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Heather and Mae West became the focus of Fred's incestuous [57] sexual attentions after Anna Marie ran away from home in 1979 [125] after enduring a particularly severe beating from Rose to her stomach just days after being discharged from hospital for treatment of an ectopic pregnancy. [126] The frequency of the abuse endured by Heather and Mae increased when both girls reached puberty. Fred was overt and unapologetic in his conduct, and would justify his actions with the simple explanation: "I made you; I can do what I like with you." [127] He further referred to his intentions to impregnate both his daughters on at least one occasion, and would occasionally force all his children to watch pornography with him. As Heather, Mae and their younger brother Stephen were very close in age, the trio resolved that if their father asked either of the two girls to be alone in a room with him, they would only do so if at least one other member of the trio were present to avoid either girl being raped. Both girls also developed a regime whereby they would only shower or undress when their father was either out of the house, or as her sister stood guard at the door. Stephen was also informed by his father that he would have to have sex with his mother by the age of 17 (in the event, his parents evicted him from their home when he was 16). [128] The West children also divulged their mother had inflicted most of the physical abuse and that their father frequently said that if they told anyone about the goings-on in the household they would be "buried under the patio" like their sister Heather. [145] Investigation [ edit ]
At the bottom of the suicide note found in his cell was a drawing of a gravestone, within which was written: "In loving memory. Fred West. Rose West. Rest in peace where no shadow falls. In perfect peace he waits for Rose, his wife." [174] Trial of Rose West [ edit ] Fred West took his own life the following year while awaiting trial. Rose West, meanwhile, was given ten life sentences the same year. Heather also expressed to Mae and Stephen her desire to run away from home and live a nomadic lifestyle in the Forest of Dean, and to never again see any human beings. [134] Murder of Heather West [ edit ]The West case was one of the most disturbing serial murder cases in British criminal history. Murder most foul, but it seems even foulness is relative. The case is appalling on a number of levels: The horrific details of the offences, the juxtaposition of ordinary day to day routine family life with depraved, sadistic sex, torture and murder of innocent young women, who were just starting out on their lives, the shear persistence of the offending that remained undetected for so many years and the cruel unknowing that had to be painfully borne by the victims loved ones. The nation was scarred as the details emerged. There was a sense of an unwelcome mirror held up to society, if it ever needed to be, reminding us of just what depths humankind can sink. Factual dramas can help to lift this stigma. I have seen this happen numerous times. I will never forget the day I spent on set with the families of the victims of the moors murders when we were making See No Evil. We were filming the trial of Brady and Hindley in Chester – in the very court where they had been convicted. I recall asking Alan West, the stepfather of Lesley Ann Downey, who had attended the original trial, if it felt strange returning there to watch a filmed recreation. Nothing is ever normal again after you've had a child murdered was his answer, but he was glad to be there and in no doubt the story should be told. He was aware of the savage irony that the most vocal public opponent of the drama was Ian Brady, who had complained that it "would cause distress to the relatives". But it was in some ways a Faustian bargain. As the horror of what had happened at 25 Cromwell Street emerged, a kind of moral contagion seemed to spread outwards from the house – few were left unscathed by it. Stories and rumours, fuelled by a press that was ready to throw money at them, swirled around the city (including unproven allegations that the police investigation was compromised because unnamed officers had in the past used Rosemary West's services as a prostitute). Caught up in this toxic atmosphere, and encouraged by her partner, Leach made a deal with the Daily Mirror to tell her story (albeit not until after any trial had taken place so as not to jeopardise its outcome).
Any ordinary man would have given the child some ice cream, but instead he smashed her round the head with his hand ... He was a violent and sadistic bastard who enjoyed beating up women and kids. While the police investigation into the West murders was thorough and deservedly earned commendation for the way it was conducted, it is fair to say that even the officers were not satisfied that the full extent of the case had been fully excavated and resolved. There is much that remains a mystery. There are many questions that will not go away. In giving my account as her defence solicitor I revisit and review the many conversations that we had. I have also reviewed available evidence relating to the victims and have given close scrutiny to the early years and the disappearance in 1968 of a young woman who did not appear on the indictments of either Fred or Rose West. Her file remains open as that of an unsolved missing person. An audio recording was played in court of the police interview in which Fred described how his daughter Heather was killed, dismembered and buried in the garden. “It was just bizarre,” said Summers. “He was very, very matter-of-fact. He could have been talking about burying a dead hamster.” Despite the trial, the public was left with many unanswered questions – about both the Wests’ victims and whether public bodies had missed opportunities to halt the appalling cycle of abuse, incest and murder years earlier.Rose gave no outward reaction as the guilty verdict was delivered, said Summers. “I think she probably knew what was coming.”
In my book I have considered the questions of how and why Fred and Rose West developed into the monsters that together committed such dreadful acts. Those are questions that a court of law does not enquire into. It is perhaps a paradox that the sharp logic and economy of the law also must serve to curtail a wider discourse.When Fred was found dead in his remand cell on January 1, 1995, reaction in Gloucester was mixed, according to Summers. While some felt relief because “they wanted this shameful person wiped off the face of the earth,” others – particularly the victims’ relatives – felt they’d been cheated of justice, he said. The murders also highlighted how many young women and girls had gone missing in previous decades. Overall, 110 missing people were found to be safe and well as a result of the West inquiry, according to Gloucestershire Constabulary. As the interviews proceeded West began to privately confide information about his crimes to her, information which, because of obligations of confidentiality, she was not free to pass on directly to the police. West knew this and exploited the power this gave him, both over her and the police. He rewarded Leach – emotionally – for the moral support he demanded from her if he was ever going to tell the full truth. And if she had not given that support there might have been families who, even now, might never have found out what happened to their loved ones.
On 6 August 1992, the police searched the West household on the pretext of searching for stolen property. Although numerous objects of sexual paraphernalia—including 99 pornographic videos of both home-made and commercial nature—were discovered, police did not find the video depicting the rape of Fred's daughter. The 13-year-old made a full statement through a specially-trained solicitor, describing her father's actions, the fact the sexual abuse had begun when she was 11, and that her mother had been casually indifferent to her plight. All the children in the household were placed in foster care the following day. [40] Medical examinations revealed evidence of physical and sexual abuse. [n 4] May: Shirley Robinson, (18). Another former lodger at 25 Cromwell Street, Robinson was bisexual and engaged in casual sex with Fred and Rose. At the time of her disappearance, she had been eight months pregnant with Fred's child, and her baby boy had been due to be born on 11 June. No sexual motive existed for this murder, and the prosecution contended at Rose's trial that Robinson had been murdered as her pregnancy threatened the stability of the Wests' relationship. [225] Fred had originally planned to sell their baby to a childless couple and had professional photographs taken with Robinson for this purpose. [226]Fred had also led police 17 miles or so out of the city to a field in the village of Kempley – near his birthplace of Much Marcle – where Costello’s remains were found in April. The remains of West’s former nanny and pregnant mistress, Ann McFall, were recovered in June from a field nearby. Despite denying involvement in her death, Fred indicated the area where she was buried. At age 17, Fred suffered a fractured skull, a broken arm, and a broken leg in a motorcycle accident. He was unconscious for seven days and walked with braces for several months; [14] because of this incident, he developed an extreme fear of hospitals and became prone to fits of rage. Two years later, Fred suffered a further head injury when a girl he groped on a fire escape outside the Ledbury Youth Club punched him, sending him falling two floors. [15] A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police told ITV News: "After careful assessment, we do not believe the evidence submitted to us at this time meets the threshold to justify further searches in the location identified. They’d both been subjected to incest, and they both had abused as well, so when they both met it was the worst possible combination,” she said. Appropriate Adult neither recreates those crimes nor attempts a definitive psychological analysis of Fred and Rosemary West. Like This Is Personal and See No Evil, it is about the effects of the crimes rather than crimes themselves. Whereas those earlier dramas focused variously on the police, the victims and their families, and the families of the murderers (whose suffering is often ignored), this one places at its centre a woman who was almost an accidental witness to the uncovering of what happened at 25 Cromwell Street.
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