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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.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
More than seven million Brits think they're better singers than world's best stars
Adele is included in the top 10 list! | Adam Gray / More than seven million Brits think they're better singers than some of the world's biggest pop stars, according to research. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A poll of 2,000 adults found 14 per cent believe they sound better than some of today's top performers – including Justin Bieber, Madonna – and Adele. And 69 per cent say they sing along at gigs and festivals, while one in 10 (11 per cent) rate themselves an eight out of 10 or higher when it comes to vocal talent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, 42 per cent wish they could remove the sound of their own voice or others from videos where it ruins the moment, and 31 per cent confessed they may have 'enjoyed the gig a bit too much', possibly ruining other people's recordings in the process. The research was commissioned by Samsung, which has created an 'Audio Eraser' tool on its newly released Galaxy S25 Edge where users can remove unwanted background noise from videos by isolating categories of sound. Of those who watch their recordings back of gigs, 24 per cent find hearing their own performances funny, while 22 per cent are embarrassed. However, 16 per cent are impressed by their own vocal range. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And 29 per cent said their singing was worse than they realised once listening back to their footage. But 49 per cent find it irritating when other people sing along at gigs or festivals when they're trying to capture the moment. With 59 per cent thinking that bad vocals from fans can ruin an otherwise winning concert video, according to data. And 19 per cent have even considered asking someone to stop singing loudly when recording a clip of their favourite song. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Annika Bizon from Samsung, which has also launched an upgrade and rewards programme called New Galaxy Club, added: 'Everyone's been there, watching back that epic gig clip only to wince at hearing your own singalong vocals or the scream from the fan next to you. It's all part of the experience, but we get it, you want to relive the moment hearing only the artist you love." Top 10 singers millions of Brits reckon they're better vocalists than: Madonna Justin Bieber Sam Smith Harry Styles Jason Derulo Sabrina Carpenter Ed Sheeran Britney Spears Adele Beyonce
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
More than seven million Brits think they're better singers than world's best stars
More than seven million Brits think they're better singers than some of the world's biggest pop stars, according to research. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A poll of 2,000 adults found 14 per cent believe they sound better than some of today's top performers – including Justin Bieber, Madonna – and Adele. Adele is included in the top 10 list! | Adam Gray / And 69 per cent say they sing along at gigs and festivals, while one in 10 (11 per cent) rate themselves an eight out of 10 or higher when it comes to vocal talent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, 42 per cent wish they could remove the sound of their own voice or others from videos where it ruins the moment, and 31 per cent confessed they may have 'enjoyed the gig a bit too much', possibly ruining other people's recordings in the process. The research was commissioned by Samsung, which has created an 'Audio Eraser' tool on its newly released Galaxy S25 Edge where users can remove unwanted background noise from videos by isolating categories of sound. Of those who watch their recordings back of gigs, 24 per cent find hearing their own performances funny, while 22 per cent are embarrassed. However, 16 per cent are impressed by their own vocal range. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And 29 per cent said their singing was worse than they realised once listening back to their footage. But 49 per cent find it irritating when other people sing along at gigs or festivals when they're trying to capture the moment. With 59 per cent thinking that bad vocals from fans can ruin an otherwise winning concert video, according to data. And 19 per cent have even considered asking someone to stop singing loudly when recording a clip of their favourite song. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Annika Bizon from Samsung, which has also launched an upgrade and rewards programme called New Galaxy Club, added: 'Everyone's been there, watching back that epic gig clip only to wince at hearing your own singalong vocals or the scream from the fan next to you. It's all part of the experience, but we get it, you want to relive the moment hearing only the artist you love." Top 10 singers millions of Brits reckon they're better vocalists than:
Wales Online
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Rose West's 'chilling' reaction when told Fred was dead - the 'glint' in her eye said it all
Rose West's 'chilling' reaction when told Fred was dead - the 'glint' in her eye said it all Fred West died by suicide in 1995 while awaiting trial for a string of murders he and wife Rose committed at their house of horrors in Gloucester - and when the news was broken to Rose, her reaction was unnervingly calm (Image: ) Fred West ended his life in prison in 1995 while awaiting trial for numerous heinous murders. However, the revelation of his death to Rose West was met with a chillingly composed reaction, as disclosed by an ex-prison governor to the Sun. Vanessa Frake-Harris, who worked at Holloway Prison in North London during that period, told the Sun about Rose's response to Fred's suicide, suggesting she saw it as an opportunity to pin all the culpability for their shared crimes on him alone. Her words to the publication were: "I told her along with the duty governor that Fred had committed suicide, and there was no emotion. She blinked a couple of times and then said, 'Oh right'. "She didn't even flinch - nothing had altered in her expression. No tears, no nothing - just that glazed stare. The level of control and dissociation was staggering. "I firmly believe she felt that with Fred dying, she would get off all of the charges.", reports the Mirror. Netflix You finale ending explained and what happens to Joe Goldberg READ MORE: "There was almost a glint in her eye as if to say, 'OK, he's dead - he can take the rap for it. I'm happy to plead to the lesser charges'. Article continues below "Fortunately for all the victims and survivors, she was convicted." Rosemary West pictured after she had been imprisoned for life on ten counts of murder. (Image: PA Archive/Press Association Images ) A fresh three-part Netflix docuseries titled "Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story" is now re-examining one of the most shocking cases to ever surface in the UK. The Wests, as a pair, committed atrocious acts including rape, torture, and murder of at least a dozen women, concealing many of their victims' bodies in the cellar and beneath the patio of their home at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester over a span from 1973 to 1987. Vanessa, who monitored Rose for three months before her trial, recounted that the convicted murderer was surprisingly genial and cooperative – though with a chilling undertone. She disclosed: "Rose was very compliant and charming. She did what she was told, when she was told to do it. She was no problem to the staff. "But you always felt there was an underlying sense that she was full of her own importance. And I had no doubt she was guilty. "Like a typical narcissistic psychopath, she is devoid of any kind of emotion - very manipulative, lacking in empathy, no remorse. "She could be very charming to those in her circle - for us, that meant the prison staff - and willing to do whatever it took to appear totally different to the person she actually is." Vanessa stated that Rose, who is now 71 and serving a life sentence at HMP New Hall, tried to present herself as a benign figure, busying herself with knitting and wearing cardigans and large glasses. The ex-governor remarked: "We used to call her 'Auntie Rose' because she was just like the old auntie you'd pop round to see for tea and cakes, and because she had the big glasses and knitted all the time. Shirley Hubbard was a victim of the sick couple (Image: PA Archive/PA Images ) "She had this real sing-song way about her, saying 'Mor-ning' in a chirpy kind of way. She was never any bother. She just wanted to knit. "At the time we didn't allow knitting needles in, but the governor made an exception because West was kept in the segregation unit. "She was separated from the general population, not only for her safety but the safety of others." Article continues below Rose was found guilty of ten murders and given ten life sentences at Winchester Crown Court in 1995. In 1997, then-Home Secretary Jack Straw imposed a whole life tariff – making her only the second woman after Myra Hindley to receive such a sentence. Vanessa, author of The Governor: My Life Inside Britain's Most Notorious Prisons, added: "When she was sentenced in court, there was no emotion, and that's the typical trait of a psychopath. "She is a very complex character. She has many facets and Rose West will do what Rose West wants when Rose West wants to do it."
