Bill Letts made one final effort to prevent his daughter from seeing Fred, and Rose was examined by a police surgeon in February 1970, who confirmed she was pregnant. Together they raped, murdered, dismembered and buried at least ten (but likely many more) innocent women who fell into their clutches. During their long relationship the Wests murdered a series of young women, burying the remains of nine victims under their home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, including those of their teenage daughter, Heather. I don't understand, nor was it explained why Fred's former wife would show up to claim her children but then leave without them.

Via McNeill, the Wests became acquainted with her friend, 16-year-old Anne McFall, [30] [31] who was despondent over the death of her boyfriend in a workplace accident. Owens also noted Fred talked about sex almost incessantly; her suspicions as to his sexual overtones were further heightened when Fred boasted that many of the women he claimed to have performed abortions upon were so overjoyed that they would offer him their sexual services as a reward. My friend has said there is a book looking at it from the point of view that Rose is innocent, so that will make for an interesting read. I imagine that there is also a fair amount of artistic licence or conjecture in the narrative; no one will ever know the finer details unless Rose decides to share - a situation which seems unlikely. In response, Rose hit the boy over the head with the bowl, then repeatedly kicked him in the head and chest as she shouted: "You did that on purpose, you little swine!According to Anna Marie, she and Charmaine were frequently subjected to criticism, beatings, and other forms of punishment throughout the time they lived under Rose's care at Midland Road. Seeing her escape avenue, Owens agreed, and vacuumed the house to indicate her belief in becoming an extended member of the family. With a few exceptions, most of the victims of the West faced similar living circumstance – abusive homes, issues with authority, and lower class. It captures perfectly what made them tick while still providing readers with enough facts to make sense of their crimes without glorifying or sensationalising them too much.

The West children were expected to perform assigned chores [6] and all six did seasonal work, the three girls picking hops and strawberries, the three boys harvesting wheat and hunting rabbits. Just shows how two damaged people can manifest an evil that may not have been if they had not met each other.It is said they carried on some semblance of normal life and yet they thought nothing of keeping their daughter out of school many times due to her injuries from their physical and sexual torture. This one caught my eye because I remember it happening, I seemed so ridiculously absurd that such a thing *could* happen in our world. His 'House of Horrors' at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, became a burial ground for the women who fell into his hands. It was this sort of incompetence which allowed the Wests to then kidnap, rape and kill four young women in that same house within a 12 month period. This book will shock, sicken, disturb and even anger you, but it is an important book , allowing the reader to try and understand the cruelty man is capable of.

To escape Fred's domestic abuse and increasingly sadistic sexual demands, Rena phoned McLachlan, begging him to rescue her, McNeill and her children. He also extracted a degree of sympathy from her by claiming he and his two daughters had been abandoned by his wife, and that he wished for more children. Anna Marie later recollected her sister repeatedly antagonised Rose by making statements such as: "My real mummy wouldn't swear or shout at us" in response to Rose's scathing language. If you’re interested in true crime, then you’ve no doubt heard of the notorious couple Fred and Rose West. He explains that he needs to go further into the past and especially to Fred and Rose’s parents as this provides an insightful portal into how they were and what they would become.Several months later, Rose introduced Fred to her family, who were aghast at their daughter's choice of partner. Howard Sounes is a journalist, he covered the story when it broke and the trial of Rosemary West, much of the information in this book is from that. Once they had left the premises, Anna Marie was bundled into her father's van and beaten by Rose, who asked her: "Do you think you could be my friend? I would agree with the description that it was a fascinating tale, however it left me with more questions than answers.