In The Begininng… Rosemary West, born Rosemary Letts, came into this world in November of 1953 in Devon, England. Her mother’s pregnancy with Rosemary was a difficult one, which included her being given electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), then a recognised treatment for depression in mothers. This would be relevant much later, as a reason for Rosemary’s shocking behaviour due to prenatal injury. As a teenager, Rosemary was moody and precocious, generally found daydreaming and not known for her school performance. When her parents separated, this behaviour became worse. She lived with her mother for six months, but moved in with her father when she was 16. He was a paranoid schizophrenic, quick to anger and known to be sexually assaulting his daughter. As a result, Rosemary became obsessed with sex, parading around her home in the nude, and even sexually assaulting her younger brother.
Around the same time, Rosemary met Fred West and the two started to date. Fred was quite a few years older than Rosemary, and had his own place at the Lake House Hotel Caravan Park in Bishop’s Cleeve. Although her father disapproved and threatened West on several occasions, the two would not be separated and eventually moved in together at the hotel. Here, Rosemary cared for West’s children, one daughter and one step-daughter from his previous marriage. Sex And Abuse By 1970, Rosemary and Fred were expecting a child of their own, and they had moved to Midland Road in Gloucester. Their daughter, Heather was born in October of 1970, but just two months later, Fred was imprisoned for theft and tax charges. He would remain in prison until June of the following year, leaving Rosemary the sole custodian of the three children. Many people believe that it was the pressure of caring for three children when she has barely grown herself that triggered Rosemary’s violent and erratic tendencies. However, it’s more likely that her behaviour was the result of imbalances in her own brain, combined with the abuse she herself suffered in life. In any case, she cracked just before Fred’s release and killed his step daughter, Charmaine West. The girl’s body was stored in the basement, before being buried by Fred not long after he was released. The pair were married in January of 1972 and living at 25 Cromwell Street, a home so vile it would later be demolished. This was only the beginning for the many West children. There were eight in all, from a variety of sires. Rosemary worked as a prostitute in the early 1970s, often with her husband Fred watching, but she was also still being regularly visited for sex by her own father. Clearly deranged, Rosemary also encouraged Fred to abuse his own child Anna Marie, then just eight years old, and then later, forced the girl to prostitute herself as well.
The Murder Spree Eventually, Rosemary and Fred couldn’t contain their behaviour within the circle of their family. In late 1972, they hired a 17-year-old nanny named Caroline Owens. Once they had gained her trust, they imprisoned her in their basement, stripped and raped her. They threatened her with murder, and claimed they would bury her in the cellar, but Owens still managed to escape and alert police. Charges were brought against both Rosemary and Fred, but amazingly, they were able to convince the magistrate that Owens had consented to what had happened to her. Owens was too traumatised to testify, so both Rosemary and Fred were let off with fines. Rosemary was pregnant at the time with their first son, Stephen, who would be born in August.
Rosemary and Fred didn’t make the mistake of letting one of their victims out of their sight again. Over the next several years, Lynda Gough, Lucy Partington, Juanita Mott, Therese Siegenthaler, Alison Chambers, Shirley Robinson and 15-year-old schoolgirls Carol Ann Cooper and Shirley Hubbard all found their way into the West’s basement where they became victims of the deranged duo. When they were finished with them, all of the girls were murdered, dismembered, and buried in the cellar under their house at 25 Cromwell Street.
Of course, just because they had victims outside the family, didn’t mean things became easier for the West children. When his older daughter, Anna Marie moved out to live with her boyfriend, Fred West turned to his two younger daughters, Heather and Mae. Heather wasn’t having it, and she resisted Fred. In 1987, then aged 16, she told a friend what was happening in the house. Her parents immediately murdered her, dismembered her, and buried her in the back garden. Her brother was made to dig the hole.
Accusations And Convictions In August of 1992, Fred West was arrested after being accused of raping his 13-year-old daughter on several occasions. At the same time, Rosemary West was arrested for child cruelty.
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