By Adelaide Liddel
25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. The home that once stood at this address no longer exists, as it was demolished in the autumn of 1996. Before February 24 1994, it seemed like an ordinary family home, the residence of builder Fred West, his wife Rose, and their nine children. One child no longer at the home was the West’s eldest daughter, Heather. Heather, 16, had been missing for seven years. It was a family joke that Heather was under the pavement stones at Cromwell Street. Unfortunately for Heather and numerous other girls, this joke was more realistic than anyone else thought.
Fred and Rose met in November 1968, when she was fifteen. Fred was still married to his first wife, Catherine "Rena" Costello, and was twenty-seven at the time. He later tracked Rose down to the cafe where she worked. The couple was married in 1972. Rena Costello and her daughter Charmaine disappeared a year earlier, Charmaine in June and Rena in August. During their twenty two years of marriage, Fred and Rose murdered, sexually abused and tortured nine girls. The West’s other activities were also quite questionable. Rose used bedrooms in the house for prostitution (three of her children were fathered by clients and were actually mixed race). They were fitted with listening and recording devices, so Fred could watch
Fred had sexually assaulted a girl as a teenager, and had been disowned by his family
During most of 1971, Fred was in prison for theft. This meant that Heather and Charmaine were in the care of Rose. Years later, it was discovered that Rose had killed Charmaine during those nine months, burying her inside their then home at Midland Road, Gloucester. The growing family needed more space, moving into 25 Cromwell Street. In 1972, the West’s hired Caroline Roberts as a nanny for their children. At first, the West’s seemed like reasonably nice people. Until, Caroline began to experience what the other victims went through. She was invited to join a "sex-circle", and Fred often told her that if she ever needed an abortion, he would be able to provide, claiming women had offered sex to him afterwords. Shortly afterward, Caroline left Cromwell street hoping never to return. The West's were reluctant to allow her to escape. They kidnapped her, asking inappropriate questions, and Rose sexually violated Caroline. Gagging and threatening her, then apologising and making tea, they continued this cycle for what seemed like hours, before going to bed (with poor Caroline in the middle) and continuing the threats of sexual abuse and murder. It was later discovered that what Caroline went through in the hands of Fred and Rose is similar to what all the other victims went through. Caroline was extremely useful in the investigation, providing the police with a written statement. Their known victims are Linda Gogh, Lucy Partington, Therese Siegenthalar, Heather West, Carol Anne Cooper, Shirley Hubbard, Shirley Robinson, Alison Chambers, and Juanita Mott. Fred claimed to have killed many more women,Moho have not been identified. Fred offered an explanation to Heather's death, calling it accidental while fighting with the teen.