thought the earliest of Fred's sickening offences started in his younger years when he is thought to have sexually abused his younger sister. But when he met Rose, the pair fed off each other's depraved desires and began a campaign of torture, sexual violence and murder. Police finally brought Fred and Rose's killing spree to an end in February 1994 when they turned up at Cromwell Street with a search warrant. They were later convicted of the combined murders of 12 women at their home in Gloucester between 1967 and 1987, including their daughter Heather, 16. However, police might have discovered Heather's bones two years earlier had they paid attention to a comment made by one of the West children when being interviewed in August 1992, according to the Cromwell Inquiry. At the time, police and social services had removed the children from their home due to child protection concerns and moved them temporarily to Cowley Manor in Cheltenham. Following the move, social services staff and police interviewed the children, which is when one referred to a family joke of 'Heather being under the patio'. It wasn't until police discovered Heather's bones under the concrete that the true meaning of the sinister 'joke' came to light. The interviews conducted by police and social services took some time, with one lasting one day and a half. During the lengthy interview, a West child made a fleeting remark about the family 'joke'. However, the police officer did not remember the remark and instead focused on their immediate protection concerns. At the time, Heather's whereabouts were only of interest because she could have provided further information on her sibling's safety for the investigation, meaning police did not have concerns about her well-being. From then, there was no further mentions of Heather until one year later, in the early summer of 1993, when social workers started to notice the children's comments on the 'joke' and their claims that a patio was laid when Heather went missing. Because the West children made the comments infrequently, staff were initially conflicted on whether to take them literally. However, by August of that year and after further comments, staff became certain that the police should be informed, and so a social worker and County Council legal executive reached out. Police tried to locate Heather, but by early 1994, officers were still unable to find her. Therefore, police decided that witnesses to the children's comments regarding Heather should make formal statements. Together with previous police enquiries, the statements provided the Gloucester Magistrates with sufficient evidence to issue a search warrant, allowing officers to search the West family home for evidence of Heather's location. On February 24, Detective Chief Inspector Terry Moore and Detective Inspector Tony James visited the West home and told Rose that her rear garden was to be searched in connection with the disappearance of Heather. That evening, Fred came home from work after the police officers had left and went to the police station voluntarily, which is where he told officers that he had seen Heather recently in Birmingham. The next day, Fred admitted to police in his home that Heather was in the garden but that they were looking in the wrong place. Police arrested Fred, who admitted to killing Heather but later retracted his statements, and Rose, who did not admit to the crime. On February 26, police found remains of Heather's body in the garden, as well as the remains of a second body. Fred appeared at Gloucester Magistrates' Court two days later, where he was charged with the murder of his daughter. On May 26, Rose was charged with Heather's murder between May 28, 1987, and February 27, 1994. She replied, 'I'm innocent'. The now-71-year-old was first incarcerated at HMP Bronzefield before being transferred to HM Prison Low Newton. In 2019, she was transferred to HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, where she remains. Her move to HMP New Hall came after there were reportedly fears for her safety due to the presence of another serial killer on the premises.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Pathetic last days of Rose West revealed as serial killer monster can barely walk, has no friends & has fake identity
SERIAL killer Rose West can now barely walk after three decades behind bars — and is shunned by her fellow prisoners. The 71-year-old rarely leaves her jail wing and is increasingly frail and isolated. 6 6 6 New details of her life have emerged after she was jailed for life in 1995 for murdering ten women and girls with husband Fred in Gloucester. Other inmates spurn her attempts at friendship, and she often eats tomato soup in her cell alone for breakfast, before a day of knitting and watching nature documentaries. She calls herself Jennifer Jones after changing her name by deed poll in 2020, but everyone knows her real identity at the women-only HMP New Hall near Wakefield in West Yorkshire. 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.' Rose received ten life sentences in 1995 after embarking on a murder spree with Fred in the 1970s and 1980s. Netflix documentary delves into the crimes of Fred and Rose West with new testimony and footage She has resigned herself to dying in prison despite claiming she is innocent. Her husband, who buried several of the victims at their home in Gloucester, escaped justice by killing himself on remand, aged 53. The couple's horrendous crimes have come back into the spotlight after the release of new Netflix docuseries Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. West has now spent nearly 30 years in prison, with regular transfers due to threats of violence from other lags. She has been at New Hall for six years and enjoys a cushy life. But insiders said she sometimes lashes out at staff if she does not get her own way. Incredibly, she also still receives letters from twisted 'fans'. A source said: 'She can be quite abusive to officers if she doesn't get what she wants and she's very set in her ways. 'If she asks for something and it doesn't happen within five minutes, she'll get the hump. 'No one wants to talk to her or be close to her. She sits in the social areas around everyone else just to annoy the other women, knowing they don't want to be around her. 'Often she's just in her cell on her own and the other prisoners can hear her talking to the TV if they walk past. 'Her hair is grey now and she's put on some weight but she still looks the same and she still wears her glasses. 'She never gets any visitors but still gets loads of post and cards from sick admirers on the outside, which has to go through security checks before it gets to her.' Whenever West walks anywhere in the prison she is surrounded by guards for her own safety. Since she abandoned her attempts to appeal her conviction in 2001, she is understood to be resigned to dying in prison. Before moving to New Hall, she spent 11 years at Durham's Low Newton. It is believed she was moved on after fellow serial killer Joanna Dennehy made threats towards her. Before that she was at HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey. However a plot to attack her with a sock filled with pool balls was uncovered and she was moved. West is now being held in a special unit at New Hall known as Rivendell House, named after the Elvish world in Lord of the Rings. Each of 30 prisoners has an en-suite cell and the communal areas are 'more inviting' than other blocks in the prison, according to inspection reports. Inmates can tend to chickens which roam the grounds of the two-storey accommodation block. Raised flower beds and manicured lawns are also designed to form a 'psychologically informed environment'. Lags held there can take part in yoga and knitting classes and there are also film nights. 6 6 Each prisoner is allocated a laptop which they can use from inside their cell to select their menu choices for the week. The Sun previously revealed that West had written letters to pals on the outside about her joy at taking part in the prison book club. Hinting at her cushy life, she wrote: 'I love stories, I like hearing stories being read, and also I have enjoyed taking part. It's really good to be able to join in with something that doesn't mean too much stress.' In 2019, West applied to take part in a project knitting woollen 'angel wings' for bereaved families who had lost their babies at birth. However that was met with uproar and her attempt was swiftly rejected. West is one of 36 women serving life sentences at the jail, and one of around a dozen over the age of 60. She is allowed a comfortable life behind bars despite her ongoing refusal to help investigators find the remains of 20 other rumoured victims of her and her husband. The couple are known to have killed at least ten women and girls — the youngest being Rose's eight-year-old stepdaughter Charmaine. Their daughter Heather, 16, was murdered in June 1987 and buried under the patio after being abused by her parents all her life. Their other known victims were Lynda Gough, Carole Ann Cooper, Lucy Partington, Therese Siegenthaler, Shirley Hubbard, Juanita Mott, Shirley Anne Robinson and Alison Chambers. Some lived with the couple, while others were abducted from the street. Fred also killed lover Ann McFall and first wife Catherine Costello. The couple's home on Cromwell Street, Gloucester, was demolished after their horrific crimes came to light. Chilling footage seen for the first time in the new Netflix series shows Fred at his home, handcuffed to detectives, helping them to identify bodies in the garden. He never faced justice as he killed himself on New Year's Day 1995 in his cell at HMP Birmingham, awaiting trial. In 2021, police began searching for the body of Mary Bastholm, who was 15 when she disappeared in 1968. Detectives made it clear they would quiz West if they found the teenager's remains in the basement of a Gloucester cafe once frequented by Fred. But Mary's body was not found and West was ultimately never questioned. 6 Horrors hidden for years By Julia Atherley FRED and Rose West's gruesome killing spree went undetected for decades. The couple raped, tortured and killed at least 12 women and girls between them, from 1967 to 1987. Their atrocities came to light in 1994 after their children told social workers a sister — Heather, who had not been seen since 1986 — was 'under the patio'. Detectives then uncovered the remains of nine women and girls at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. Rose had met Fred in 1969 when she was 15 and he 27. She became pregnant with Heather, and looked after Fred's two daughters from a previous marriage, Charmaine and Anne Marie. Charmaine was eight when murdered by Rose in June 1971. Her mum Catherine was also killed. After giving birth to her second child, Mae June West, Rose started working as a prostitute at the house. The Wests also lured lodgers to their death. Lucy Partington, Juanita Mott and Shirley Hubbard were found in the basement. Therese Siegenthaler was hidden under concrete in front of a false fireplace. Police also discovered lodger Lynda Gough, whose jaw was taped to silence her, and Carol Ann Cooper. Fred killed himself at HMP Birmingham on New Year's Day 1995 while awaiting trial for 12 murders. In November 1995, Rose was convicted of ten murders at Winchester crown court. She tried to pin all the crimes on Fred. An appeal was refused. She is one of only four women to be given a whole life order, along with triple killer Joanna Dennehy, baby murderer Lucy Letby, and Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, who died in 2002.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
I was in prison with Rose West and know the TRUTH about her jail experience - it's nothing like the lies being told
An inmate who was in jail with Rose West has revealed what Britain's worst serial killer is like behind bars. West, alongside her late husband Fred, tortured and killed at least nine women between 1973 and 1987, including their eldest daughter Heather. She was also convicted of the murder of her stepdaughter, eight-year-old Charmaine West, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1995 for her 'appalling and depraved' crimes. The 71-year-old was first incarcerated at HMP Bronzefield, before being transferred to HM Prison Low Newton. In 2019, she was transferred to HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, where she remains. Fred died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial. West's move to HMP New Hall in 2019 came after there were reportedly fears for her safety due to the presence of another serial killer on the premises. She was transferred after Joanna Dennehy - who was convicted of murdering three men within 10 days in Peterborough - allegedly threatened to kill West. However, a former inmate who claimed she had been in prison with West dismissed the security concerns and said no one could have gotten near her. Denise Sullivan, a former inmate, said she had been in prison with West in the past and that no one 'could get near' her as she was so highly guarded Former inmate Denise Sullivan told The Central Club Podcast in 2023 that West was quiet in prison. Denise said she had been inmates with West and even 'sent her a Valentine's Day card under her door'. She added that she often saw West around the prison, including carrying out duties behind the servery, where inmates collect their meals. 'They say you do this to them, you can do that - you can't get anywhere near them,' she said. 'Whenever they walk anywhere, they've got a screw [prison officer] in front of them, behind them, and on each side of them. 'You can't get near them.' Asked if she could 'tell' that West had committed crimes, Denise described her as a 'wrong 'un'. 'She looked like a wrong 'un,' she said. '[There] was something about her. You knew. The way she looked… you know.' Denise added that West seemed 'smarmy' and appeared not to care about anything. 'She didn't have a care in the world, she didn't.' The Central Club Podcast also released a more recent episode featuring former prison governor Vanessa Frake-Harris, who said she looked after West when she was first arrested. Vanessa, who was awarded an MBE in 2012 for her work in the prison service, said West did not show 'a flicker of emotion' when she was told about Fred's death. 'I always felt that, with Rose West, there was a glimmer in her eye that she felt that because Fred had topped himself, she then wouldn't be charged. 'Because when we looked after her, she was on remand and I felt that she thought, 'Well, Fred's dad, they can't pin anything on me'. 'Of course, she went on to be convicted of the murder and torture of 10 women. So, you know, she quite clearly got that wrong.' Vanessa went on the describe West as 'manipulative' and as having 'no empathy', adding: 'As all psychopaths are.' 'To look at her, you'd think butter wouldn't melt. 'She was obviously down the segregation unit because she couldn't go in the general population. 'The risks were far too high.' Prior to her move to HMP New Hall, West reportedly enjoyed a 'middle class' life in prison, where she was said to have spent her time baking cakes, taking on gym and yoga classes, and wearing the latest fashion from catalogues when given the chance. She also reportedly had her own en-suite cell, decorated with curtains and a 'fluffy rug', as well as a coffee machine, TV and radio. Sources told the Daily Mail that West would offer haircuts to other inmates, after she took a hairdressing course, and did their make-up to give them 'a bit of a boost'. West is not in contact with any of her surviving children, having cut ties with them completely in 2006. Of the 10 children West and Fred shared, seven remain.
