Early Life Of Fred And Rose

Heather

Heather Ann West, a pretty sixteen year old girl who died at the hands of her parents in June 1987. She was born on the 17 October 1970 in Gloucester. Her father, whom had grown up in Much Marcle, born on 29 September 1941 and named Frederick Walter Stephen West. Her mother, grew up in Northam, born on 29 November 1953, and called Rosemary Pauline Letts, the fifth child. Fred was the eldest of his siblings, and could "get away with much more than we ever could", according to Doug West, his younger brother.
Fred had a motorcycle accident one evening in 1958, and suffered bad head injuries. He was in a coma for a week, with a metal plate inserted into his head. After, his family say that he "changed". Fred was easily angered, very sexual, and violent. Two years later, he fell of a fire escape at a youth club when he tried to put his hand up a girls skirt. He was unconscious for a day.

Young Fred

Fred West and his siblings weren't really given much love, growing up.  His mother was old fashioned, and strict. She used to hit the children with a belt. The father used to apparently say: "you can do what you want, just don't get caught doing it!".

Rosemary didn't have a nice childhood, either. She was the fifth child, out of seven, born to Daisy and Bill. Daisy was very depressed, and William ("Bill") Andrew Letts was a Schizophrenic. He beat the children and his wife. Just before Rosemary was born, Daisy had ECT (electro therapy) to help cure her depression. This could have damaged her unborn baby.

As Rosemary grew up, she was bullied in school, and incest was a usual thing in both cases.
Fred, at the age of 21, became re-acquainted with old girlfriend and runaway, Rena Costello, (Catherine Bernadette Costello). Catherine used to date West, but she comes from Scotland and picked up the name "Rena" from prostitution. She was already pregnant with another mans baby, a little girl, who's father was a from Pakistan, and studying in College. He was a bus driver for extra cash. Fred and Rena married in November 1962, and on 22 March, 1963, Charmaine Carol Mary West was born. The little family lived in Coatbridge, Scotland, at the time, and Anne Marie was born in 1964, before they moved to a caravan park near Gloucester. Rena got her friend Isa McNeil  from Scotland to take care of the children.

Young Rose

According to Fred's recount, he met Anna McFall while on his ice cream round. She was beautiful. He spoke so highly of her, like she was an angel. He said that he'd taken Anna back to Rena and she did Anna's hair, which was tangled. Apparently she'd looked beautiful with her long, silky hair. Anna stayed with them, as she'd had no where to live.

Fred and Rose met a bus stop, on her fifteenth birthday, when he apparently couldn't stop staring at her. Fred was older, dirty, and had "ganky green teeth". So she ignored him. They got on the bus, and he sat next to her, without permission and started talking to her. Rose later recalled him being able to "charm the birds off the trees". Rose had soon agreed to meet him a pub near her home, where she thought that she'd be safe.

Aged sixteen, Rosemary moved in with Fred, when Rena and Isa had moved back to Scotland to escape Fred's sexual appetite. While still married to Rena, he was having multiple affairs with Anna McFall and Rosemary Letts. Rosemary was convinced by Fred to get into prostitution, and used the name "Mandy". Anna looked after Charmaine and Anne-Marie, as Fred refused to let Rena take the girls when she left, in December 1968/early 1969.
Anna went missing later that year.

Fred, Rena, Charmaine and Anne-Marie (pushchair)

Rose, Fred and the little girls moved to 25 Midland Road, a ground floor flat, when Rose became pregnant with her first child, a little girl, Heather Ann. In December 1970, Fred was in jail for theft and dishonesty. In June 1971, while Fred was in prison, Charmaine went missing. When asked, Rose said that Rena had come to collect her.

According to the woman who lived in the flat above, her daughter, Tracy, would sit down with Char and 'hold hands', and do 'normal little girl things'. Tracy was only two months older than Charmaine and they were best friends. Once, Tracy was told by her mother to 'go downstairs to borrow a pint of milk' when she'd walking in on Charmaine sitting on a chair with her hands behind her back and Rose was holding a wooden spoon and looked like she was going to hit her with it.

Charmaine, baby Heather and Anne-Marie

The day that Charmaine was murdered, I suppose that Rose thought that Charmaine had done something naughty, so called her home from school. (She did this once with Stephen, her son born in 1973). I guess Charmaine resisted and Rose killed her in a fit of rage.