In this week’s blog, I will be discussing Rosemary West.
Rosemary West killed ten women and children over 25 years in her home in Gloucester, England. Some say that West was born doomed. She was born on November 29, 1953, in Northam, United Kingdom to Bill and Daisy Letts. Daisy, her mother, was known to be depressed and often was treated with electric shock therapy. Even though it was never tested, many experts say that the electrotherapy damaged Rosemary’s psyche in utero. Bill, Rosemary’s father, was a former Naval Officer and often beat his wife and children. He was schizophrenic, had other psychological issues, and sexually assaulted his kids. During their childhood, Rosemary West molested her own brother when he was 12 years old and also harassed boys in their neighborhood.
At age 15, Rosemary met a man named Fred West at a bus stop. He was 27 years old at the time and was searching for his stepdaughter Charmaine. Fred and Rosemary married and at age 17, she became a stepmother to 8-year-old Charmaine and Anne Marie. Rosemary West grew a hatred for Charmaine, and she went missing in the summer of 1971. Charmaine’s mother, Rena, came to the house asking about the child, and Rena went missing as well.
In 1971, the West couple started a killing spree in Gloucester, England. They would offer rides to women walking alone and take them to their house, where they would likely never leave. Rosemary had three biological children, two daughters, and one son. These children would be whipped, beaten, and raped. In 1992, the daughters told a friend that their father was raping them, and confessed what was going on in the house. They were briefly removed from the household but were too scared to testify in court so they were returned.
In 1987, the couple’s eldest child, Heather, went missing. Rosemary said the 16-year-old went to live her own life, but when abuse allegations started spreading, social workers were told by the other children that they “did not want to end up like Heather.”
In 1994, the police searched the West household. They discovered a cellar filled with bodies. They found the bodies of Charmaine, Heather, and Rena, as well as 8 other bodies. They were both arrested and in the beginning, Fred took the blame for all of the murders, while Rosemary pretended not to know anything. Obviously, that was not the case and both were sentenced to life in prison in 1995. Rosemary West is still alive and is living in New Hall Prison in Wakefield.
Sources:
https://www.city-journal.org/html/horror-story-12312.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-57182844
https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/rosemary-west
Photo Sources in Order:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/how-rose-west-became-monster-23745131
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-57182844
I don’t even know what to say. This is my first time reading your passion blog; I must say I was not expecting this. I can’t believe there exists people in this world who would rape and murder their own children. It is simply shocking.
This is the first time I have read your blog and this post was fascinating! I remember reading about a case similar to this one but all case are freaking crazy. You would have thought that since Rosemary lived a hard life she would have treated her own children better but no.
I think this is so interesting because I have never heard of her! I think it is really interesting about her parents pasts and how they could have affected her.