Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:06,730 --> 00:00:08,353
"Rosemary Pauline West,
2
00:00:08,456 --> 00:00:10,286
on each of the ten
counts of murder,
3
00:00:10,389 --> 00:00:13,323
the sentence is one
of life imprisonment."
4
00:00:13,427 --> 00:00:17,155
Throughout her trial, Rose West
maintained she was innocent.
5
00:00:19,226 --> 00:00:21,642
It turned out that
she was just 17
6
00:00:21,745 --> 00:00:24,058
when she began the most
sadistic killing spree.
7
00:00:24,162 --> 00:00:26,198
Britain has ever witnessed.
8
00:00:26,302 --> 00:00:28,442
She wanted to hurt women
as much as she could.
9
00:00:28,545 --> 00:00:31,169
The more macabre
nature of this torture
10
00:00:31,272 --> 00:00:32,963
got progressively worse,
11
00:00:33,067 --> 00:00:35,690
with one killing
following another.
12
00:00:35,794 --> 00:00:38,279
But how did this local
housewife become one
13
00:00:38,383 --> 00:00:42,318
of the most depraved
killers in history?
14
00:00:42,421 --> 00:00:46,356
Could Rose's childhood have
transformed her into a killer?
15
00:00:46,460 --> 00:00:48,738
Rose was definitely in
charge in the West household.
16
00:00:48,841 --> 00:00:51,292
There was no denying that.
17
00:00:51,396 --> 00:00:54,226
We'll speak to the people
who knew her best...
18
00:00:54,330 --> 00:00:56,297
You could hear the
screams and the shouts
19
00:00:56,401 --> 00:00:59,128
and it was awful to hear.
20
00:00:59,231 --> 00:01:02,200
And discover a history
of mental illness...
21
00:01:02,303 --> 00:01:04,478
She went into a little
bubble of her own.
22
00:01:04,581 --> 00:01:06,031
Brutal therapies...
23
00:01:06,135 --> 00:01:08,309
The seizures would be violent.
24
00:01:08,413 --> 00:01:11,899
She would've not found
solace in the outside world.
25
00:01:12,002 --> 00:01:14,867
And uncover
generations of abuse.
26
00:01:14,971 --> 00:01:18,906
He'd actually been grooming
her from quite a young age.
27
00:01:19,009 --> 00:01:22,979
There's no doubt that he
altered his daughter Rose.
28
00:01:25,188 --> 00:01:29,710
Was Rose West raised
to become a killer
29
00:01:29,813 --> 00:01:31,815
or was she born evil?
30
00:01:40,100 --> 00:01:44,897
1970 marks a new bohemian
era for Great Britain.
31
00:01:45,001 --> 00:01:47,866
As glam rock topped the
charts, the Brits adopted
32
00:01:47,969 --> 00:01:50,662
this new, free-spirited,
permissive lifestyle.
33
00:01:54,010 --> 00:01:56,116
And, for 16-year-old
Rosemary Letts,
34
00:01:56,219 --> 00:01:58,359
life couldn't be better.
35
00:01:58,463 --> 00:02:00,154
She's moved in
with her new lover,
36
00:02:00,258 --> 00:02:02,122
29-year-old Fred;
37
00:02:02,225 --> 00:02:03,433
His stepdaughter, Charmaine;
38
00:02:03,537 --> 00:02:05,746
And daughter, Anne Marie.
39
00:02:05,849 --> 00:02:07,817
And, nine months later,
the couple introduce
40
00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:09,370
baby Heather to the world.
41
00:02:11,303 --> 00:02:14,099
Rose is living in a kind of
fairy-tale dream, at this point.
42
00:02:14,203 --> 00:02:15,825
She's got this little family
43
00:02:15,928 --> 00:02:19,069
and she has this older chap
who's going to take care of her.
44
00:02:19,173 --> 00:02:22,418
So things were looking
quite bright, at this point.
45
00:02:22,521 --> 00:02:25,145
And then, Fred goes to prison
46
00:02:25,248 --> 00:02:27,768
and her world comes
crashing down.
47
00:02:27,871 --> 00:02:29,252
Rose learnt the hard way
48
00:02:29,356 --> 00:02:31,944
that the man of her
dreams was a petty thief.
49
00:02:32,048 --> 00:02:33,705
Fred was a kleptomaniac.
50
00:02:33,808 --> 00:02:36,984
If anything wasn't actually
nailed down, he would take it
51
00:02:37,087 --> 00:02:40,125
and so he was often
in and out of prison.
52
00:02:40,229 --> 00:02:42,817
Fred was sentenced to
ten months in jail,
53
00:02:42,921 --> 00:02:44,371
leaving Rose all alone
54
00:02:44,474 --> 00:02:48,029
to raise baby Heather,
Anne Marie, and Charmaine.
55
00:02:48,133 --> 00:02:50,273
She was actually
living in squalor
56
00:02:50,377 --> 00:02:53,276
with three small
children, unable to cope.
57
00:02:53,380 --> 00:02:56,141
This wasn't the life
that Rose had dreamed of.
58
00:02:56,245 --> 00:02:58,661
This wasn't what
she'd bargained for.
59
00:02:58,764 --> 00:03:02,182
This fairy tale
wasn't working out.
60
00:03:02,285 --> 00:03:05,599
Just as Rose was learning
a lot about Fred's past,
61
00:03:05,702 --> 00:03:07,359
he would learn about hers.
62
00:03:08,533 --> 00:03:09,844
Years after the young girl
63
00:03:09,948 --> 00:03:12,192
went missing, her
remains were uncovered,
64
00:03:12,295 --> 00:03:14,918
buried under a kitchen floor.
65
00:03:15,022 --> 00:03:17,404
In the summer of 1971,
66
00:03:17,507 --> 00:03:20,959
17-year-old Rose murders
her first victim...
67
00:03:21,062 --> 00:03:23,203
Eight-year-old Charmaine.
68
00:03:23,306 --> 00:03:24,687
In Gloucester's Midland Road,
69
00:03:24,790 --> 00:03:26,758
she did not get on
with her stepmother.
70
00:03:26,861 --> 00:03:29,139
She told Rose,
"You're not my mother.
71
00:03:29,243 --> 00:03:30,140
You can't do this.
72
00:03:30,244 --> 00:03:31,866
You can't say that to me,"
73
00:03:31,970 --> 00:03:34,110
and Rose would lash out.
74
00:03:34,214 --> 00:03:36,906
She just picked up
anything that was to hand
75
00:03:37,009 --> 00:03:39,426
and would hit, jab, do whatever.
76
00:03:39,529 --> 00:03:44,983
And then, she would tie her
to the bed and whip her.
77
00:03:45,086 --> 00:03:48,987
After one brutal outburst,
Rose kills Charmaine.
78
00:03:49,090 --> 00:03:50,447
- Rosemary West has spent
79
00:03:50,471 --> 00:03:52,646
her first night
behind prison bars.
80
00:03:52,749 --> 00:03:55,959
Rosemary West has been charged
with ten counts of murder.
81
00:03:56,063 --> 00:03:57,133
She remains in custody,
82
00:03:57,237 --> 00:03:58,548
where she denies
all involvement.
83
00:03:58,652 --> 00:04:00,654
Today, Rosemary
West's solicitor told
84
00:04:00,757 --> 00:04:02,863
how she's in severe shock.
85
00:04:02,966 --> 00:04:05,555
In her cell at
Pucklechurch Remand Centre,
86
00:04:05,659 --> 00:04:07,799
Rosemary West's
reaction was simple...
87
00:04:07,902 --> 00:04:10,146
"I'm innocent," she
told her lawyer.
88
00:04:10,250 --> 00:04:11,250
Okay.
89
00:04:14,184 --> 00:04:15,600
I think that Rose
90
00:04:15,703 --> 00:04:18,810
was constructed of
her life experiences.
91
00:04:18,913 --> 00:04:21,916
She had a reality that she
hadn't been able to confront
92
00:04:22,020 --> 00:04:23,193
since her childhood,
93
00:04:23,297 --> 00:04:26,507
the childhood that
was stolen from her.
94
00:04:26,611 --> 00:04:29,027
To understand how
Rose crossed the line
95
00:04:29,130 --> 00:04:30,718
from motherhood to murder,
96
00:04:30,822 --> 00:04:33,825
we must go back to a time
before she was even born.
97
00:04:36,897 --> 00:04:40,901
Rosemary Pauline Letts grew
up in beautiful North Devon.
98
00:04:41,004 --> 00:04:43,455
Her father, Bill
Letts, was in the Navy
99
00:04:43,559 --> 00:04:45,595
and was often away
for months on end,
100
00:04:45,699 --> 00:04:48,495
leaving her mother, Daisy, at
home to raise the children.
101
00:04:51,567 --> 00:04:53,983
My name is Gill and I
grew up, as a child,
102
00:04:54,086 --> 00:04:56,019
next door to the Letts family.
103
00:04:56,123 --> 00:04:57,711
They lived in a semi-detached
104
00:04:57,814 --> 00:05:00,265
and we were right next to
them, really, you know?
105
00:05:00,369 --> 00:05:03,372
It was fantastic
growing up in Northam.
106
00:05:03,475 --> 00:05:06,444
All the men, they all had jobs,
107
00:05:06,547 --> 00:05:08,273
and the women were
just housewives,
108
00:05:08,377 --> 00:05:11,311
bringing up the children,
all very house-proud.
109
00:05:11,414 --> 00:05:14,244
Lovely, brand-new
houses, nice gardens.
110
00:05:14,348 --> 00:05:16,523
A wonderful place to grow up in.
111
00:05:16,626 --> 00:05:18,145
It seemed like
summer was forever.
112
00:05:18,248 --> 00:05:21,251
Maybe you remember
the good times.
113
00:05:21,355 --> 00:05:25,566
During the early 1950s,
Britain was kind of optimistic.
114
00:05:25,670 --> 00:05:27,361
It was coming out of a war.
115
00:05:27,465 --> 00:05:29,536
It had managed to get a
National Health Service
116
00:05:29,639 --> 00:05:31,227
and various other
things, however,
117
00:05:31,331 --> 00:05:33,436
there was a great
deal of poverty
118
00:05:33,540 --> 00:05:36,922
and you had an awful
lot of ex-servicemen
119
00:05:37,026 --> 00:05:38,510
coming into the community,
120
00:05:38,614 --> 00:05:42,756
ill-fitted to settle
into normal life.
121
00:05:42,859 --> 00:05:44,654
Whilst pregnant with Rose,
122
00:05:44,758 --> 00:05:47,933
Daisy was suffering from
severe prenatal depression,
123
00:05:48,037 --> 00:05:50,073
so Bill had to leave the Navy
124
00:05:50,177 --> 00:05:52,144
and struggled with
the domestic duties
125
00:05:52,248 --> 00:05:55,803
when settling into
civilian life.
126
00:05:55,907 --> 00:05:57,943
Bill Letts could
best be described
127
00:05:58,047 --> 00:06:04,640
as brutal, violent,
impossible to like.
128
00:06:04,743 --> 00:06:10,162
He bullied, intimidated,
and, indeed, in the end,
129
00:06:10,266 --> 00:06:13,373
terrified his wife, Daisy.
130
00:06:13,476 --> 00:06:16,617
You could hear the screams
and the shouts and banging
131
00:06:16,721 --> 00:06:20,000
and it was awful to hear.
132
00:06:20,103 --> 00:06:22,589
Everybody talked about
it on the estate.
133
00:06:22,692 --> 00:06:25,592
Daisy's teeth would chatter,
she would be so frightened,
134
00:06:25,695 --> 00:06:27,017
and the neighbors
would say that she
135
00:06:27,041 --> 00:06:30,182
would come round crying
and ask for help.
136
00:06:30,286 --> 00:06:31,391
I think, on one occasion,
137
00:06:31,494 --> 00:06:33,600
my mother did bring
social services,
138
00:06:33,703 --> 00:06:36,844
but nothing was
ever done about it.
139
00:06:36,948 --> 00:06:38,846
As the pregnancy progressed,
140
00:06:38,950 --> 00:06:41,193
Daisy sank into a
deeper depression
141
00:06:41,297 --> 00:06:43,610
and sought professional help.
142
00:06:43,713 --> 00:06:46,751
The depression is so severe
that it's recommended
143
00:06:46,854 --> 00:06:50,962
that she consider ECT,
convulsive therapy.
144
00:06:52,791 --> 00:06:55,311
Very dramatic therapy, indeed,
145
00:06:55,415 --> 00:06:58,625
involving electrodes
attached to the skull,
146
00:06:58,728 --> 00:07:02,767
you know, so-called
shock therapy.
147
00:07:02,870 --> 00:07:04,976
Electroconvulsive
therapy was something
148
00:07:05,079 --> 00:07:10,499
that was kind of first used
in the '40s and in the '50s,
149
00:07:10,602 --> 00:07:12,811
but it was very crude.
150
00:07:12,915 --> 00:07:17,506
The point about ECT is it
has to produce a seizure.
151
00:07:17,609 --> 00:07:21,061
Basically, the level of
seizure, in Daisy's day,
152
00:07:21,164 --> 00:07:23,443
was that where
they'd break teeth,
153
00:07:23,546 --> 00:07:25,583
they would bite
through their tongues,
154
00:07:25,686 --> 00:07:27,067
they would break bones.
155
00:07:27,170 --> 00:07:29,518
There was so much
amnesia following it,
156
00:07:29,621 --> 00:07:32,003
they wouldn't know which side
of the bus stop to stand at.
157
00:07:32,106 --> 00:07:35,455
It was kind of
like a crude weapon
158
00:07:35,558 --> 00:07:39,010
that should only ever be used
in very severe depression.
159
00:07:39,113 --> 00:07:43,014
So Rose would've felt some
of the effects of the ECT
160
00:07:43,117 --> 00:07:44,981
and the seizures
that were caused
161
00:07:45,085 --> 00:07:46,189
and they would be violent.
162
00:07:51,367 --> 00:07:54,163
And it was only, I think,
the day before Rose was born
163
00:07:54,266 --> 00:07:58,478
that she had her
last lot of ECT.
164
00:07:58,581 --> 00:08:01,653
I recall the day she came
home with her shaven head,
165
00:08:01,757 --> 00:08:03,344
carrying baby Rose,
166
00:08:03,448 --> 00:08:05,243
and I remember going
to my mum, saying,
167
00:08:05,346 --> 00:08:06,703
"God, what's happened
to Mrs. Letts?
168
00:08:06,727 --> 00:08:08,108
She's got no hair!"
169
00:08:08,211 --> 00:08:11,732
In my view, it could
very well be argued that.
170
00:08:11,836 --> 00:08:14,252
Rose's neurological development
171
00:08:14,355 --> 00:08:17,462
will have been retarded,
to some degree,
172
00:08:17,566 --> 00:08:21,086
by the ECT procedures
that her mother underwent.
173
00:08:21,190 --> 00:08:25,263
To have ECT late in
the gestation period,
174
00:08:25,366 --> 00:08:27,714
this often is the more
sophisticated parts
175
00:08:27,817 --> 00:08:30,544
of the brain development,
the inhibitory parts,
176
00:08:30,648 --> 00:08:32,960
the parts that give
us a conscience,
177
00:08:33,064 --> 00:08:34,790
that give us empathy,
178
00:08:34,893 --> 00:08:38,621
that stop us, basically,
from doing heinous acts.
179
00:08:45,490 --> 00:08:51,185
Rosemary Pauline Letts was born
on the 29th of November 1953.
180
00:08:51,289 --> 00:08:52,566
Rose was a very pretty baby,
181
00:08:52,670 --> 00:08:56,121
lovely hair and
lovely olive skin.
182
00:08:56,225 --> 00:08:57,847
But baby Rose was remembered
183
00:08:57,951 --> 00:09:00,436
for more than her
striking features.
184
00:09:00,540 --> 00:09:02,000
I remember seeing
little Rose sitting
185
00:09:02,024 --> 00:09:04,474
in her pram in the garden.
186
00:09:04,578 --> 00:09:06,546
You never heard much from
her and she used to do
187
00:09:06,649 --> 00:09:08,651
all this rocking
back and forwards
188
00:09:08,755 --> 00:09:13,138
and, you know, she'd be
sat there and, you know...
189
00:09:13,242 --> 00:09:15,002
I don't know what
that was all about.
190
00:09:15,106 --> 00:09:17,108
It was a strange thing
for a kid to do, really,
191
00:09:17,211 --> 00:09:18,316
wasn't it?
192
00:09:18,419 --> 00:09:21,388
Rose engaged in stereotypies,
193
00:09:21,491 --> 00:09:24,667
basically moving her
head, rocking her head.
194
00:09:24,771 --> 00:09:28,257
These things will generate
endorphins in the body.
195
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,500
They will soothe the person.
196
00:09:32,364 --> 00:09:34,677
The rocking that you see in Rose
197
00:09:34,781 --> 00:09:37,507
would often be seen in
children that have been abused,
198
00:09:37,611 --> 00:09:41,719
where they're getting comfort
from this repeated movement.
199
00:09:41,822 --> 00:09:45,377
She would've not found
solace in the outside world
200
00:09:45,481 --> 00:09:48,035
and she would turn in
on this kind of behavior
201
00:09:48,139 --> 00:09:52,626
to change her biochemistry,
to make her feel okay.
202
00:09:52,730 --> 00:09:54,835
Despite the hostile household,
203
00:09:54,939 --> 00:09:57,838
Daisy and Bill continued
to have more children.
204
00:09:57,942 --> 00:10:01,877
But as the family grew, so did
Bill's resentment towards them.
205
00:10:01,980 --> 00:10:05,535
It's impossible to convey
just how dysfunctional
206
00:10:05,639 --> 00:10:07,745
the Letts family was.
207
00:10:07,848 --> 00:10:09,298
Well, the Letts
family didn't fit
208
00:10:09,401 --> 00:10:12,715
into the community there at all.
209
00:10:12,819 --> 00:10:15,166
The children never played out.
210
00:10:15,269 --> 00:10:17,306
You have a father,
in Bill Letts,
211
00:10:17,409 --> 00:10:20,412
who is telling you to behave
properly at all times.
212
00:10:20,516 --> 00:10:21,690
Swear words are not used.
213
00:10:21,793 --> 00:10:24,037
He doesn't use foul language,
214
00:10:24,140 --> 00:10:25,739
but he's insisting that
everything's clean.
215
00:10:25,763 --> 00:10:29,007
If you sit at the table,
no one says anything.
216
00:10:29,111 --> 00:10:31,285
I mean, proper.
217
00:10:31,389 --> 00:10:34,254
Everything has to
be done correctly.
218
00:10:34,357 --> 00:10:38,603
This is a man who finally
found himself in the navy,
219
00:10:38,707 --> 00:10:40,812
as, "Oh, I fit in now.
220
00:10:40,916 --> 00:10:43,470
I haven't fitted in
before, but I now fit in.
221
00:10:43,573 --> 00:10:45,575
I know where I am."
222
00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:47,854
Having been forced
to leave the navy,
223
00:10:47,957 --> 00:10:51,512
Bill had lost his status
and sense of self-worth,
224
00:10:51,616 --> 00:10:54,032
something he would
try and regain at home
225
00:10:54,136 --> 00:10:56,586
by using violence.
226
00:10:56,690 --> 00:10:59,382
Letts was fierce
and intimidating.
227
00:10:59,486 --> 00:11:01,833
You have children who were
made to clean the carpet
228
00:11:01,937 --> 00:11:03,593
with toothbrushes, you know.
229
00:11:03,697 --> 00:11:05,319
It's an extraordinary household.
230
00:11:05,423 --> 00:11:08,598
It's unlike anything you
could possibly imagine.
231
00:11:08,702 --> 00:11:13,224
You have this tyrant of a
father telling them what to do.
232
00:11:13,327 --> 00:11:14,687
You have a mother
who's intimidated
233
00:11:14,743 --> 00:11:17,021
to clean everything
all the time.
234
00:11:17,124 --> 00:11:20,265
The Letts household
was basically some kind
235
00:11:20,369 --> 00:11:22,889
of bizarre, punitive
military camp.
236
00:11:22,992 --> 00:11:26,409
It was never really a
childlike atmosphere.
237
00:11:26,513 --> 00:11:29,033
It was always an
atmosphere of fear.
238
00:11:29,136 --> 00:11:33,382
Every day, there was shouting,
bawling, and smacking and...
239
00:11:33,485 --> 00:11:35,246
He always walked
around with a beret,
240
00:11:35,349 --> 00:11:36,834
in like a military sort of walk
241
00:11:36,937 --> 00:11:39,802
with his long mac
thing, you know?
242
00:11:39,906 --> 00:11:41,562
And the kids used to
walk a bit like that.
243
00:11:41,666 --> 00:11:43,392
He was a bit
regimented with them.
244
00:11:43,495 --> 00:11:46,498
Letts was... and there's
no other word for it...
245
00:11:46,602 --> 00:11:47,637
A monster.
246
00:11:49,053 --> 00:11:50,675
From a very early age,
247
00:11:50,779 --> 00:11:54,403
Rose would've seen the
elder children's fears.
248
00:11:54,506 --> 00:11:57,061
She had a childhood
which, really,
249
00:11:57,164 --> 00:11:59,753
she retracted from the world.
250
00:11:59,857 --> 00:12:01,893
She went into a little
bubble of her own,
251
00:12:01,997 --> 00:12:05,069
creating her own life,
hiding in the corner,
252
00:12:05,172 --> 00:12:08,072
sitting at the back of the
class in primary school,
253
00:12:08,175 --> 00:12:12,386
playing with her own dolls,
removed from the world.
254
00:12:12,490 --> 00:12:15,458
To avoid any beatings at
the hand of her father,
255
00:12:15,562 --> 00:12:19,255
Rose would become
reclusive and disengaged.
256
00:12:19,359 --> 00:12:21,430
She had these very winsome ways.
257
00:12:21,533 --> 00:12:23,743
So, while he'd
come home and shout
258
00:12:23,846 --> 00:12:26,504
and hit most of
the other children,
259
00:12:26,607 --> 00:12:28,195
if they hadn't
done their chores,
260
00:12:28,299 --> 00:12:31,371
he would let Rosie off.
261
00:12:31,474 --> 00:12:35,306
Bill would exploit
Rose's passive demeanor.
262
00:12:35,409 --> 00:12:37,239
Bill had a hidden agenda.
263
00:12:37,342 --> 00:12:41,208
He was someone who had
pedophilic tendencies.
264
00:12:41,312 --> 00:12:44,211
He was thinking that that
vulnerability that Rose had
265
00:12:44,315 --> 00:12:47,042
would make her someone
who could be coerced
266
00:12:47,145 --> 00:12:49,458
into sexual activity.
267
00:12:49,561 --> 00:12:54,290
He'd actually been grooming
her from quite a young age.
268
00:12:54,394 --> 00:12:56,948
Rosie was the one
that was vulnerable.
269
00:12:57,052 --> 00:13:01,297
She wasthe one that wasn't
really going to say anything.
270
00:13:01,401 --> 00:13:05,405
When Bill inflicted
sexual abuse on Rose,
271
00:13:05,508 --> 00:13:08,615
he was limiting her development.
272
00:13:08,718 --> 00:13:10,617
She was learning
the wrong skills
273
00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,240
and the wrong
motivations for life.
274
00:13:13,344 --> 00:13:17,141
She was on a path that,
almost certainly, would lead
275
00:13:17,244 --> 00:13:22,077
to her being part of abusive
relations in the future,
276
00:13:22,180 --> 00:13:25,943
and even an instigator
of abusive relations.
277
00:13:32,639 --> 00:13:33,916
Aged 15,
278
00:13:34,020 --> 00:13:35,366
years of incest abuse
279
00:13:35,469 --> 00:13:37,437
had normalized sex for Rose.
280
00:13:37,540 --> 00:13:40,026
She had earnt a reputation
as a nymphomaniac
281
00:13:40,129 --> 00:13:42,028
amongst the local older men.
282
00:13:42,131 --> 00:13:44,513
Rose's engagement
with Bill Letts
283
00:13:44,616 --> 00:13:46,446
at an early stage
284
00:13:46,549 --> 00:13:49,794
meant that she had a model
in her head of the older man,
285
00:13:49,898 --> 00:13:51,209
which she found normal,
286
00:13:51,313 --> 00:13:53,556
which she could relate to.
287
00:13:53,660 --> 00:13:54,868
One man who had heard
288
00:13:54,972 --> 00:13:57,250
about this highly
sexualized teenager
289
00:13:57,353 --> 00:14:00,391
was 29-year-old Fred West.
290
00:14:00,494 --> 00:14:02,911
Fred lived near Rose
291
00:14:03,014 --> 00:14:05,948
and he had probably
heard her name mentioned
292
00:14:06,052 --> 00:14:07,823
because I think she was
getting quite infamous
293
00:14:07,847 --> 00:14:09,469
at this time locally.
294
00:14:09,572 --> 00:14:14,094
I'm pretty sure that Fred
targeted Rose quite early on.
295
00:14:14,198 --> 00:14:15,544
She was voluptuous.
296
00:14:15,647 --> 00:14:18,271
She was obviously out
there, in every sense.
297
00:14:18,374 --> 00:14:20,929
I think Fred knew that.
298
00:14:21,032 --> 00:14:26,244
Fred was a wily man,
knew how to exploit.
299
00:14:26,348 --> 00:14:29,592
She was at the bus
station in Cheltenham
300
00:14:29,696 --> 00:14:32,492
when this chap in this
mac shuffled over.
301
00:14:32,595 --> 00:14:36,323
He'd got like, she said,
"Ganky green teeth."
302
00:14:36,427 --> 00:14:41,570
He was quite scruffy, but
he had a good line in chat
303
00:14:41,673 --> 00:14:44,021
and she said he could charm
the birds off the trees,
304
00:14:44,124 --> 00:14:48,749
so, when they were going home
on the bus, he sat next to her
305
00:14:48,853 --> 00:14:50,796
and then, they discovered
they had lots in common,
306
00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:53,927
like they both had
mothers called Daisy,
307
00:14:54,031 --> 00:14:56,792
they both lived close by,
308
00:14:56,896 --> 00:15:02,384
that they both
had committed incest.
309
00:15:02,487 --> 00:15:06,975
When Fred started to talk about
things of a sexual nature,
310
00:15:07,078 --> 00:15:11,703
to do with like bondage, S&M,
all the stuff that he was into,
311
00:15:11,807 --> 00:15:15,259
then, any other girl
would've run off,
312
00:15:15,362 --> 00:15:16,536
but Rose didn't.
313
00:15:16,639 --> 00:15:18,365
She stayed
314
00:15:18,469 --> 00:15:22,266
because that was kind of quite
a normal thing that she knew of.
315
00:15:24,026 --> 00:15:30,688
I think Fred sensed, almost
in an animalistic way,
316
00:15:30,791 --> 00:15:34,864
that, "Here's someone who could
help me do what I want to do."
317
00:15:34,968 --> 00:15:37,867
Having left his estranged
wife, Rena Costello,
318
00:15:37,971 --> 00:15:42,010
Fred invited Rose to move
into 25 Midland Road,
319
00:15:42,113 --> 00:15:44,046
along with his
daughter, Anne Marie;
320
00:15:44,150 --> 00:15:46,152
And stepdaughter, Charmaine.
321
00:15:46,255 --> 00:15:48,948
Rose made a leap into
what was very much
322
00:15:49,051 --> 00:15:52,192
the deep end of relationships.
323
00:15:52,296 --> 00:15:56,783
So she actually did move out
of the father's household,
324
00:15:56,886 --> 00:15:59,372
stepping into Fred West's life,
325
00:15:59,475 --> 00:16:04,860
looking after his
two current children.
326
00:16:04,964 --> 00:16:08,312
Just weeks after they welcomed
their first child together,
327
00:16:08,415 --> 00:16:11,246
Fred was jailed for theft
328
00:16:11,349 --> 00:16:14,732
and Rose was left alone to
raise the three children...
329
00:16:14,835 --> 00:16:18,460
Baby Heather, Anne
Marie, and Charmaine.
330
00:16:18,563 --> 00:16:23,085
Charmaine had always been
defiant and stood up to Rose.
331
00:16:23,189 --> 00:16:25,191
Rose felt very challenged by her
332
00:16:25,294 --> 00:16:29,091
and she couldn't cope
and she would lash out.
333
00:16:29,195 --> 00:16:31,128
It was almost like, at times,
334
00:16:31,231 --> 00:16:34,510
losing touch with reality,
she was so enraged, like Bill.
335
00:16:34,614 --> 00:16:37,444
And then, she would
336
00:16:37,548 --> 00:16:41,621
tie her to the bed, her
legs and arms outstretched,
337
00:16:41,724 --> 00:16:45,625
and whip her, just lash her.
338
00:16:45,728 --> 00:16:49,008
It's just a nightmare.
339
00:16:49,111 --> 00:16:51,907
Charmaine absolutely
refused to break down.
340
00:16:52,011 --> 00:16:55,911
She refused to cry
and that irked Rose,
341
00:16:56,015 --> 00:16:58,293
that she couldn't get
the better of her.
342
00:16:58,396 --> 00:17:02,538
The fact that Fred had baggage
from previous relationships
343
00:17:02,642 --> 00:17:04,644
was highly resented by Rose,
344
00:17:04,747 --> 00:17:06,646
who had a very simple
view of things.
345
00:17:06,749 --> 00:17:08,682
Her vision of her and Fred
346
00:17:08,786 --> 00:17:10,546
having a wonderful life together
347
00:17:10,650 --> 00:17:15,896
did not include previous
relationship children.
348
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,830
And, when Charmaine would
not abide by the rules,
349
00:17:18,934 --> 00:17:21,419
Rose killed her.
350
00:17:21,523 --> 00:17:24,250
I think Rose,
351
00:17:24,353 --> 00:17:29,255
with the stress and luggage
that she was carrying
352
00:17:29,358 --> 00:17:31,429
and the anger that
she had within her,
353
00:17:31,533 --> 00:17:34,639
she was capable of
killing Charmaine.
354
00:17:34,743 --> 00:17:39,127
She applied the same
kind of draconian regime
355
00:17:39,230 --> 00:17:40,645
that she'd witnessed
with Bill Letts
356
00:17:40,749 --> 00:17:42,371
in her own house.
357
00:17:42,475 --> 00:17:45,374
I'm not saying that she
would've planned to murder her,
358
00:17:45,478 --> 00:17:48,998
but she might have just beaten
the living daylights out of her.
359
00:17:49,102 --> 00:17:50,379
It is believed that Rose
360
00:17:50,483 --> 00:17:53,106
hid Charmaine's body
in the coal cellar
361
00:17:53,210 --> 00:17:56,247
and that Fred buried the body
beneath the kitchen floor
362
00:17:56,351 --> 00:17:59,630
when he was released from jail.
363
00:17:59,733 --> 00:18:01,770
Charmaine's mother, Rena,
364
00:18:01,873 --> 00:18:06,637
came around, seeking out
where Charmaine had gone.
365
00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:08,535
Rena was becoming a problem
366
00:18:08,639 --> 00:18:12,367
and, in Fred's
mind, she had to go.
367
00:18:12,470 --> 00:18:15,887
After strangling Rena, Fred
buried her dismembered body
368
00:18:15,991 --> 00:18:18,304
in a field near
his childhood home.
369
00:18:18,407 --> 00:18:22,066
But this was not the first
time Fred had committed murder.
370
00:18:22,170 --> 00:18:25,932
He has then told Rose
about Anna McFall
371
00:18:26,035 --> 00:18:28,314
and the child that
Anna was having
372
00:18:28,417 --> 00:18:29,660
and where they're buried.
373
00:18:29,763 --> 00:18:32,041
Three years before meeting Rose,
374
00:18:32,145 --> 00:18:34,492
Fred murdered his
18-year-old mistress
375
00:18:34,596 --> 00:18:38,531
and their unborn child to avoid
his wife Rena finding out.
376
00:18:38,634 --> 00:18:43,087
So, now, they have
this bond between them.
377
00:18:43,191 --> 00:18:45,745
They've got a hold
over each other
378
00:18:45,848 --> 00:18:50,612
and that won't break until many,
many years and murders later.
379
00:18:55,789 --> 00:18:57,998
Fred West had a
dysfunctional upbringing
380
00:18:58,102 --> 00:19:00,656
by his parents,
Walter and Daisy,
381
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,142
in a remote part
of the countryside,
382
00:19:03,245 --> 00:19:06,075
15 miles outside of Gloucester.
383
00:19:06,179 --> 00:19:09,148
I was the authorized
biographer of Frederick West,
384
00:19:09,251 --> 00:19:11,080
given his papers by
the officials listed
385
00:19:11,184 --> 00:19:12,634
at the supreme court.
386
00:19:12,737 --> 00:19:15,326
The first time I ever heard
Frederick West's voice
387
00:19:15,430 --> 00:19:16,914
was when I listened
to the first tape,
388
00:19:17,017 --> 00:19:20,780
describing, in a little
singsong Herefordshire accent,
389
00:19:20,883 --> 00:19:21,953
what had been happening.
390
00:19:23,886 --> 00:19:26,268
Important point to remember
about Fred's childhood
391
00:19:26,372 --> 00:19:29,823
was that he came from
an extraordinarily
392
00:19:29,927 --> 00:19:32,688
incestuous household.
393
00:19:32,792 --> 00:19:36,175
Fred himself talked about
it in his police interviews.
394
00:19:36,278 --> 00:19:41,076
Daisy took Fred to bed
and initiated him into sex
395
00:19:41,180 --> 00:19:43,009
at a very early age.
396
00:19:43,112 --> 00:19:47,324
Fred told the authorities his
father had had sex with animals
397
00:19:47,427 --> 00:19:48,773
and there's no
question his father
398
00:19:48,877 --> 00:19:51,362
persuaded Fred to
have sex with animals,
399
00:19:51,466 --> 00:19:53,916
particularly, sheep.
400
00:19:54,020 --> 00:19:55,194
It wasn't even surprising.
401
00:19:56,850 --> 00:19:58,818
Fred also witnessed his father
402
00:19:58,921 --> 00:20:00,613
having sex with young girls,
403
00:20:00,716 --> 00:20:04,720
but he was also well aware that
his father wouldn't hesitate
404
00:20:04,824 --> 00:20:09,691
to hurt a young girl that
didn't do what he wanted.
405
00:20:09,794 --> 00:20:14,730
They lived in a world which
was remote from convention.
406
00:20:14,834 --> 00:20:16,318
They did what they wanted
407
00:20:16,422 --> 00:20:18,976
and this was Walter
West's universe.
408
00:20:19,079 --> 00:20:20,736
He commanded it.
409
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,532
What Daisy did... "If
you want to kill a pig,
410
00:20:23,636 --> 00:20:24,682
we'll hang it up in the kitchen.
411
00:20:24,706 --> 00:20:26,604
It'll bleed onto the floor."
412
00:20:26,708 --> 00:20:31,057
This was not anything like
a suburban upbringing.
413
00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,680
It was completely
opposite of that.
414
00:20:33,784 --> 00:20:36,580
Fred then took those
habits and translated them
415
00:20:36,683 --> 00:20:40,342
into an urban environment,
Gloucester itself.
416
00:20:40,446 --> 00:20:44,312
He was still, really, a
farm laborer at heart.
417
00:20:44,415 --> 00:20:48,730
Everybody I ever talked
to about Fred West
418
00:20:48,833 --> 00:20:51,422
said the same thing... "You'd
never have believed it."
419
00:20:51,526 --> 00:20:54,529
He was just... Well, he
was just commonplace.
420
00:20:54,632 --> 00:20:56,979
He was a little
commonplace little man.
421
00:20:57,083 --> 00:21:00,983
But one person who always knew
exactly what Fred was like
422
00:21:01,087 --> 00:21:02,157
was Rose.
423
00:21:02,261 --> 00:21:03,607
Rose knew from
the very beginning
424
00:21:03,710 --> 00:21:05,747
and she also knew how
to press his buttons.
425
00:21:10,924 --> 00:21:14,411
As soon as Rose turned
18, they got married.
426
00:21:14,514 --> 00:21:16,551
After the birth of
their second child,
427
00:21:16,654 --> 00:21:18,725
they bought their
first home and moved
428
00:21:18,829 --> 00:21:21,245
into 25 Cromwell
Street in Gloucester,
429
00:21:21,349 --> 00:21:24,490
along with daughters
Heather and Anne Marie.
430
00:21:24,593 --> 00:21:26,008
Owning their own home,
431
00:21:26,112 --> 00:21:27,769
particularly Rose,
at such a young age,
432
00:21:27,872 --> 00:21:29,564
was a huge thing for her
433
00:21:29,667 --> 00:21:31,058
and, of course, she
was really pleased
434
00:21:31,082 --> 00:21:33,947
to be moving into
25 Cromwell Street.
435
00:21:34,051 --> 00:21:37,537
I mean, Rose, finally,
at 25 Cromwell Street,
436
00:21:37,641 --> 00:21:41,714
gets her own domain and
she treats it as her domain
437
00:21:41,817 --> 00:21:43,647
and she rules it
with a rod of iron.
438
00:21:43,750 --> 00:21:46,097
She rules her own children
even more fiercely
439
00:21:46,201 --> 00:21:49,618
than Bill intimidated
her as a child.
440
00:21:52,897 --> 00:21:55,969
To help pay the way
with the mortgage,
441
00:21:56,073 --> 00:21:58,386
the upstairs were
turned into bedsits
442
00:21:58,489 --> 00:22:02,321
and they would let them to
young sort of transient people.
443
00:22:06,704 --> 00:22:09,017
I was actually a resident
at 25 Cromwell Street,
444
00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:11,985
with Rosemary and Fred being
my landlord and landlady.
445
00:22:12,089 --> 00:22:15,057
I wasn't working while I was
living there, or studying.
446
00:22:15,161 --> 00:22:17,508
I'd just walked out
of home when I was 16.
447
00:22:17,612 --> 00:22:20,062
I was just a runaway.
448
00:22:20,166 --> 00:22:21,685
I attended St
James Junior School
449
00:22:21,788 --> 00:22:23,480
with Anne Marie
in the year below,
450
00:22:23,583 --> 00:22:25,274
so I knew them quite well.
451
00:22:25,378 --> 00:22:28,588
I'd seen Rose previously
picking Anne Marie up.
452
00:22:28,692 --> 00:22:32,040
I never really kind of
put two and two together
453
00:22:32,143 --> 00:22:33,697
as Rose West being
her stepmother
454
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,113
because she didn't really
look much different
455
00:22:36,216 --> 00:22:38,149
in the way that she dressed.
456
00:22:38,253 --> 00:22:42,637
Schoolgirl-type sort of clothes
with skirts and trainers.
457
00:22:42,740 --> 00:22:44,511
Not what you would expect
for somebody that's a mother,
458
00:22:44,535 --> 00:22:46,575
more somebody that was just
going on to high school.
459
00:22:48,090 --> 00:22:50,299
I bumped into Anne Marie in town
460
00:22:50,403 --> 00:22:54,062
and Anne Marie was talking to
me about her parents had a room.
461
00:22:54,165 --> 00:22:56,409
So I went to the
café to meet them
462
00:22:56,513 --> 00:22:58,894
and there was Fred and Rose.
463
00:22:58,998 --> 00:23:00,655
Rose was a very forward person.
464
00:23:00,758 --> 00:23:02,726
She said it as it
was and she seemed
465
00:23:02,829 --> 00:23:05,176
to be the dominant person
in the relationship.
466
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:09,526
Fred wasn't passive, but Fred
was quiet, compared to Rose.
467
00:23:09,629 --> 00:23:11,227
He was just sort of
like saying, you know,
468
00:23:11,251 --> 00:23:13,022
"It's your choice, if you
want to come and have a look,"
469
00:23:13,046 --> 00:23:15,394
whereas Rose was, "This is
the rules and regulations,"
470
00:23:15,497 --> 00:23:18,293
so there was a lot of difference
between the two of them.
471
00:23:18,397 --> 00:23:22,297
From what I can remember, I
moved in about a week later.
472
00:23:22,401 --> 00:23:24,321
I'd never lived away from
home before, so, to me,
473
00:23:24,368 --> 00:23:28,752
it was a room that I could
rent and be my own person.
474
00:23:28,855 --> 00:23:30,409
It was a very clean house.
475
00:23:30,512 --> 00:23:31,686
It always smelt fresh.
476
00:23:31,789 --> 00:23:33,342
It smelt of bleach
most of the time
477
00:23:33,446 --> 00:23:35,379
and everywhere I went,
it was very clean.
478
00:23:37,830 --> 00:23:39,521
Jayne soon began to realize
479
00:23:39,625 --> 00:23:42,351
that Fred and Rose were
no ordinary couple.
480
00:23:44,733 --> 00:23:46,217
The doorbell went, but,
481
00:23:46,321 --> 00:23:49,635
it lit up a red light
above the living room door.
482
00:23:49,738 --> 00:23:52,396
And I jokingly said,
483
00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:54,018
"Oh, is this the
red light district?"
484
00:23:54,122 --> 00:23:56,193
And then Fred come walking
in from the other side
485
00:23:56,296 --> 00:23:59,023
and went through.
486
00:23:59,127 --> 00:24:01,785
That's how I found out that
she was having other men in.
487
00:24:05,202 --> 00:24:08,964
Rose used her insatiable
appetite for sex to make money,
488
00:24:09,068 --> 00:24:11,933
working as a prostitute
out of the family home,
489
00:24:12,036 --> 00:24:13,900
something which Fred encouraged.
490
00:24:14,004 --> 00:24:16,593
This was somewhere
where they had space,
491
00:24:16,696 --> 00:24:18,457
where they could
invest, if you like,
492
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:23,013
in their bizarre activities,
for sex to become
493
00:24:23,116 --> 00:24:27,086
something that Rose could
indulge in endlessly.
494
00:24:27,189 --> 00:24:29,606
I...
495
00:24:29,709 --> 00:24:32,263
I kind of was a bit
confused over it.
496
00:24:32,367 --> 00:24:34,058
Again, I was only 16 and naive,
497
00:24:34,162 --> 00:24:38,131
so why does a woman
want other men in?
498
00:24:38,235 --> 00:24:40,040
Maybe if that's how they
fulfill their relationship,
499
00:24:40,064 --> 00:24:41,065
that's their choice.
500
00:24:44,621 --> 00:24:47,416
It gave them the
chance, as it were,
501
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:52,076
to partition their lives, to
be able to control elements,
502
00:24:52,180 --> 00:24:55,873
for Fred to engage in
voyeuristic activity
503
00:24:55,977 --> 00:24:57,944
with Rose's sex activity.
504
00:24:58,048 --> 00:25:00,982
Yes, she was charging
money, but this was more
505
00:25:01,085 --> 00:25:05,711
about Fred watching and
peering through spy holes
506
00:25:05,814 --> 00:25:09,956
that he made in all
the doors and walls.
507
00:25:10,060 --> 00:25:13,132
He had an intercom
system built, as well,
508
00:25:13,235 --> 00:25:15,928
so, wherever he was,
he could listen.
509
00:25:16,031 --> 00:25:17,550
He loved watching Rose,
510
00:25:17,654 --> 00:25:19,552
particularly,
performing sexually.
511
00:25:19,656 --> 00:25:22,037
He would record it as well.
512
00:25:22,141 --> 00:25:23,832
He was an archetypal voyeur.
513
00:25:23,936 --> 00:25:28,043
He took great pleasure
in having sex with Rose
514
00:25:28,147 --> 00:25:29,942
after she'd had sex
with somebody else.
515
00:25:30,045 --> 00:25:32,807
That was one of the things
that really turned Fred on.
516
00:25:34,394 --> 00:25:36,017
Sometimes he would coat himself
517
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,433
in the sperm of her clients,
518
00:25:38,537 --> 00:25:41,470
that he'd take from condoms,
519
00:25:41,574 --> 00:25:46,061
so he felt he was breeding
something like a master race.
520
00:25:46,165 --> 00:25:48,063
It was just crazy stuff
521
00:25:48,167 --> 00:25:50,756
and Rose went along
with those delusions,
522
00:25:50,859 --> 00:25:54,622
so they really were caught
up in a folie à deux.
523
00:25:54,725 --> 00:25:57,625
I'm one of the few people who
actually saw the videotapes
524
00:25:57,728 --> 00:25:59,834
that Fred made of Rose
525
00:25:59,937 --> 00:26:03,838
doing various extraordinary
sexual things.
526
00:26:03,941 --> 00:26:05,598
Absolutely revolting.
527
00:26:05,702 --> 00:26:08,118
She was actually
performing for Fred,
528
00:26:08,221 --> 00:26:10,845
inserting things into herself,
529
00:26:10,948 --> 00:26:14,124
showing the knickers that
she'd brought back and used
530
00:26:14,227 --> 00:26:16,609
and kept in jars on the
mantelpiece in her room.
531
00:26:16,713 --> 00:26:21,096
She was showing how
enthusiastic she was.
532
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,272
And Fred very seldom
appeared himself.
533
00:26:24,375 --> 00:26:26,170
He occasionally would
pop his head round,
534
00:26:26,274 --> 00:26:28,034
but he was always
behind the camera
535
00:26:28,138 --> 00:26:29,898
and Rose was always
in front of it.
536
00:26:30,002 --> 00:26:31,624
And that played out
537
00:26:31,728 --> 00:26:33,177
throughout their
entire marriage.
538
00:26:33,281 --> 00:26:34,454
I've used the phrase before
539
00:26:34,558 --> 00:26:36,215
and I mean it,
still, to this day...
540
00:26:36,318 --> 00:26:38,942
She was, in every sense,
the sorcerer's apprentice.
541
00:26:41,013 --> 00:26:43,084
The Wests were
pushing boundaries,
542
00:26:43,187 --> 00:26:46,397
experimenting with fetishes.
543
00:26:46,501 --> 00:26:50,332
She liked... It's no secret.
544
00:26:50,436 --> 00:26:53,370
Fred himself talked about
it in his police interviews,
545
00:26:53,473 --> 00:26:56,373
that Rose liked rough sex.
546
00:26:56,476 --> 00:26:58,099
She liked hard.
547
00:26:58,202 --> 00:26:59,618
She didn't like any chatting up.
548
00:26:59,721 --> 00:27:02,621
She liked fierceness.
549
00:27:04,139 --> 00:27:06,452
But Rose wanted
more, and would turn
550
00:27:06,555 --> 00:27:09,248
to the increasingly
popular classified adverts
551
00:27:09,351 --> 00:27:11,319
to appease her sexual desires.
552
00:27:13,735 --> 00:27:17,843
Here you have the development
of strong paraphilias...
553
00:27:17,946 --> 00:27:21,812
Rose becoming exhibitionist
and Fred becoming a voyeur
554
00:27:21,916 --> 00:27:24,919
and getting visions
of pornographic films
555
00:27:25,022 --> 00:27:26,955
and other kind of things.
556
00:27:27,059 --> 00:27:30,856
He was full of ideas,
that were often macabre.
557
00:27:33,652 --> 00:27:37,414
So, what you'd got was this
extraordinary conjunction.
558
00:27:37,517 --> 00:27:39,830
Of a highly
sexualized young woman
559
00:27:39,934 --> 00:27:41,625
and a very manipulative man.
560
00:27:43,109 --> 00:27:46,768
Okay, so does she
marry her father?
561
00:27:46,872 --> 00:27:48,874
Is West really Bill Letts?
562
00:27:48,977 --> 00:27:51,152
It's possible. There's
an element of it.
563
00:27:51,255 --> 00:27:52,256
Not complete, of course.
564
00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:53,810
It's too glib.
565
00:27:53,913 --> 00:27:55,259
But there is an element there.
566
00:27:55,363 --> 00:27:58,642
There's an element of
Fred targeting Rose
567
00:27:58,746 --> 00:28:00,955
and then, Rose targeting Fred.
568
00:28:06,650 --> 00:28:08,341
Outside of Cromwell Street,
569
00:28:08,445 --> 00:28:11,206
Rose was keen to
portray a normal life,
570
00:28:11,310 --> 00:28:15,210
although her obsession with sex
was known amongst the locals.
571
00:28:15,314 --> 00:28:17,799
Rose West was known as, you
know, basically, a slut,
572
00:28:17,903 --> 00:28:19,076
but she liked her men.
573
00:28:19,180 --> 00:28:20,906
She was known for,
you know, flashing
574
00:28:21,009 --> 00:28:24,047
or trying to show herself off
and things like that, yeah.
575
00:28:24,150 --> 00:28:27,602
She'd always like to touch you
or she could be quite, you know.
576
00:28:27,706 --> 00:28:30,053
She liked to let you
know she liked you.
577
00:28:30,156 --> 00:28:31,917
I didn't feel
comfortable around her.
578
00:28:32,020 --> 00:28:33,919
I couldn't wait to
get away from her.
579
00:28:34,022 --> 00:28:35,783
You just knew there
was something a bit
580
00:28:35,886 --> 00:28:38,544
seedy about her, you know?
581
00:28:38,647 --> 00:28:42,375
My mum and dad used to run
the St Peters Social Club
582
00:28:42,479 --> 00:28:43,963
and, of course,
Fred and Rose West
583
00:28:44,067 --> 00:28:45,206
used to go there.
584
00:28:45,309 --> 00:28:46,828
Rose used to turn
up to the events
585
00:28:46,932 --> 00:28:49,037
like, you know, with the
cowboy hat, the guns,
586
00:28:49,141 --> 00:28:53,007
and everything was so hypo,
you know, around her table.
587
00:28:53,110 --> 00:28:54,111
She had a temper on her.
588
00:28:54,215 --> 00:28:55,699
Even in the club,
589
00:28:55,803 --> 00:28:58,357
she'd shout at the kids
and tell them to sit down.
590
00:28:58,460 --> 00:29:00,911
She was, you know, like a sergeant
major with them, you know?
591
00:29:01,015 --> 00:29:02,464
Sometimes it could
be uncomfortable
592
00:29:02,568 --> 00:29:04,466
seeing her snap and
shout at the kids,
593
00:29:04,570 --> 00:29:06,089
but, you know, they
knew their place.
594
00:29:06,192 --> 00:29:09,195
When she said something,
they knew and they sat there,
595
00:29:09,299 --> 00:29:11,335
you know, and they
toed the line.
596
00:29:13,096 --> 00:29:14,891
When Rose hit the
dance floor, you know,
597
00:29:14,994 --> 00:29:18,618
she was like flirty-dancing,
you know, sexy-dancing.
598
00:29:18,722 --> 00:29:20,310
Fred was always shy.
599
00:29:20,413 --> 00:29:21,587
He'd smile.
600
00:29:21,690 --> 00:29:23,658
Rose would always
keep an eye on Fred...
601
00:29:23,762 --> 00:29:25,902
Where he was going, who
he was talking to...
602
00:29:26,005 --> 00:29:29,733
And she always watched
him and she was the boss.
603
00:29:29,837 --> 00:29:32,943
She was probably trying
to be someone she wasn't
604
00:29:33,047 --> 00:29:34,876
when she was on the dance floor.
605
00:29:34,980 --> 00:29:37,051
You know, that was her
de-stressor kind of thing,
606
00:29:37,154 --> 00:29:38,500
trying to convince herself
607
00:29:38,604 --> 00:29:41,124
she was a normal person,
I suppose, you know?
608
00:29:41,227 --> 00:29:42,608
But this new confidence,
609
00:29:42,711 --> 00:29:45,507
both inside and outside
of Cromwell Street,
610
00:29:45,611 --> 00:29:47,613
was a far cry from
Rose as a child.
611
00:29:47,716 --> 00:29:49,304
who struggled,
612
00:29:49,408 --> 00:29:51,962
socially and academically.
613
00:29:52,066 --> 00:29:55,241
When Rose started school,
her sort of inabilities
614
00:29:55,345 --> 00:29:57,726
with language, understanding;
615
00:29:57,830 --> 00:30:00,488
Thumb-sucking... A lot
of the stereotypies...
616
00:30:00,591 --> 00:30:02,662
Became more obvious,
617
00:30:02,766 --> 00:30:05,044
contrasted with all
the other children.
618
00:30:05,148 --> 00:30:08,807
There's no doubt that Rose was
not a particularly bright child.
619
00:30:08,910 --> 00:30:13,881
She was slow to pick up
the obvious things...
620
00:30:13,984 --> 00:30:16,538
Reading, writing,
and arithmetic.
621
00:30:16,642 --> 00:30:20,370
In these very early days,
the way of treating children
622
00:30:20,473 --> 00:30:23,235
who were not showing signs
of good development was
623
00:30:23,338 --> 00:30:24,926
to place them in the corner,
624
00:30:25,030 --> 00:30:27,066
place a dunce's
cap on their head,
625
00:30:27,170 --> 00:30:30,829
make them face the wall,
basically, to single them out
626
00:30:30,932 --> 00:30:33,038
and say, "Don't do that.
627
00:30:33,141 --> 00:30:34,660
Improve. Look,
628
00:30:34,763 --> 00:30:36,800
you're going to be
outside of society,
629
00:30:36,904 --> 00:30:38,526
if you don't."
630
00:30:38,629 --> 00:30:40,493
The fact that the
British education system
631
00:30:40,597 --> 00:30:43,462
actually adopted
a dunce's cap...
632
00:30:43,565 --> 00:30:46,051
This pointed cone that
you placed on the head
633
00:30:46,154 --> 00:30:48,639
as the child was isolated
and faced the wall...
634
00:30:48,743 --> 00:30:51,850
Was a bizarre,
primitive practice.
635
00:30:51,953 --> 00:30:55,715
This was kind of hand-me-down
from bizarre religious beliefs
636
00:30:55,819 --> 00:30:57,510
that, somehow or
other, the dunce's cap
637
00:30:57,614 --> 00:31:00,997
was a conduit for
God's intelligence.
638
00:31:01,100 --> 00:31:03,654
Complete nonsense and
the effect on children
639
00:31:03,758 --> 00:31:05,725
was like secondary labeling.
640
00:31:05,829 --> 00:31:09,833
You know, you were being
labeled as being stupid,
641
00:31:09,937 --> 00:31:11,800
but then, you could
take on that label
642
00:31:11,904 --> 00:31:15,494
and just start acting
stupid with full license
643
00:31:15,597 --> 00:31:17,289
because that's the
role they've given you.
644
00:31:19,015 --> 00:31:22,259
At school, Rose reverted
back to what she knew...
645
00:31:22,363 --> 00:31:24,675
Being a self-absorbed recluse.
646
00:31:24,779 --> 00:31:27,161
That was her way of surviving
647
00:31:27,264 --> 00:31:29,818
an environment that
she didn't understand.
648
00:31:29,922 --> 00:31:32,614
She was never allowed to play,
in the conventional sense,
649
00:31:32,718 --> 00:31:33,926
with other children,
650
00:31:34,030 --> 00:31:36,825
except in a school
form environment.
651
00:31:36,929 --> 00:31:40,450
The only socialization she
got was within the house.
652
00:31:42,314 --> 00:31:45,662
Rose struggled academically
and was held back a year,
653
00:31:45,765 --> 00:31:49,252
where she gained confidence
being the eldest child in class.
654
00:31:49,355 --> 00:31:52,911
Both her parents now had jobs,
meaning Rose was often left
655
00:31:53,014 --> 00:31:55,396
in charge of her
younger brothers.
656
00:31:55,499 --> 00:31:58,054
She had always taken a
great interest in dolls
657
00:31:58,157 --> 00:32:00,780
and then, treats her
two younger brothers
658
00:32:00,884 --> 00:32:02,575
as the equivalent of dolls.
659
00:32:02,679 --> 00:32:03,749
She would bathe them.
660
00:32:03,852 --> 00:32:04,864
She would put them to bed.
661
00:32:04,888 --> 00:32:06,855
She would dress them.
662
00:32:06,959 --> 00:32:12,551
Those two younger brothers
were Rose's... playthings.
663
00:32:14,933 --> 00:32:16,313
As Rose matured,
664
00:32:16,417 --> 00:32:20,248
she learnt to use violence
to protect her brothers.
665
00:32:20,352 --> 00:32:22,699
Rose began to identify with Bill
666
00:32:22,802 --> 00:32:24,701
and think of herself
being someone
667
00:32:24,804 --> 00:32:27,359
who was strong and could
create fear in others
668
00:32:27,462 --> 00:32:29,085
and this actually led
669
00:32:29,188 --> 00:32:33,779
to Rose going out and
bullying other children.
670
00:32:33,882 --> 00:32:37,921
Rose reached puberty before
other kids in her class
671
00:32:38,025 --> 00:32:41,545
and, from being a meek,
timid girl who was bullied,
672
00:32:41,649 --> 00:32:45,308
she became this big,
strong girl who could
673
00:32:45,411 --> 00:32:47,034
knock people about, and she did,
674
00:32:47,137 --> 00:32:49,484
because she would protect
her younger brothers,
675
00:32:49,588 --> 00:32:53,143
who were, you know,
skinny little chaps.
676
00:32:53,247 --> 00:32:54,593
When her brothers were attacked,
677
00:32:54,696 --> 00:32:56,215
Rose would go after them.
678
00:32:56,319 --> 00:32:59,253
Suddenly, the bullied turns
round and bullies back.
679
00:32:59,356 --> 00:33:02,394
She was not going to
have her brothers hurt
680
00:33:02,497 --> 00:33:05,535
and she would lump
them, as they called it.
681
00:33:05,638 --> 00:33:08,814
So you've got this
interesting dichotomy
682
00:33:08,917 --> 00:33:11,782
between sexuality at one point;
683
00:33:11,886 --> 00:33:16,477
And violence,
bullying, at another.
684
00:33:16,580 --> 00:33:18,444
Rose would've felt
powerful from that.
685
00:33:18,548 --> 00:33:20,377
She would've felt
in control herself,
686
00:33:20,481 --> 00:33:22,897
where she'd always
felt out of control.
687
00:33:23,001 --> 00:33:24,554
So, now, she has power.
688
00:33:24,657 --> 00:33:25,865
Now, she's enjoying that.
689
00:33:25,969 --> 00:33:27,764
Now, she's going to
go out and do this.
690
00:33:27,867 --> 00:33:30,284
So this makes quite
a dangerous stage
691
00:33:30,387 --> 00:33:32,251
for the next part
of the journey,
692
00:33:32,355 --> 00:33:34,184
where she meets Fred West.
693
00:33:37,912 --> 00:33:41,398
Rose gained confidence
through sex and violence,
694
00:33:41,502 --> 00:33:44,815
passions amplified by her
relationship with Fred,
695
00:33:44,919 --> 00:33:45,989
so they wanted somewhere
696
00:33:46,093 --> 00:33:48,854
to combine both
of these desires.
697
00:33:48,957 --> 00:33:52,444
This is where Fred goes
on to extend the house
698
00:33:52,547 --> 00:33:56,689
and to develop the basement.
699
00:33:56,793 --> 00:33:59,451
Fred was very proud
of his cellar.
700
00:33:59,554 --> 00:34:03,041
I can remember, one day, going
through to peg the washing out
701
00:34:03,144 --> 00:34:05,733
and Fred was out
in the back garden,
702
00:34:05,836 --> 00:34:07,286
fiddling about, doing something.
703
00:34:07,390 --> 00:34:08,874
I can't recall what it was.
704
00:34:08,977 --> 00:34:10,817
He said, "Oh, I've repainted
the cellar downstairs.
705
00:34:10,841 --> 00:34:11,739
Do you want to have a look?"
706
00:34:11,842 --> 00:34:13,706
I said, "What's a cellar?"
707
00:34:13,810 --> 00:34:15,984
He said, "It's where the
children go to play."
708
00:34:16,088 --> 00:34:17,400
I said, "Okay."
709
00:34:17,503 --> 00:34:19,643
And I'm claustrophobic,
710
00:34:19,747 --> 00:34:22,232
but I thought, "Well,
don't be rude."
711
00:34:22,336 --> 00:34:23,820
And he took me down
into the cellar,
712
00:34:23,923 --> 00:34:28,031
which was a horrible,
dark, dank place.
713
00:34:30,516 --> 00:34:32,725
In the lower basement area,
714
00:34:32,829 --> 00:34:35,556
he decided he was going
to have a torture chamber.
715
00:34:39,663 --> 00:34:43,391
They both shared
this sadistic view
716
00:34:43,495 --> 00:34:50,191
of subjecting human beings
to horrific circumstances.
717
00:34:52,020 --> 00:34:56,335
Fred was becoming a
creative psychopath.
718
00:34:56,439 --> 00:35:00,374
His obsession on all
things gynecological
719
00:35:00,477 --> 00:35:06,276
was drawing him into some very,
very sadistic and bizarre ideas.
720
00:35:12,075 --> 00:35:15,561
Despite Rose being married
and owning her own home,
721
00:35:15,665 --> 00:35:19,117
her father Bill was still
firmly rooted in her life.
722
00:35:19,220 --> 00:35:20,808
There was still a
sexual relationship
723
00:35:20,911 --> 00:35:22,231
between Rose and
her father, Bill.
724
00:35:22,327 --> 00:35:24,950
At one point, he was
living in a caravan
725
00:35:25,053 --> 00:35:26,814
at the bottom of
Cromwell Street.
726
00:35:29,541 --> 00:35:33,131
I found Bill a bit
727
00:35:33,234 --> 00:35:36,410
scary, I think, is the
easiest way of describing him.
728
00:35:36,513 --> 00:35:39,689
He kind of like was
looking through me and...
729
00:35:39,792 --> 00:35:40,862
How do you explain it?
730
00:35:40,966 --> 00:35:43,071
Like sizing me up and...
731
00:35:43,175 --> 00:35:45,084
All I know is he sat with
his hand under the table,
732
00:35:45,108 --> 00:35:49,285
which kind of made me
feel a bit at unease.
733
00:35:49,388 --> 00:35:52,011
He was very sort of
concentrating on me.
734
00:35:52,115 --> 00:35:54,566
He did have a look in his
eyes that wasn't very nice.
735
00:35:56,050 --> 00:35:57,407
I wouldn't like to
guess, to be fair,
736
00:35:57,431 --> 00:35:58,871
what Bill was doing
under that table.
737
00:36:00,503 --> 00:36:04,438
I think Rose was always
fascinated by her father.
738
00:36:04,541 --> 00:36:05,922
They couldn't stay apart.
739
00:36:06,025 --> 00:36:09,995
They were, in a sense,
inextricably linked
740
00:36:10,098 --> 00:36:11,893
and you couldn't break that.
741
00:36:11,997 --> 00:36:13,802
I mean, I've always found
it quite extraordinary,
742
00:36:13,826 --> 00:36:19,177
how Rose continued to have sex
with her father into adulthood.
743
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,662
Whether she got any sexual
satisfaction from it,
744
00:36:21,765 --> 00:36:23,111
I don't know.
745
00:36:23,215 --> 00:36:25,804
And you just get into
this revolting quagmire
746
00:36:25,907 --> 00:36:29,911
of abuse through the
generations, you know.
747
00:36:30,015 --> 00:36:32,983
That sense, of a father's right
748
00:36:33,087 --> 00:36:35,331
to have sex with
his own children
749
00:36:35,434 --> 00:36:38,472
is a thread that runs
through the story
750
00:36:38,575 --> 00:36:42,545
of Rosemary Letts, as she
was; And Frederick West.
751
00:36:46,342 --> 00:36:49,207
Bill remained ever
present in Rose's life
752
00:36:49,310 --> 00:36:51,278
and, with Fred's
blessing, he continued
753
00:36:51,381 --> 00:36:54,073
his sexual relationship
with his daughter.
754
00:36:54,177 --> 00:36:56,455
But what was it about
Bill's upbringing
755
00:36:56,559 --> 00:37:00,079
that made him become a
violent and incestuous father?
756
00:37:00,183 --> 00:37:02,220
Young Bill Letts
was an only child.
757
00:37:02,323 --> 00:37:04,187
His mother was a
local district nurse.
758
00:37:04,291 --> 00:37:07,742
She was very revered
in the community.
759
00:37:07,846 --> 00:37:09,157
His father came back
760
00:37:09,261 --> 00:37:11,332
from fighting in
the First World War.
761
00:37:11,436 --> 00:37:13,058
When Bill came along,
762
00:37:13,161 --> 00:37:16,441
his father was not
particularly happy about it.
763
00:37:16,544 --> 00:37:18,270
His father didn't want him
764
00:37:18,374 --> 00:37:20,445
and told him that
he wasn't wanted,
765
00:37:20,548 --> 00:37:22,240
that he was a mistake,
766
00:37:22,343 --> 00:37:25,657
which was an awful thing
to say to a young boy.
767
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:27,452
Bill Letts' mother, Bertha,
768
00:37:27,555 --> 00:37:31,076
overcompensated for the
neglect by his father, William,
769
00:37:31,179 --> 00:37:34,528
so Bill was mollycoddled
to the extreme.
770
00:37:34,631 --> 00:37:36,564
My mum went to school
with Bill Letts.
771
00:37:36,668 --> 00:37:38,428
His mother used to
bring him to school,
772
00:37:38,532 --> 00:37:40,465
be there to meet
him, take him home.
773
00:37:40,568 --> 00:37:43,468
His mother would always
accompany him to school
774
00:37:43,571 --> 00:37:47,437
and brush his hair as soon
as she took his cap off.
775
00:37:47,541 --> 00:37:50,233
I mean, he must've
been about 11,
776
00:37:50,337 --> 00:37:53,823
not, like, a little three-,
four-year-old, you know?
777
00:37:53,926 --> 00:37:57,275
Because of Bertha's
mollycoddling of her son,
778
00:37:57,378 --> 00:38:00,830
he really had very few,
if any, friends at all,
779
00:38:00,933 --> 00:38:03,142
so he was very isolated.
780
00:38:03,246 --> 00:38:07,354
We see aspects of that
again in Rose's childhood.
781
00:38:07,457 --> 00:38:11,289
He was another one that he
wasn't allowed out, either.
782
00:38:11,392 --> 00:38:14,740
And he was very quiet
at school, as well,
783
00:38:14,844 --> 00:38:16,673
much like his own children were.
784
00:38:16,777 --> 00:38:19,711
I think it's a perfectly
fair assumption to say
785
00:38:19,814 --> 00:38:25,303
that Bill Letts, as a child,
was intimidated a good deal
786
00:38:25,406 --> 00:38:27,281
and I think he responded
to that intimidation...
787
00:38:27,305 --> 00:38:28,616
Bullying, if you like...
788
00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:30,825
By responding with
equal violence himself,
789
00:38:30,929 --> 00:38:32,137
as soon as he became an adult.
790
00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:35,692
There were strong
rumors in the community.
791
00:38:35,796 --> 00:38:37,356
Parents told their
children to keep away
792
00:38:37,453 --> 00:38:39,178
from old William Letts
793
00:38:39,282 --> 00:38:42,492
because he couldn't be
trusted near children.
794
00:38:42,596 --> 00:38:46,841
So, whether Bill was abused
or not, we don't know,
795
00:38:46,945 --> 00:38:49,603
but, of course, there
is a chance, you know.
796
00:38:49,706 --> 00:38:51,018
Bill's father, William,
797
00:38:51,121 --> 00:38:53,710
was known to have an
extremely high sex drive,
798
00:38:53,814 --> 00:38:56,023
something that would
span generations,
799
00:38:56,126 --> 00:39:01,304
as both Bill and Rose inherited
an insatiable appetite for sex.
800
00:39:01,408 --> 00:39:02,888
Well, he certainly
was a strange man.
801
00:39:02,961 --> 00:39:05,066
I never liked the
look of him, anyway.
802
00:39:05,170 --> 00:39:06,585
I think my mum
called him a gigolo.
803
00:39:06,689 --> 00:39:08,863
Whatever that might
mean, I don't know.
804
00:39:08,967 --> 00:39:10,278
Rather than having a job,
805
00:39:10,382 --> 00:39:12,764
he seemed to flit round
from woman to woman,
806
00:39:12,867 --> 00:39:16,802
like as a butler-cum-gigolo.
807
00:39:16,906 --> 00:39:18,770
It was not only a high sex drive
808
00:39:18,873 --> 00:39:21,531
that Bill and Rose
inherited from William.
809
00:39:21,635 --> 00:39:24,465
They would also inherit
an obsession for cleaning.
810
00:39:24,569 --> 00:39:27,813
William Letts was absolutely
obsessed with cleanliness,
811
00:39:27,917 --> 00:39:30,264
bleaching the house
top to bottom,
812
00:39:30,368 --> 00:39:34,233
nothing could be out of place,
and Bill had to follow suit.
813
00:39:34,337 --> 00:39:36,684
And then, unfortunately,
814
00:39:36,788 --> 00:39:39,515
Bill did follow suit,
to the Nth degree,
815
00:39:39,618 --> 00:39:43,035
and that would carry
on into his marriage.
816
00:39:43,139 --> 00:39:46,418
In 1942, Bill married Daisy.
817
00:39:46,522 --> 00:39:49,732
A year later, they moved
into their new council home,
818
00:39:49,835 --> 00:39:52,838
on Morwenna Park Road
in Northam, Devon.
819
00:39:52,942 --> 00:39:55,979
Bill and Daisy would go
on to have seven children,
820
00:39:56,083 --> 00:39:58,672
Rose being the fifth to arrive.
821
00:39:58,775 --> 00:40:01,364
But Bill was hiding
a secret diagnosis
822
00:40:01,468 --> 00:40:05,886
that would cause his
paranoia to intensify.
823
00:40:05,989 --> 00:40:10,546
Bill was said to have
severe psychotic episodes.
824
00:40:10,649 --> 00:40:15,516
He had been diagnosed as
a paranoid schizophrenic
825
00:40:15,620 --> 00:40:17,587
when he was a teenager
826
00:40:17,691 --> 00:40:22,109
and that had never been
disclosed to the family
827
00:40:22,212 --> 00:40:24,422
and he remained untreated.
828
00:40:24,525 --> 00:40:26,245
He would think people
were talking about him
829
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:28,943
and have a go at his
wife all the time.
830
00:40:29,047 --> 00:40:30,473
If she was even talking
to the neighbors,
831
00:40:30,497 --> 00:40:32,153
he would hit her
and pull her in.
832
00:40:32,257 --> 00:40:35,812
The police were called.
Nothing happened.
833
00:40:35,916 --> 00:40:39,678
He seemed to be
very OCD, as well...
834
00:40:39,782 --> 00:40:42,647
Always on at his wife,
always on at the children,
835
00:40:42,750 --> 00:40:44,442
"Keep the place
clean," you know?
836
00:40:44,545 --> 00:40:48,756
And he would come home
and shout and thrash them.
837
00:40:48,860 --> 00:40:51,000
In fear of violence from Bill,
838
00:40:51,103 --> 00:40:53,140
Daisy would also
develop an obsession
839
00:40:53,243 --> 00:40:55,383
for keeping everything clean.
840
00:40:55,487 --> 00:40:58,317
Cleanliness, that was
the main thing with her.
841
00:40:58,421 --> 00:41:00,596
She used to scrub, scrub, scrub.
842
00:41:00,699 --> 00:41:03,253
The backyard, you know,
she'd be out there
843
00:41:03,357 --> 00:41:07,223
scrubbing that with a
hosepipe and bleach.
844
00:41:07,326 --> 00:41:09,708
Daisy's obsession
became so intense
845
00:41:09,812 --> 00:41:11,434
that the children
were not allowed out,
846
00:41:11,538 --> 00:41:13,712
in case they came home dirty.
847
00:41:13,816 --> 00:41:15,231
But, on one occasion,
848
00:41:15,334 --> 00:41:19,269
Rose's older sister
decided to go out to play.
849
00:41:19,373 --> 00:41:22,376
Rose's oldest sister was
a little bit rebellious
850
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:24,758
and I recall one time
when we took her out
851
00:41:24,861 --> 00:41:26,207
for the afternoon,
852
00:41:26,311 --> 00:41:29,141
go swimming and ride
the horses out there
853
00:41:29,245 --> 00:41:31,419
and, I mean, we used to
get filthy out there,
854
00:41:31,523 --> 00:41:33,939
really, rolling around.
855
00:41:34,043 --> 00:41:36,666
She really got so excited,
she was almost manic.
856
00:41:36,770 --> 00:41:39,876
She'd laugh and giggle
and prance around.
857
00:41:39,980 --> 00:41:44,087
But this rare, fun-filled
day would come at a price.
858
00:41:44,191 --> 00:41:46,434
When she got home,
stinking of horses,
859
00:41:46,538 --> 00:41:49,610
that's when she got
this hell of a beating.
860
00:41:49,714 --> 00:41:51,854
Daisy was hosing her
down in the garden.
861
00:41:51,957 --> 00:41:53,649
She was screaming and screaming,
862
00:41:53,752 --> 00:41:55,858
stripped naked, being hosed down
863
00:41:55,961 --> 00:41:58,239
with cold water, obviously.
864
00:41:58,343 --> 00:42:02,312
Oh, it was awful to hear.
865
00:42:02,416 --> 00:42:04,522
And that's when my
mother intervened
866
00:42:04,625 --> 00:42:06,800
and then she took her in.
867
00:42:06,903 --> 00:42:09,354
My mum, she really went onto me.
868
00:42:09,457 --> 00:42:11,494
She said, "Don't ever
take her out again
869
00:42:11,598 --> 00:42:13,772
because you've caused that
girl to have a hiding.
870
00:42:13,876 --> 00:42:16,464
She gets enough
of that, anyway."
871
00:42:16,568 --> 00:42:19,847
Yes, Daisy did shout and
hit the children, as well,
872
00:42:19,951 --> 00:42:24,645
but I think she was trying very
hard to keep everything tidy,
873
00:42:24,749 --> 00:42:27,337
just so, and
bleaching everything
874
00:42:27,441 --> 00:42:29,270
so that he wouldn't come home
875
00:42:29,374 --> 00:42:32,411
and have one of these terrible
rages where he would hit them.
876
00:42:32,515 --> 00:42:34,413
He would do things
like spoil the food
877
00:42:34,517 --> 00:42:37,934
and tip the dustbin out
all across the kitchen.
878
00:42:38,038 --> 00:42:42,352
So the woman had a very,
very hard time with him.
879
00:42:42,456 --> 00:42:47,668
He bullied, intimidated,
and, indeed, in the end,
880
00:42:47,772 --> 00:42:50,844
terrified his wife, Daisy.
881
00:42:50,947 --> 00:42:53,467
That awful, worst
kind of bully...
882
00:42:53,571 --> 00:42:54,951
A coward, at one moment;
883
00:42:55,055 --> 00:42:58,403
And then, vicious to those
who couldn't fight back.
884
00:42:59,887 --> 00:43:03,097
Bill would put on this
very pleasant face
885
00:43:03,201 --> 00:43:05,065
to most of the neighbors.
886
00:43:05,168 --> 00:43:06,549
He was very charming.
887
00:43:06,653 --> 00:43:08,758
So, of course, people
won't believe that.
888
00:43:08,862 --> 00:43:13,798
So he has this kind of
friendly street angel;
889
00:43:13,901 --> 00:43:16,214
And then, he's this
house devil face.
890
00:43:18,147 --> 00:43:20,425
And, just like her father,
891
00:43:20,528 --> 00:43:23,324
Rose developed an appetite
for coercive control
892
00:43:23,428 --> 00:43:25,050
when she ventured
into adulthood.
893
00:43:27,743 --> 00:43:30,435
Fred and Rose would drive
around Gloucestershire,
894
00:43:30,538 --> 00:43:35,095
searching for girls to lure
back to 25 Cromwell Street.
895
00:43:35,198 --> 00:43:37,960
They would get a babysitter
in and they would go out.
896
00:43:38,063 --> 00:43:41,688
They pick up Caroline Owens,
who's hitchhiking home
897
00:43:41,791 --> 00:43:43,344
and lives in the Forest of Dean.
898
00:43:43,448 --> 00:43:45,036
Rose is sitting there.
899
00:43:45,139 --> 00:43:48,626
She has a baby, she's pregnant,
900
00:43:48,729 --> 00:43:51,387
and she's grooming this girlie,
901
00:43:51,490 --> 00:43:54,045
like enticing her
to get into the car,
902
00:43:54,148 --> 00:43:56,012
speaking in this lovely voice.
903
00:43:56,116 --> 00:43:57,635
And also sitting
there with a baby,
904
00:43:57,738 --> 00:44:00,499
which they both know is
going to make any young girl
905
00:44:00,603 --> 00:44:03,226
feel quite sort
of safe with them.
906
00:44:03,330 --> 00:44:05,953
I think both of them,
they're psychopaths
907
00:44:06,057 --> 00:44:07,955
and they know how to charm,
908
00:44:08,059 --> 00:44:11,890
so they can present
so well to people.
909
00:44:11,994 --> 00:44:14,617
So, of course, Caroline gets in.
910
00:44:14,721 --> 00:44:17,240
The couple charm
and coerce Caroline
911
00:44:17,344 --> 00:44:21,210
into coming to live with
them as their in-house nanny.
912
00:44:21,313 --> 00:44:26,318
But it's soon clear Rose
has an alternative agenda.
913
00:44:26,422 --> 00:44:29,770
And they start their
sadistical games with her.
914
00:44:29,874 --> 00:44:31,461
They started to
get heavy with her.
915
00:44:31,565 --> 00:44:33,636
I think they would
barge into the bathroom
916
00:44:33,740 --> 00:44:35,327
when she was in the bathroom.
917
00:44:35,431 --> 00:44:37,088
She felt uncomfortable
with them.
918
00:44:37,191 --> 00:44:40,781
They're both trying to invite
her in to have sex with them.
919
00:44:40,885 --> 00:44:41,782
Rose didn't stop.
920
00:44:41,886 --> 00:44:43,439
She wanted to kiss her,
921
00:44:43,542 --> 00:44:45,096
Fred was egging them on,
922
00:44:45,199 --> 00:44:47,961
so she got her stuff and went.
923
00:44:48,064 --> 00:44:50,273
Caroline managed to escape.
924
00:44:50,377 --> 00:44:52,828
But it was short-lived.
925
00:44:52,931 --> 00:44:55,382
And then, they again coaxed her
926
00:44:55,485 --> 00:44:58,040
when she was hitchhiking
on a later occasion.
927
00:44:58,143 --> 00:44:59,662
They got her in
the car, beat her.
928
00:44:59,766 --> 00:45:03,597
Fred had punched her
and quietened her,
929
00:45:03,701 --> 00:45:07,049
so that Rose could do
what she wanted with her.
930
00:45:07,152 --> 00:45:10,846
Rose scratched and brutalized
her in the back of the car.
931
00:45:10,949 --> 00:45:13,918
When she got back
to Cromwell Street,
932
00:45:14,021 --> 00:45:19,233
this time, it was a brutal
and tortuous regime.
933
00:45:19,337 --> 00:45:21,339
She was being held
there and beaten
934
00:45:21,442 --> 00:45:23,030
and she feared for her life.
935
00:45:23,134 --> 00:45:24,825
Fred was actually
restraining her,
936
00:45:24,929 --> 00:45:27,414
keeping her there for Rose.
937
00:45:27,517 --> 00:45:31,832
He said he kidnapped
her for Rose.
938
00:45:31,936 --> 00:45:35,042
Fred's behavior was sadism
939
00:45:35,146 --> 00:45:39,253
and advising her that
he was going to beat her
940
00:45:39,357 --> 00:45:43,741
and then, he meekly asserted
that he would have sex with her,
941
00:45:43,844 --> 00:45:46,053
but she mustn't tell Rose.
942
00:45:46,157 --> 00:45:48,746
Eventually, Caroline
Owens was able to escape
943
00:45:48,849 --> 00:45:50,713
and, as a result of that,
944
00:45:50,817 --> 00:45:53,164
her parents reported the
matter to the police.
945
00:45:57,030 --> 00:45:59,929
They were taken to court
and Fred put his suit on,
946
00:46:00,033 --> 00:46:03,830
presented well, they thought
he looked a reasonable chap.
947
00:46:03,933 --> 00:46:06,246
And Rose was like
heavily pregnant
948
00:46:06,349 --> 00:46:09,042
and telling them
that she was going to
949
00:46:09,145 --> 00:46:13,701
have some kind of therapy
for her, you know, ways.
950
00:46:13,805 --> 00:46:15,117
And the charges were reduced
951
00:46:15,220 --> 00:46:18,292
because Caroline couldn't
face them in court.
952
00:46:18,396 --> 00:46:22,055
A charge of rape was proffered,
953
00:46:22,158 --> 00:46:25,783
but it was plea-bargained
down to a sexual assault
954
00:46:25,886 --> 00:46:27,439
in a magistrates court.
955
00:46:27,543 --> 00:46:31,512
They were both fined £25 and
had a rap on the knuckles.
956
00:46:31,616 --> 00:46:32,790
I think their solicitor said,
957
00:46:32,893 --> 00:46:34,515
"Well, you know,
they're a young couple.
958
00:46:34,619 --> 00:46:36,069
They won't do it again,"
959
00:46:36,172 --> 00:46:38,450
and, extraordinarily, the
magistrates bought that.
960
00:46:38,554 --> 00:46:40,694
And the interesting thing
is that neither of them
961
00:46:40,798 --> 00:46:43,801
were embarrassed about that,
either, particularly Rose,
962
00:46:43,904 --> 00:46:46,527
because she was a
complete narcissist.
963
00:46:46,631 --> 00:46:48,633
It meant nothing to her.
964
00:46:48,736 --> 00:46:50,877
It was a kind of
abandonment, you know.
965
00:46:50,980 --> 00:46:54,397
Somehow, they were
getting away with it.
966
00:46:54,501 --> 00:46:55,741
They were given carte blanche,
967
00:46:55,813 --> 00:46:58,470
so, the next time, they
were going to kill.
968
00:46:58,574 --> 00:47:00,956
Nobody is going to escape
them, the next time,
969
00:47:01,059 --> 00:47:02,371
to live to tell the tale.
970
00:47:04,545 --> 00:47:07,963
With zero respect for the
law, Fred and Rose continued
971
00:47:08,066 --> 00:47:10,551
using the same method
of driving around,
972
00:47:10,655 --> 00:47:12,864
pursuing young,
vulnerable women,
973
00:47:12,968 --> 00:47:17,110
often calling on their lodger
Jayne to babysit for them.
974
00:47:17,213 --> 00:47:18,493
Looking after the younger ones,
975
00:47:18,559 --> 00:47:21,459
I formed quite a
friendship with them.
976
00:47:21,562 --> 00:47:23,737
They were dear little things.
977
00:47:23,841 --> 00:47:27,258
It upsets me to think that I
was looking after their children
978
00:47:27,361 --> 00:47:30,986
for them to be evil people.
979
00:47:31,089 --> 00:47:33,540
Using the same ruse
of needing a nanny,
980
00:47:33,643 --> 00:47:35,922
they lured 19-year-old
Lynda Gough back
981
00:47:36,025 --> 00:47:39,787
to their cellar in
Cromwell Street.
982
00:47:39,891 --> 00:47:43,791
They trussed her
up and killed her.
983
00:47:43,895 --> 00:47:46,864
It was a horrendous murder.
984
00:47:46,967 --> 00:47:51,489
And she was buried outside
by the bathroom area.
985
00:47:54,423 --> 00:47:56,114
Rose immediately went
through her clothes
986
00:47:56,218 --> 00:47:57,529
and put her clothes on.
987
00:47:57,633 --> 00:48:01,775
She could just go and
kill this girl with Fred
988
00:48:01,879 --> 00:48:05,675
and go and put the
girl's clothes on.
989
00:48:05,779 --> 00:48:07,919
When Lynda's mother
came looking for her,
990
00:48:08,023 --> 00:48:11,819
she witnessed Rose's
narcissism firsthand.
991
00:48:11,923 --> 00:48:15,064
Lynda Gough's mother
came to find her daughter
992
00:48:15,168 --> 00:48:19,241
and saw some of her clothes
blowing in the wind on the line
993
00:48:19,344 --> 00:48:22,589
and Rose in her
slippers and cardigan.
994
00:48:22,692 --> 00:48:24,325
And she was just, "Oh,
I never heard of her."
995
00:48:24,349 --> 00:48:27,076
Well, of course
she had, you know.
996
00:48:27,180 --> 00:48:29,285
The mother knew she was lying.
997
00:48:29,389 --> 00:48:32,357
It was, in fact,
her lack of empathy
998
00:48:32,461 --> 00:48:35,153
and her association
with Fred West
999
00:48:35,257 --> 00:48:37,293
that led her to be a killer.
1000
00:48:41,297 --> 00:48:42,688
Within months of
killing Lynda Gough,
1001
00:48:42,712 --> 00:48:44,576
Fred and Rose struck again.
1002
00:48:46,854 --> 00:48:50,341
This time, they abducted
15-year-old Carol Ann Cooper.
1003
00:48:53,344 --> 00:48:56,105
She'd been having a night
out with her boyfriend
1004
00:48:56,209 --> 00:49:01,835
and they followed
her in the car,
1005
00:49:01,939 --> 00:49:04,907
picked her up when
she got off the bus,
1006
00:49:05,011 --> 00:49:09,222
took her back, and it
was a horrendous murder.
1007
00:49:11,776 --> 00:49:15,366
Over a frenzied period
spanning less than two years,
1008
00:49:15,469 --> 00:49:19,611
six young females had been
lured to 25 Cromwell Street,
1009
00:49:19,715 --> 00:49:22,166
where they were
tortured, murdered,
1010
00:49:22,269 --> 00:49:24,996
and buried beneath
the family home.
1011
00:49:25,100 --> 00:49:28,068
I think they were
totally out of control.
1012
00:49:28,172 --> 00:49:31,520
They became more and more
so as they got away with it.
1013
00:49:31,623 --> 00:49:35,489
This is fairly normal
for serial killers
1014
00:49:35,593 --> 00:49:37,698
who get a lot of pleasure
1015
00:49:37,802 --> 00:49:40,701
from protracted torture
and killing of others,
1016
00:49:40,805 --> 00:49:45,948
in that the next
one has to be more.
1017
00:49:46,052 --> 00:49:49,124
She was bound up with duct
tape and left her eyes,
1018
00:49:49,227 --> 00:49:52,127
so that she could see what
they were going to do to her.
1019
00:49:53,507 --> 00:49:54,992
The more macabre nature
1020
00:49:55,095 --> 00:49:57,787
of this torture got
progressively worse,
1021
00:49:57,891 --> 00:49:59,755
with one killing
following another.
1022
00:50:01,412 --> 00:50:05,899
Mummified and a straw was
poked through, up her nose,
1023
00:50:06,003 --> 00:50:08,626
so that they could keep
this young girl alive
1024
00:50:08,729 --> 00:50:10,110
while they tortured her.
1025
00:50:10,214 --> 00:50:14,011
Extreme bondage,
metal tubes, binding,
1026
00:50:14,114 --> 00:50:18,498
hanging people from the
ceiling, like pieces of meat.
1027
00:50:18,601 --> 00:50:23,641
More sadism, more
paraphernalia, more suffering.
1028
00:50:23,744 --> 00:50:27,438
Rose was known to use very
large vibrators on them,
1029
00:50:27,541 --> 00:50:32,063
you know, so huge that
they did massive damage.
1030
00:50:32,167 --> 00:50:35,791
It got worse and
worse and worse.
1031
00:50:35,894 --> 00:50:38,000
Anyone who saw any
of the pictures
1032
00:50:38,104 --> 00:50:40,451
of what happened
to those girls...
1033
00:50:40,554 --> 00:50:43,316
You know, the missing
bones, the kneecaps removed,
1034
00:50:43,419 --> 00:50:48,666
the hanging in the cellar,
the awful bindings with...
1035
00:50:48,769 --> 00:50:54,292
It just sends a shudder
down my spine, to this day.
1036
00:50:54,396 --> 00:50:56,329
Rose was very, very cruel.
1037
00:50:56,432 --> 00:50:58,400
She wanted to hurt women
as much as she could.
1038
00:50:58,503 --> 00:51:01,196
It was something in her.
1039
00:51:01,299 --> 00:51:03,577
It's almost like killing
a version of herself.
1040
00:51:08,893 --> 00:51:12,793
This may have been her way
of eradicating her past,
1041
00:51:12,897 --> 00:51:17,626
getting rid of all those
thoughts and vulnerabilities
1042
00:51:17,729 --> 00:51:20,491
that she had felt from
her early childhood.
1043
00:51:20,594 --> 00:51:21,594
She had no power.
1044
00:51:21,630 --> 00:51:23,804
She was oppressed, as she said.
1045
00:51:23,908 --> 00:51:29,224
It was her way of taking out her
revenge on these young girls.
1046
00:51:29,327 --> 00:51:30,673
And she was so cruel.
1047
00:51:33,020 --> 00:51:34,781
And Rose would not
have to search far
1048
00:51:34,884 --> 00:51:36,334
for the next victim...
1049
00:51:36,438 --> 00:51:37,853
Shirley Robinson,
1050
00:51:37,956 --> 00:51:41,408
one of the Wests' lodgers
at 25 Cromwell Street.
1051
00:51:41,512 --> 00:51:43,272
I made a very good
friend out of Shirley.
1052
00:51:43,376 --> 00:51:46,931
We'd cook a Pot Noodle together
and sit and talk for ages.
1053
00:51:47,034 --> 00:51:49,761
Her and Rose very much looked
like each other, so, sometimes,
1054
00:51:49,865 --> 00:51:51,545
I'd go into the kitchen,
take a quick look,
1055
00:51:51,625 --> 00:51:53,638
because Shirley would very
often be down in the kitchen.
1056
00:51:53,662 --> 00:51:55,836
I'd say, "Hi, Rose.
1057
00:51:55,940 --> 00:51:58,011
Oh, sorry, Shirley. It's you."
1058
00:51:58,115 --> 00:52:02,015
It was not only looks that
Shirley and Rose had in common.
1059
00:52:02,119 --> 00:52:03,568
I didn't realize that Shirley
1060
00:52:03,672 --> 00:52:05,156
was having a
relationship with Fred.
1061
00:52:05,260 --> 00:52:07,341
I found out at the end that
she'd got pregnant by Fred,
1062
00:52:07,365 --> 00:52:10,023
so I thought it was just one
of those things that happened.
1063
00:52:10,127 --> 00:52:13,233
As her and Rose were so
friendly, I didn't like
1064
00:52:13,337 --> 00:52:15,304
put the two and two
together because, obviously,
1065
00:52:15,408 --> 00:52:17,617
if Rose was having men in,
1066
00:52:17,720 --> 00:52:19,653
what's Fred doing to
other women?
1067
00:52:19,757 --> 00:52:22,035
- Today, Royale Robinson,
1068
00:52:22,139 --> 00:52:24,865
whose daughter Shirley Ann
was found in the garden,
1069
00:52:24,969 --> 00:52:27,247
along with her unborn child.
1070
00:52:27,351 --> 00:52:31,044
She was killed by Frederick
and Rosemary West.
1071
00:52:31,148 --> 00:52:33,805
I just thought,
"Maybe she's not able
1072
00:52:33,909 --> 00:52:35,229
to live in one
room with the baby,
1073
00:52:35,255 --> 00:52:38,534
so she's moved on and
found somewhere else."
1074
00:52:38,638 --> 00:52:40,847
Shirley's remains were
buried in the garden,
1075
00:52:40,950 --> 00:52:44,471
alongside her and
Fred's unborn baby.
1076
00:52:44,575 --> 00:52:47,267
To be told that Shirley
had left, Shirley had gone,
1077
00:52:47,371 --> 00:52:51,029
none of it, none of this,
made any sense, whatsoever.
1078
00:52:51,133 --> 00:52:54,343
Jayne had no idea she was
living in the same house
1079
00:52:54,447 --> 00:52:57,657
with two sadistic
serial killers.
1080
00:52:57,760 --> 00:52:58,899
Fred was just...
1081
00:52:59,003 --> 00:53:00,142
He was a gentleman.
1082
00:53:00,246 --> 00:53:02,040
He was very pleasant,
very polite.
1083
00:53:02,144 --> 00:53:03,697
He was constantly
working in the house.
1084
00:53:03,801 --> 00:53:05,458
Slap of paint here,
a bit of work there,
1085
00:53:05,561 --> 00:53:06,942
a bit of digging in the garden.
1086
00:53:07,045 --> 00:53:08,713
He was always there, very
early in the morning,
1087
00:53:08,737 --> 00:53:10,290
before everybody else.
1088
00:53:10,394 --> 00:53:13,328
Rose was generally
not a morning person.
1089
00:53:13,431 --> 00:53:14,960
She used to walk around
with her cardigan
1090
00:53:14,984 --> 00:53:16,676
and her trainer
socks and skirt on,
1091
00:53:16,779 --> 00:53:18,659
barking at the children...
Not speaking to them,
1092
00:53:18,712 --> 00:53:20,197
barking orders at them.
1093
00:53:20,300 --> 00:53:21,612
Anne Marie was scorned upon...
1094
00:53:21,715 --> 00:53:23,395
"You're not getting
breakfast fast enough."
1095
00:53:23,476 --> 00:53:25,178
You can't give them toast
without giving them a drink,
1096
00:53:25,202 --> 00:53:28,550
"you stupid..." so, very
demeaning to the children.
1097
00:53:28,653 --> 00:53:30,931
Rose was definitely in
charge in the West household.
1098
00:53:31,035 --> 00:53:33,520
There was no denying
that.
1099
00:53:33,624 --> 00:53:35,142
Of all the West children,
1100
00:53:35,246 --> 00:53:37,524
it was Rose's eldest
daughter, Heather,
1101
00:53:37,628 --> 00:53:39,492
who left a lasting impression.
1102
00:53:39,595 --> 00:53:42,702
Heather, quite a
switched-on little girl.
1103
00:53:42,805 --> 00:53:44,600
We'd sit and talk about
silly little things,
1104
00:53:44,704 --> 00:53:47,327
you know, hair and, "Will
you wear makeup later on
1105
00:53:47,431 --> 00:53:48,856
and what do you want
to do as a job?"
1106
00:53:48,880 --> 00:53:50,917
So she was just an
inquisitive little body.
1107
00:53:53,126 --> 00:53:55,439
But, one evening,
Jayne was woken up
1108
00:53:55,542 --> 00:53:58,890
by something that would
change her life forever.
1109
00:53:58,994 --> 00:54:00,892
Something disturbed me.
1110
00:54:00,996 --> 00:54:03,412
And, initially, I couldn't
quite make out what it was
1111
00:54:03,516 --> 00:54:06,450
and then, I realized
it was in the cellar.
1112
00:54:06,553 --> 00:54:08,452
I could hear Heather
screaming, "Stop it, Daddy!
1113
00:54:08,555 --> 00:54:09,763
Stop it, Daddy!"
1114
00:54:09,867 --> 00:54:10,878
And then, it seemed to stop
1115
00:54:10,902 --> 00:54:12,182
and then, it would happen again.
1116
00:54:12,249 --> 00:54:13,974
And this happened for
a few nights in a row.
1117
00:54:16,494 --> 00:54:19,394
A specialist search team
arrived at Cromwell Street
1118
00:54:19,497 --> 00:54:22,949
with a warrant to
search for Heather West.
1119
00:54:23,052 --> 00:54:26,021
I put the news on and the
first thing I saw was Heather.
1120
00:54:26,124 --> 00:54:28,057
I thought, "Oh, my gosh!
1121
00:54:28,161 --> 00:54:30,094
Heather's been killed."
1122
00:54:30,197 --> 00:54:32,579
In 1992,
1123
00:54:32,683 --> 00:54:34,857
15 years after Jayne left,
1124
00:54:34,961 --> 00:54:36,997
one of the children
reported to police
1125
00:54:37,101 --> 00:54:38,861
they'd been raped by Fred.
1126
00:54:38,965 --> 00:54:41,692
Five of the West children
were taken into care
1127
00:54:41,795 --> 00:54:43,935
whilst police investigated.
1128
00:54:44,039 --> 00:54:45,109
The following year,
1129
00:54:45,212 --> 00:54:46,800
social workers reported
1130
00:54:46,904 --> 00:54:49,976
that the West children had
claimed that Fred often joked
1131
00:54:50,079 --> 00:54:52,910
that Heather was buried
beneath the patio.
1132
00:54:53,013 --> 00:54:54,532
In 1994,
1133
00:54:54,636 --> 00:54:57,086
whilst investigating
Heather's whereabouts,
1134
00:54:57,190 --> 00:55:00,814
police obtained a search
warrant for 25 Cromwell Street
1135
00:55:00,918 --> 00:55:02,299
and, as Fred was led away,
1136
00:55:02,402 --> 00:55:04,370
he confessed to
Heather's murder.
1137
00:55:04,473 --> 00:55:07,027
The back garden of
25 Cromwell Street.
1138
00:55:07,131 --> 00:55:10,237
He'd never told his
wife what he'd done.
1139
00:55:10,341 --> 00:55:13,862
When I saw Rose at
Cheltenham Police Station,
1140
00:55:13,965 --> 00:55:17,072
she was really very, very upset
1141
00:55:17,175 --> 00:55:18,867
and it was almost a mantra that,
1142
00:55:18,970 --> 00:55:21,939
"It was that flipping
Fred West, you know.
1143
00:55:22,042 --> 00:55:25,183
What had he effing been doing?"
1144
00:55:25,287 --> 00:55:27,841
The first time I ever heard
Frederick West describing
1145
00:55:27,945 --> 00:55:32,536
how he dismembered
his daughter, Heather,
1146
00:55:32,639 --> 00:55:35,470
and stuck her in a
sack, bin bags...
1147
00:55:35,573 --> 00:55:37,493
"I couldn't get her in
the dustbin, so I thought,
1148
00:55:37,575 --> 00:55:39,232
'I'll cut her legs off.'"
1149
00:55:39,336 --> 00:55:41,234
Then, he cuts her head off.
1150
00:55:41,338 --> 00:55:43,132
It's unimaginable.
1151
00:55:46,066 --> 00:55:48,137
Officers who found
Heather's remains
1152
00:55:48,241 --> 00:55:51,140
found signs that
she was not alone.
1153
00:55:51,244 --> 00:55:52,866
When this story happened,
1154
00:55:52,970 --> 00:55:56,180
it was a huge shock to
the people of Gloucester.
1155
00:55:56,283 --> 00:55:58,285
The whole thing became a
bit of a circus, really,
1156
00:55:58,389 --> 00:56:01,254
as far as the press
and media interest.
1157
00:56:01,358 --> 00:56:04,015
It was moving so quickly,
there was so much happening,
1158
00:56:04,119 --> 00:56:05,399
there were so many developments,
1159
00:56:05,465 --> 00:56:07,122
in terms of bodies being found.
1160
00:56:07,225 --> 00:56:10,367
West had hinted that there were
further bodies to be discovered.
1161
00:56:10,470 --> 00:56:13,024
He led detectives
down to the cellar,
1162
00:56:13,128 --> 00:56:15,406
indicating where other
victims were hidden.
1163
00:56:15,510 --> 00:56:17,097
Human remains
found in the cellar
1164
00:56:17,201 --> 00:56:19,893
are carried away for
forensic examination.
1165
00:56:19,997 --> 00:56:22,551
Despite Fred claiming
all responsibility
1166
00:56:22,655 --> 00:56:25,036
and confessing where
the victims were buried,
1167
00:56:25,140 --> 00:56:26,831
police had sufficient evidence
1168
00:56:26,935 --> 00:56:29,420
to arrest Rose on
suspicion of murder.
1169
00:56:29,524 --> 00:56:31,146
When I visited Rose,
1170
00:56:31,249 --> 00:56:35,668
she was relaxed and
not kind of dumbstruck.
1171
00:56:35,771 --> 00:56:39,223
She did seem slightly
removed from it all.
1172
00:56:39,326 --> 00:56:41,190
She just... It's blocked out.
1173
00:56:41,294 --> 00:56:44,504
As her mother used to say, "She
held herself in as a child,"
1174
00:56:44,608 --> 00:56:47,645
and maybe that's
what she's doing.
1175
00:56:47,749 --> 00:56:49,544
That probably speaks volumes
1176
00:56:49,647 --> 00:56:54,169
about this curious
dichotomy in Rose's makeup.
1177
00:56:54,272 --> 00:57:01,625
You'd expect it would prompt
some strong need to unload,
1178
00:57:01,728 --> 00:57:03,627
but there was none of that.
1179
00:57:03,730 --> 00:57:06,871
The Crown Prosecution Service
collated enough evidence
1180
00:57:06,975 --> 00:57:09,633
to charge Rose with
ten counts of murder.
1181
00:57:09,736 --> 00:57:11,024
- Frederick West,
1182
00:57:11,048 --> 00:57:12,532
the builder accused
of mass murder,
1183
00:57:12,636 --> 00:57:15,501
just minutes away from a
reunion with his wife, Rosemary,
1184
00:57:15,604 --> 00:57:18,055
is driven into Gloucester
Magistrates Court.
1185
00:57:18,158 --> 00:57:19,470
We saw Fred and Rose brought up,
1186
00:57:19,574 --> 00:57:20,885
one by one, into the dock
1187
00:57:20,989 --> 00:57:22,611
and we were quite
surprised to see
1188
00:57:22,715 --> 00:57:27,616
just a very ordinary-looking,
plumpish, middle-aged woman.
1189
00:57:27,720 --> 00:57:31,931
She didn't appear to be upset,
disturbed, angry, indignant.
1190
00:57:32,034 --> 00:57:35,348
There was no real emotion
that I can recall.
1191
00:57:35,452 --> 00:57:39,110
The clear instructions were
that she said she was innocent.
1192
00:57:39,214 --> 00:57:41,043
If there was anything
had happened,
1193
00:57:41,147 --> 00:57:44,046
it was because of Fred.
1194
00:57:44,150 --> 00:57:46,048
And the whole time that
they sat in that court,
1195
00:57:46,152 --> 00:57:48,257
they deliberately were
not looking at each other,
1196
00:57:48,361 --> 00:57:49,880
not talking to each other.
1197
00:57:49,983 --> 00:57:52,607
Had they fallen out? Was
this a ruse, on their part?
1198
00:57:52,710 --> 00:57:54,125
They probably did
discuss the fact
1199
00:57:54,229 --> 00:57:55,644
about Fred taking the blame
1200
00:57:55,748 --> 00:57:57,543
and she would walk away from it.
1201
00:57:57,646 --> 00:58:00,442
She disowned him
in the witness box.
1202
00:58:00,546 --> 00:58:02,582
She just dropped him, end of.
1203
00:58:02,686 --> 00:58:05,551
Freddie forever...
That was over forever.
1204
00:58:05,654 --> 00:58:08,312
She wanted no more
to do with him.
1205
00:58:08,415 --> 00:58:10,970
There were clear signs
that she was saying,
1206
00:58:11,073 --> 00:58:14,042
"No, you've admitted
it, now go and rot."
1207
00:58:14,145 --> 00:58:16,285
- Frederick West was found dead
1208
00:58:16,389 --> 00:58:18,391
in his cell in
Winson Green Prison.
1209
00:58:18,495 --> 00:58:20,393
He was awaiting trial,
accused of murdering
1210
00:58:20,497 --> 00:58:21,670
12 women and girls.
1211
00:58:27,124 --> 00:58:29,816
Rosemary West in public
for the first time
1212
00:58:29,920 --> 00:58:32,129
since her husband was
found hanging in his cell
1213
00:58:32,232 --> 00:58:33,786
on New Year's Day.
1214
00:58:33,889 --> 00:58:36,996
Rose West was charged
with ten counts of murder.
1215
00:58:37,099 --> 00:58:40,620
She was remanded in custody
whilst she awaited trial.
1216
00:58:40,724 --> 00:58:43,520
I looked over the
top of the railings
1217
00:58:43,623 --> 00:58:46,730
and it was Rose West
and I thought, "Ooh!"
1218
00:58:46,833 --> 00:58:49,629
Sandra Gregory was jailed
for drug trafficking
1219
00:58:49,733 --> 00:58:53,219
and got to know
Rose in HMP Durham.
1220
00:58:53,322 --> 00:58:54,910
She swears a bit.
1221
00:58:55,014 --> 00:58:56,543
And she can foam a
little bit at the mouth
1222
00:58:56,567 --> 00:58:58,707
when she gets a bit
animated, but she'd say,
1223
00:58:58,811 --> 00:59:02,021
"They said that he killed
himself to protect me.
1224
00:59:02,124 --> 00:59:03,609
They don't know nothing.
1225
00:59:03,712 --> 00:59:05,414
And you know what the
ultimate murder is, Sandra?"
1226
00:59:05,438 --> 00:59:07,474
And I was like,
"No, Rose, I don't."
1227
00:59:07,578 --> 00:59:10,201
"Their own! He did it because
that's the ultimate murder!"
1228
00:59:10,305 --> 00:59:12,007
Why was it only fucking
Rose that's supposed to know
1229
00:59:12,031 --> 00:59:13,722
what he's doing in
that fucking cellar?
1230
00:59:13,826 --> 00:59:15,621
It had a locked door
on it, you know.
1231
00:59:15,724 --> 00:59:17,322
I never went down in
that fucking cellar!
1232
00:59:17,346 --> 00:59:18,772
"I'm up there,
feeding all the kids!"
1233
00:59:18,796 --> 00:59:20,349
And I said, "Oh, and
how many children
1234
00:59:20,453 --> 00:59:22,628
have you got, then, Rose?"
1235
00:59:22,731 --> 00:59:24,388
And she looked at me and said,
1236
00:59:24,491 --> 00:59:25,803
"Well, I used to have eight."
1237
00:59:29,117 --> 00:59:30,843
I was like, "Ooh!"
1238
00:59:30,946 --> 00:59:33,846
I didn't progress
that conversation.
1239
00:59:33,949 --> 00:59:35,917
In October 1995,
1240
00:59:36,020 --> 00:59:40,784
Rose West was to stand
trial for the ten murders.
1241
00:59:40,887 --> 00:59:42,579
Rose was denying involvement.
1242
00:59:42,682 --> 00:59:44,063
Those were my instructions,
1243
00:59:44,166 --> 00:59:47,825
so that was the story
that I would've accepted.
1244
00:59:47,929 --> 00:59:49,827
Therefore, professionally,
you have to deal
1245
00:59:49,931 --> 00:59:53,037
with the evidence
that seems to conflict
1246
00:59:53,141 --> 00:59:54,729
with what your client
is telling you.
1247
00:59:54,832 --> 00:59:57,179
I was astonished to
hear that Rosemary West
1248
00:59:57,283 --> 00:59:58,871
was going to give evidence.
1249
00:59:58,974 --> 01:00:01,701
Paul Cheston was the
senior court correspondent
1250
01:00:01,805 --> 01:00:03,220
for the Evening Standard
1251
01:00:03,323 --> 01:00:05,809
and attended every
day of the trial.
1252
01:00:05,912 --> 01:00:09,502
She went into the witness
box and immediately,
1253
01:00:09,606 --> 01:00:10,814
"I'm not to blame."
1254
01:00:10,917 --> 01:00:12,022
Fred did everything.
1255
01:00:12,125 --> 01:00:13,506
I had no idea what he was up to.
1256
01:00:13,610 --> 01:00:15,128
It was a complete mystery.
1257
01:00:15,232 --> 01:00:16,792
I was shocked and
horrified to find that
1258
01:00:16,854 --> 01:00:20,099
"members of my family were
being killed by my husband."
1259
01:00:20,202 --> 01:00:22,584
As soon as you saw
25 Cromwell Street
1260
01:00:22,688 --> 01:00:24,517
and saw how small it was,
1261
01:00:24,621 --> 01:00:27,589
and as the number of
bodies being found mounted,
1262
01:00:27,693 --> 01:00:30,661
you realized Fred was
not operating on his own.
1263
01:00:30,765 --> 01:00:33,837
Under cross-examination,
it soon became apparent
1264
01:00:33,940 --> 01:00:36,115
that Rose was not
telling the truth.
1265
01:00:36,218 --> 01:00:39,808
She'd snookered herself
in relation to Heather.
1266
01:00:39,912 --> 01:00:42,086
He had to kick her out
because she was a lesbian.
1267
01:00:42,190 --> 01:00:45,089
And then it turns out Rose
enjoyed lesbian relationships,
1268
01:00:45,193 --> 01:00:46,366
as well, and you think,
1269
01:00:46,470 --> 01:00:47,920
"Well, that's totally
inconsistent."
1270
01:00:48,023 --> 01:00:49,760
And then they'd seen her
around, they'd sent her money,
1271
01:00:49,784 --> 01:00:53,511
spoken to her on the phone.
1272
01:00:53,615 --> 01:00:54,927
Complete nonsense,
1273
01:00:55,030 --> 01:00:56,630
because Heather was
buried in the garden.
1274
01:00:56,722 --> 01:00:58,689
I could have sat there
and said, "Look, Rose,
1275
01:00:58,793 --> 01:01:00,622
you're lying through
your teeth to me.
1276
01:01:00,726 --> 01:01:02,348
You're totally false.
1277
01:01:02,451 --> 01:01:05,040
Why don't you get with it
and start admitting stuff?"
1278
01:01:05,144 --> 01:01:08,492
She said what was
convenient to say.
1279
01:01:08,595 --> 01:01:11,253
And that's how she dealt
with her evidence at court.
1280
01:01:13,324 --> 01:01:16,396
She remained very impassive
throughout the entire hearing,
1281
01:01:16,500 --> 01:01:18,640
giving very little away.
1282
01:01:18,744 --> 01:01:21,712
Survivor Caroline Owens
courageously spoke
1283
01:01:21,816 --> 01:01:26,061
about the horrific ordeal she
suffered before her escape.
1284
01:01:26,165 --> 01:01:28,477
Miss Owens claims
she was subjected to
1285
01:01:28,581 --> 01:01:30,341
further serious sexual assaults,
1286
01:01:30,445 --> 01:01:32,965
including being beaten
with a leather belt.
1287
01:01:33,068 --> 01:01:36,865
She told the court, "I
was scared to death."
1288
01:01:36,969 --> 01:01:39,765
She didn't appear to
be upset, disturbed.
1289
01:01:39,868 --> 01:01:43,320
I think it's possible that
she never really appreciated
1290
01:01:43,423 --> 01:01:45,391
the enormity of
what was going on.
1291
01:01:45,494 --> 01:01:48,049
But Rose would soon
show her violent side,
1292
01:01:48,152 --> 01:01:52,536
when the prosecution presented
the next key witness.
1293
01:01:52,639 --> 01:01:54,780
Rosemary West was in the
witness box for three days,
1294
01:01:54,883 --> 01:01:57,092
and was getting
progressively more tired.
1295
01:01:57,196 --> 01:01:59,267
And Brian Leveson,
as prosecutor,
1296
01:01:59,370 --> 01:02:02,097
cross-examined on a
whole range of subjects,
1297
01:02:02,201 --> 01:02:04,203
and to build up to a climax
1298
01:02:04,306 --> 01:02:06,964
about asking her
about Charmaine.
1299
01:02:07,068 --> 01:02:10,968
She was very subdued
about Charmaine.
1300
01:02:11,072 --> 01:02:16,042
She found it very
difficult to revisit that.
1301
01:02:16,146 --> 01:02:19,908
A neighbor from 25 Midland
Road had come forward.
1302
01:02:20,012 --> 01:02:21,841
She had witnessed
Rose's attitude
1303
01:02:21,945 --> 01:02:23,601
towards her first victim,
1304
01:02:23,705 --> 01:02:26,915
eight-year-old Charmaine,
25 years earlier.
1305
01:02:27,019 --> 01:02:29,504
A neighbor had
come into the house
1306
01:02:29,607 --> 01:02:32,058
and she was startled
to see Charmaine
1307
01:02:32,162 --> 01:02:34,509
standing on a
chair, stark naked,
1308
01:02:34,612 --> 01:02:36,511
bound with her hands
behind her back,
1309
01:02:36,614 --> 01:02:39,031
and Rosemary West
with a rolling pin
1310
01:02:39,134 --> 01:02:41,447
in an aggressive fashion.
1311
01:02:41,550 --> 01:02:43,621
And Brian Leveson pressed
and pressed and pressed,
1312
01:02:43,725 --> 01:02:46,245
and eventually she snapped
and shouted at him.
1313
01:02:46,348 --> 01:02:49,835
And that was the moment when
the jury could see what she was,
1314
01:02:49,938 --> 01:02:52,665
not a cuddly housewife,
mother of six,
1315
01:02:52,769 --> 01:02:57,635
but a short-tempered
woman who would react
1316
01:02:57,739 --> 01:03:01,432
with a flash of temper when
things do not go her way.
1317
01:03:04,435 --> 01:03:06,299
She came unstuck,
she didn't present as
1318
01:03:06,403 --> 01:03:08,785
a good witness in court.
1319
01:03:08,888 --> 01:03:11,891
We perhaps had tended
to want to think
1320
01:03:11,995 --> 01:03:14,791
that Rose would be the
passive person who was just
1321
01:03:14,894 --> 01:03:16,482
putting up with it.
1322
01:03:16,585 --> 01:03:18,277
The more evidence we
heard made us realize
1323
01:03:18,380 --> 01:03:20,969
that Rose was very much
an active participant,
1324
01:03:21,073 --> 01:03:24,386
far more active than we
ever could have imagined.
1325
01:03:24,490 --> 01:03:26,630
Rosemary West was
driven to court today
1326
01:03:26,733 --> 01:03:29,875
to hear the judge begin summing
up seven weeks of evidence,
1327
01:03:29,978 --> 01:03:33,568
the result of almost 100
statements from witnesses.
1328
01:03:33,671 --> 01:03:36,502
When the jury foreman read
out the verdict of guilty,
1329
01:03:36,605 --> 01:03:38,538
you could see Rose West sway.
1330
01:03:38,642 --> 01:03:40,506
She was not expecting this.
1331
01:03:40,609 --> 01:03:43,095
When Rose was
finally taken down,
1332
01:03:43,198 --> 01:03:45,235
she was totally distraught.
1333
01:03:45,338 --> 01:03:49,239
The ground from under
her feet had disappeared
1334
01:03:49,342 --> 01:03:51,482
and she was sobbing
uncontrollably.
1335
01:03:51,586 --> 01:03:55,624
She honestly thought that she
was going to get away with this.
1336
01:03:55,728 --> 01:03:57,523
Rosemary Pauline West,
1337
01:03:57,626 --> 01:03:59,697
on each of the ten
counts of murder,
1338
01:03:59,801 --> 01:04:02,252
the sentence is one
of life imprisonment.
1339
01:04:02,355 --> 01:04:06,256
Well, she's equivocal
on innocence.
1340
01:04:06,359 --> 01:04:09,121
The prospect of Rose
1341
01:04:09,224 --> 01:04:11,882
suddenly deciding to kick
the wall down and say,
1342
01:04:11,986 --> 01:04:14,126
"This is what it's all about,
this is what I've done,
1343
01:04:14,229 --> 01:04:15,990
this is how I feel,"
1344
01:04:16,093 --> 01:04:18,613
um, I think the chances
of that are nil.
1345
01:04:18,716 --> 01:04:20,684
And as she crossed
the courtyard,
1346
01:04:20,787 --> 01:04:22,997
our camera caught
the final moments as,
1347
01:04:23,100 --> 01:04:24,481
holding white carrier bag,
1348
01:04:24,584 --> 01:04:29,244
she was taken inside,
flanked by warders.
1349
01:04:29,348 --> 01:04:31,695
Rose West will die in prison,
1350
01:04:31,798 --> 01:04:34,525
where she maintains her
innocence to this day.
1351
01:04:37,770 --> 01:04:40,359
I don't know how many
mornings Rose West counts,
1352
01:04:40,462 --> 01:04:44,397
saying that, "They're
being really mean to me!
1353
01:04:44,501 --> 01:04:47,573
And they're being
really unkind to me!"
1354
01:04:47,676 --> 01:04:49,575
And she didn't want to
come out of her cell,
1355
01:04:49,678 --> 01:04:51,888
and was considering giving
up her wing cleaning job.
1356
01:04:51,991 --> 01:04:53,717
And she was really
kind of upset,
1357
01:04:53,820 --> 01:04:55,546
as though she was being bullied.
1358
01:04:55,650 --> 01:04:58,204
She just didn't have the
strength of character
1359
01:04:58,308 --> 01:05:01,345
that I would've expected a
serial killer to have had.
1360
01:05:04,348 --> 01:05:07,420
She had a reality that she
hadn't been able to confront
1361
01:05:07,524 --> 01:05:08,870
since her childhood.
1362
01:05:08,974 --> 01:05:11,493
When I asked her to
describe her childhood,
1363
01:05:11,597 --> 01:05:14,841
she describes a sugar-sweet,
1364
01:05:14,945 --> 01:05:19,260
candy-coated,
flossy, merry time.
1365
01:05:19,363 --> 01:05:23,195
She presents the home
life as these vigilant,
1366
01:05:23,298 --> 01:05:25,852
overprotective parents who would
do anything for their children
1367
01:05:25,956 --> 01:05:31,651
and were always there,
which was complete nonsense.
1368
01:05:31,755 --> 01:05:36,242
Since childhood, Rose has
preferred fantasy over reality,
1369
01:05:36,346 --> 01:05:39,452
something that contributed
to her narcissism.
1370
01:05:39,556 --> 01:05:42,076
But Rose's path may have
been destined to end
1371
01:05:42,179 --> 01:05:46,666
in this disturbing way
before she was even born.
1372
01:05:46,770 --> 01:05:50,498
I think where the
mother is mentally ill,
1373
01:05:50,601 --> 01:05:54,847
not engaging, and stressed,
suffering from anxiety,
1374
01:05:54,951 --> 01:06:00,715
it's all that stuff that
impacts on the unborn child.
1375
01:06:00,818 --> 01:06:03,925
The psychology
starts in the womb.
1376
01:06:04,029 --> 01:06:06,514
Daisy's deficiencies
were contributing factors
1377
01:06:06,617 --> 01:06:07,998
in Rose's development,
1378
01:06:08,102 --> 01:06:10,587
but her narcissism was
a result of the abuse
1379
01:06:10,690 --> 01:06:12,451
inflicted by her father.
1380
01:06:12,554 --> 01:06:14,729
There's no doubt that Bill Letts
1381
01:06:14,832 --> 01:06:17,111
altered his daughter
considerably.
1382
01:06:17,214 --> 01:06:20,769
Rosemary West had no morals
at any time in her life.
1383
01:06:20,873 --> 01:06:23,082
She was brought up in
a house of depravity,
1384
01:06:23,186 --> 01:06:26,534
and where sexual
practices and customs
1385
01:06:26,637 --> 01:06:29,640
applied to other people,
they didn't apply to her.
1386
01:06:29,744 --> 01:06:33,230
The abuse by Bill
Letts made her ripe
1387
01:06:33,334 --> 01:06:38,063
for her partnership
with Fred West.
1388
01:06:38,166 --> 01:06:43,585
But there is a leap between
sexual depravity and murder.
1389
01:06:43,689 --> 01:06:48,211
And Fred provided that bridge
that she willingly crossed.
1390
01:06:50,972 --> 01:06:52,836
I think Rose became
a serial killer
1391
01:06:52,939 --> 01:06:54,527
because she married Fred.
1392
01:06:54,631 --> 01:06:57,703
I think, had she
married somebody else,
1393
01:06:57,806 --> 01:07:00,292
it might've been very different.
1394
01:07:00,395 --> 01:07:04,503
But add the two together,
the so-called folie à deux,
1395
01:07:04,606 --> 01:07:09,611
then you have an absolutely
lethal combination.
1396
01:07:09,715 --> 01:07:13,615
She was encouraged, and then
once she got a taste for it,
1397
01:07:13,719 --> 01:07:16,653
she couldn't stop.
1398
01:07:16,756 --> 01:07:18,527
People will hold their hands
up in horror at the way
1399
01:07:18,551 --> 01:07:20,070
that Rose was treated,
1400
01:07:20,174 --> 01:07:23,246
and what presumably led to
her becoming the way she was,
1401
01:07:23,349 --> 01:07:25,248
by the abuse she suffered.
1402
01:07:25,351 --> 01:07:27,319
We'd like to think that
in this day and age,
1403
01:07:27,422 --> 01:07:29,873
that situation couldn't
arise, but unfortunately,
1404
01:07:29,976 --> 01:07:31,909
from cases I've
covered even recently,
1405
01:07:32,013 --> 01:07:34,533
it does still happen.
1406
01:07:34,636 --> 01:07:36,811
It shows, really,
that social services
1407
01:07:36,914 --> 01:07:39,503
and all the things that
maybe have been learnt
1408
01:07:39,607 --> 01:07:41,643
over the last 30
years or whatever,
1409
01:07:41,747 --> 01:07:43,852
since the West case
and before then,
1410
01:07:43,956 --> 01:07:47,028
are simply not, for
whatever reason,
1411
01:07:47,132 --> 01:07:49,824
being... being brought
into practice, you know?
1412
01:07:49,927 --> 01:07:52,827
Elements of checking and
finding out and preventing
1413
01:07:52,930 --> 01:07:54,208
just still do not happen.
1414
01:07:54,311 --> 01:07:56,658
And I think it's partly
because, very often,
1415
01:07:56,762 --> 01:07:59,661
the people who do this kind
of thing are extremely devious
1416
01:07:59,765 --> 01:08:02,733
and they find ways round it.
1417
01:08:02,837 --> 01:08:06,875
Rose's contrariness continued.
1418
01:08:06,979 --> 01:08:08,394
I prepared an appeal,
1419
01:08:08,498 --> 01:08:10,396
and that application went in,
1420
01:08:10,500 --> 01:08:13,503
and then at a late stage
with that, in 2001,
1421
01:08:13,606 --> 01:08:14,883
she contacted me and said,
1422
01:08:14,987 --> 01:08:17,127
"I don't want you to
proceed with this,"
1423
01:08:17,231 --> 01:08:19,474
because, she said,
"Well, I've decided that
1424
01:08:19,578 --> 01:08:22,270
I might as well spend the
rest of my life in prison."
1425
01:08:22,374 --> 01:08:24,893
So I said, "Does this mean
you're admitting your guilt?"
1426
01:08:24,997 --> 01:08:26,999
And she said, "No, it doesn't."
1427
01:08:27,103 --> 01:08:30,727
So, again, there's that
duplicity and contradiction
1428
01:08:30,830 --> 01:08:32,901
that you just can't get round.
1429
01:08:35,490 --> 01:08:38,114
Does she deserve
to die in prison?
1430
01:08:38,217 --> 01:08:40,012
If you accept she's
guilty, then, yeah,
1431
01:08:40,116 --> 01:08:42,596
there can be absolutely no doubt
she deserves to die in prison.
113906
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.