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Fred & Rose West (Part 4) | Morbid | Podcast

May 27, 2024 / 01:12:10

This episode covers the horrific murders committed by Fred and Rose West, focusing on the victims, including Heather West and Shirley Anne Robinson. The hosts, Ash and Elena, discuss the details of the case, the background of the West family, and the impact on the victims' families.

Ash shares her excitement about a ghost movie and her sourdough baking journey, highlighting the support she received from listeners. Elena discusses the upcoming bonus episode featuring a discussion on the Audible original "Desperate Deadly Widows," which includes contributions from four women authors.

The episode details the tragic story of Heather West, who was manipulated and ultimately murdered by her parents. The hosts emphasize the emotional toll on the West children and the horrific environment they endured.

They also discuss the investigation that led to the discovery of multiple bodies buried in the West's backyard, the subsequent arrests of Fred and Rose, and the trial that followed. The episode concludes with reflections on the lasting impact of the case and the ongoing search for justice for the victims.

Listeners are reminded of the importance of discussing these stories to honor the victims and bring awareness to the issues of abuse and violence.

TLDR

Ash and Elena discuss the tragic murders by Fred and Rose West, focusing on their victims and the impact on their families.

Episode

1:12:10
00:00:08
hey weirdos I'm Ash and I'm Elena and this is [Music] morbid this is more bid y ah oh we're almost done everybody oh my
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goodness what a terrible guys this is a terrible case it really is but you know what we're on the last part of it okay
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okay and we're going to at least get a little bit of something at the end we'll get a resolution I like that that's all
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we're looking for in life you know was a resolution cool yeah do you have any any
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um [ __ ] for the top not really I'm really excited to see uh the ghost movie that's exciting theaters
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that is exciting in June I'll be with you so excited about that very psych isn't there's like a big reveal people
00:01:13
are saying everyone's assuming there's going to be a reveal of what's happening to
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Papa um cuz we're going to get some lore in there of course what is happening to
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big p I'm dying to know what's happening to Papa it did say in the trailer this is not a story about death and I was
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like like what the [ __ ] does that mean rebirth so that's I'm who knows who knows I'm I'm here to know when I'm
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supposed to the lore runs so deep it's so deep yeah I'm constantly learning new lore and you're constantly like I'm like
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wait what I'm constantly sharing new lore with you that I found sometimes I'm like wait who is the dad it's very
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creative it is really creative and it's cool that it's like a band like yeah like it's fun cuz it's not like a
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typical band it's fun to tell love I love how much you love it I love how much I love it your little eyes are so
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bright right now they're twinkling I don't I was like your little [ __ ] eyes your little beady [ __ ] eyes are
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just twinking your little beady [ __ ] eyes no um but what do you got you know what I'm on a Sourdough
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Journey as everyone in my life knows it's on a Sourdough it's overtaken my life Drew went to his mom's yesterday
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and he was like yeah Ash's on a bread journey and she thought that was the funniest thing a bread Journey a bread
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Journey but I wanted to shout out like all the weirdos for helping me because I had this beautiful loaf that I made and
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then I cut into it and I said oror or what happen here cuz it's it's so involved but one weirdo in particular I
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don't know if I should say their name or not cuz they like didn't say if I could
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you know who you are sent me an entire video on like how she does her my God s and she's a fellow Massachusetts girly
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what a badass [ __ ] and it was so nice like she was like okay let me me tell you what I do and she explained it so
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like like cohesively and then another weirdo who's a like a head Baker at a bakery was like like walked me through
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this whole process sent me like this massive message of like epth what to do and it was like so helpful and that was
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among like 50 other messages that I got from people like just trying to help see
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that's the that's the nice part of social media it is and that's the only part that I pay attention to that's the
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only part I like to be honest much when things like that happen you're like well [ __ ] this is what it's for
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let's come together over bread come together over bread sour dough with me but yeah I I'm really excited so I I
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tried again I love that and I have two loaves in the fridge right now but I proofed them last night on the count
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don't worry guys for close to like 11 hours cuz I keep it pretty cold in my house so it's okay to bulk ferment for
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that long listen to meing terms and stuff just being a do girly it's really fun I if you want to go on a little
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journey with yourself and like you have the time it's [ __ ] fun like and you have the
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time takes time time a lot of time yeah I was like I don't think I'll be able to
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do this when I have children but we'll try but you know what who knows give it a shot you know um and then in other
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news pretty soon we're going to be releasing our bonus episode so get ready for that we have been listening to the
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audible original title desperate deadly widows with four women authors so like which is so [ __ ] cool and different I
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love that yeah and it like when I saw four different authors I was like wow like what was that process like but
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listening to the to the title it's so cohesive is it feels like it was written by one person it's like they became a
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super author together they became Mega author and it's like Mega desk and on the office Mega off Mega author I love
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it and they all just created this cohesive Tale and like each each woman in the book is
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like just like has like such a distinct personality like I feel like it's almost
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like like it's not the same subjects at all but it's almost like sex in the city
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where you're like oh I'm a Miranda yeah you can like pick out who you are in this yeah so we're going to be
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discussing that like way more at length um adnauseum if adium like book club style yeah and we're going to have a
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special guest who you guys know and love yeah you know them already you love them
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it's going to be a lot of fun they are like the perfect guest for this title literally the perfect guest and I love
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them so much I'm sorry if you guys hear my stomach growling she she's been loud she has what I said something earlier in
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your stomach was like you also might be able to hear my chest rumbling um it's like crackling
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yeah you're still going through it yeah I woke up this morning and I thought I was much better and then well I am yeah
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but my every time I cough like afterwards it's like a a r crumbling like settles like rum it's like a
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thunder clap yeah it's like a it's like a crackle in of my chest you know it It's Hard Out Here in these streets in
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the world is it is everybody's getting sick it's cold and flu say and you know what me this story is not going to help
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anybody from not feeling sick because you're going to feel sick but it's the end it's and it's
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there's a resolution at the end at least some kind of resolution it's not like they
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I'll tell you right now they don't get away with it and go riding off into the sunset never to be heard from again so
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don't worry about that they don't somehow get off on a technicality no one's getting out of jail good so good
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good good so don't worry about that they're gone bye [ __ ] that's what it is I was trying to think of the the Jack
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mannequin lyrics of the resolution song GL in the dark as I search for the resolution that's how I feel I love it I
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need some light in the dark yeah I'm not going to give it to you for a little while so I apologize for that so when we
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last left you uh we were talking about the really um horrific murder of Shirley andne Robinson yeah and um I had said
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that it was it was over a year before they next killed again because again they would go through these long periods
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of time where we assume they didn't do they didn't kill anyone but uh nobody's entirely convinced of that yeah I can't
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say that I am yeah and also it sounds like like police were starting to kind of like they were at least they were
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there more often so I'm sure it was harder to for sure but I wonder if there's other areas that that we could
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find victims in yeah I agree now like so many of the other victims of Fred and rosemary West 16-year-old Alison
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Chambers 16 had come from a troubled upbringing and had actually spent her early years
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living between her parents who had separated when she was very young and she ended up going into different like
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facilities where she would be living that's so sad yeah now Allison was described as a vulnerable girl from a
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disturbed background that's how all the media described her and when she was 15 and a half years old she was placed at
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Jordan's Brook um now according to soon Allison quote frequently withdrew into a
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fantasy life and she composed romantic poetry and liked to draw pictures of an image imaginary Farm where she dreamed
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of living that's so which is just so gutr devastating just like ret readed into that world I want to be clear again
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once again I'm going to say it before all of these um entries into this series a lot of uh trigger warning for a lot of
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sexual sadism and you know sexual assaults um murder with sexual assaults I mean it's really bad and in this one
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in particular we're going to get a little bit into their own children oh try I'm not tapping into a lot of those
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details for my own stuff but I mean you can honestly you can read um the book that I gave you we're going to we're
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going to um link it here and Marie book I encourage you to read that to get it right from her because she's the one who
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lived it right I'm not going to go into the nitty-gritty of everything but I am going to let you know something because
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they end up murdering another one of their children so that will be in here God um now so
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she so Allison was sound s like she was just living this you know tough life tough upbringing and she was just
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retreating into a fantasy world right you know and and the fact that she had this very specific Farm like imaginary
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farm that she had where she just dreamed of it being a reality and she lived there is just gut-wrenching it really is
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um and what's even worse is Fred and rosemary West specifically pre on that one aspect of
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her life that makes a lot of sense that they did but because she would ret treat
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often into her fantasy world and she would write poetry which honestly is a sign of intelligence and like Beauty and
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you know everything right in the world a great personality to be around kids are
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are usually pretty rough so she was ruthlessly bullied and mocked at the um live at the girls' home the other girls
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would mock her which I'm like girls let's be nice to other girls yeah you're all going through it so exactly look get
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through together instead of against each other this left her leaving even more isolated and More Lonely um so she
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unable to make friends at school she did have one friend okay who was a teenager
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named an and this teenager lived at 25 Cromwell Street yeah now since Allison was you know Wicked lonely PR prone to
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Fantasy she was easy prey for Fred and Rose who had a knack of knowing exactly what to say to manipulate girls just
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like Allison who had gone through what she had gone through on her various visits to the house Rose would tell
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Allison that she could relate she knew exactly how this this girl felt she gave her gifts at one point she gave her a
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gold colored necklace with her name on it and showed the girl a picture of a farm and told her that she and Fred
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owned that farm and Allison could live there once she moved out of Jordan Brook what the [ __ ] now it turned out that
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that photo was just an image from a Real's brochure but they knew it was enough to
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draw Allison even deeper into their world and Fred was equally as [ __ ] up and you know manipulative and his regular
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self leaving her you know he would lavish her with praise and attention he would give her a lot of attention which
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is what she was looking positive attention she wasn't getting that anywhere else and when she would go back
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to school she would tell the other girls she'd met an older man who gave her all
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kinds of gifts and they were in love oh no now from the moment they'd met her Fred and Rose had made all kinds of
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promises to Allison and the things they would give her and do for her when she turned 17 and could leave Jordans Brook
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one day in early August 1979 just days before her 17th birthday Allison quietly packed all her belongings and ran away
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from Jordan's Brook oh no presumably to 25 Cromwell Street she wrote a letter to
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her mother before she left and she explained that she'd been invited to live with quote a very homely family I
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look after their five children and do some of their housework they have a child the same age as me who accepts me
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as a big sister and we get on great the family owns flats and I share with the oldest sister oh my God to think that
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she thought that she was finally going to get this life that she's wanted for almost 17 years and that they went out
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of their way to convince her of that and to prey on the little hopes and Fantasies that she had they're so [ __ ]
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up it's beyond comprehension it really is now when Allison's body was later exhumed from the garden at 25 Cromwell
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Street there was a large purple belt wrapped around her head and under her jaw oh God the prosecutor told the jury
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at Rose's trial quote the belt found around her head clamping closed her jaw can only have been placed in position to
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stop her screaming oh my God the purpose of such restraint must have been to permit abuse of the type experienced by
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the others oh it's so dark like the others Fred had kept several of the small bones from Allison's hands and
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feet now when Allison failed to show up for work the following day at the training
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school a missing person's report was filed and it listed Allison as quote an absconder from care an investigation was
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opened but when Allison's mother told them she had gotten a letter from Allison that said she'd gone to work as
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a Livin Nanny with a lovely family investigators didn't ask any questions and they closed the case right now while
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the victims of Fred and Rose West like the outside victims of Fred and Rose Mary West they've been the focus of
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every story rightfully yeah of this it's worth keeping in mind at this point that
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after the murder of Charmaine they still had four children living at home with them and sometimes that can you can
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forget that just because there's so much other awful [ __ ] going on you can't fathom that there's children here no but
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there are four as the daughter of Fred and Reena and Marie received the brunt of the horrific physical emotional and
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sexual abuse but the others were completely aware of it and often saw bore witness to it and also had to deal
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with it and they also had to be witness to Rose's sex work or the abuse of other
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children yeah they saw a lot and they experienced a lot themselves they went they all went through a lot hell and
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Marie's story I'm warning you right now is one of the most horrific things I have ever read in my entire life I
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believe hands down Bar None you read her book read it but I'm telling you right now
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she I can't I can't explain I can't explain to you what it's horrible it's horrible and I can't believe that she
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was able to even put pen to paper to talk about it like I give her a lot of credit for being able to it was like
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some kind of healing experience or I hope it was I don't know how you can heal from all of that but hope that it
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was some kind of cathartic experience like I'm sure it was painful but I hoped some kind of like help came out of it
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for her um I mean there was a very big inappropriate Focus on like very deviant and very like demonic sexuality in that
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house you know what I mean like it was it's not like there was like a they were living a different lifestyle you know
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what I mean than like than the like the mainstream you know what I mean like this was s like sadistic [ __ ] yeah it's
00:15:47
like this is not this is totally inappropriate totally beyond the the you could ever think and it was incredibly
00:15:55
damaging to these children incredibly damaging these are their parents no matter what like
00:16:04
things it's just like they they will like also in some ways think this is just how parents are well yeah you know
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it's like they it's very hard to for kids to understand that like their situation with their parents is not what
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everybody else is going through yeah you just assume they're just some of it they're looking at like I just have to
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deal with this until I leave that like this is just life and then like you know they manipulated them so hard that like
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some of them were like trying to like defend them later like but they're their kids you know I mean like it's one of
00:16:36
those things it's like that's just such a different situation I can't even fathom it I really can't no I really
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can't but their daughter May wrote later if Dad had any ambition at all for any of his daughters it was simply that we
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should breed and have at least as many babies as he and Mama had done and like why like yeah you don't victim yeah yeah
00:17:01
he I mean they got to they got to make their own victims essentially wow yeah now once anarie was old enough she had
00:17:10
moved out of the house and Fred's eye shifted towards his younger daughters Heather and may he would often make
00:17:17
comments about their bodies or joke about and this is awful quote it being a father's right to take his daughter's
00:17:24
virginity oh my God that yeah you want to throw up the girls thought this was a joke because he was so crude and he was
00:17:34
so crass and so lewd and so disgusting all the time and he would say these disgusting things and they would just be
00:17:41
like oh that's just like who whatever like he just says this disgusting [ __ ] God oh my God but eventually they
00:17:46
realized he was serious oh he was sexually abusing like he was a horrible [ __ ] Predator monster yeah um and
00:17:54
like he when he was saying that he meant it when they were in their teen years Fred began treating his daughters
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basically as he would treat any other girl around him or woman or young woman around him uh especially when he was a
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teenager cuz remember we said any woman that was near him he would just grab and
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grope at them he would do that with his daughters oh my God now may did her best
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to hide the abuse and the emotional effects from the world she just tried to retreat into herself but Heather seemed
00:18:21
to have a much harder time with it yeah obviously like I I don't even know how any of them were functioning and by the
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time she was in her mid teens Heather had become very withdrawn and very Sullen she never smiled or laughed like
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she just didn't have joy how could you and eventually she started acting out at school and when she turned 16 years old
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she had left school cuz she had found a job working as a um on a cleaning crew at a Holiday Camp okay not a glamorous
00:18:49
job not well-paying but the location of the camp meant that she would be able to
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get the [ __ ] away from Fred and Rose so it was her ticket out and it would be for a few months so she was like get me
00:18:59
gone I don't give a [ __ ] what you need me to do just get me out of this house and it was probably some kind of plan
00:19:03
where she was thinking like I can save up this much money and go on to the next thing now unfortunately the day before
00:19:09
she was about to leave for the camp the job fell through no and she was devastated devastated well you must just
00:19:17
she must have just been sitting there being like what the [ __ ] is this life and she must have been sitting there
00:19:22
before it fell through being like thinking fantasizing about this new life she could have away from them yeah you
00:19:28
start picturing just like think something's coming you exactly like Allison with the farm it's like and and
00:19:35
we can all relate to the idea of like when you think you something's happening and you're like oh I'm so excited for
00:19:40
this thing and then it falls through it's awful and it's in most of us only know that on like the most micro of
00:19:48
scales of so bummed oh like I get to meet this cool you know like I get to meet my idol like you know I mean and
00:19:54
you're like oh I'm so excited it's going to be so much fun and then all of a sudden it falls through and you're like
00:19:58
oh like I pictured myself meeting this doing this thing but then you think of all the weight that came like with this
00:20:05
of like it's my escape from my of the incredibly abusive toxic hous measurable trauma that I've been facing my entire
00:20:13
life it's her ticket to like personal autonomy yes and it's like like when I read that I was like I feel it in my gut
00:20:22
yeah like the gut punch of that oh I feel so bad now the next day June 19th 1987 may say said goodbye to Heather and
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left for school when she came home she expected to find her sister still upset but Heather was gone now may asked her
00:20:38
parents where she went and Fred told her that Heather had received a call from the camp and the job was back on so
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Heather packed up a few things and got the [ __ ] out of there now this was supposed to be a positive thing but may
00:20:50
said something didn't hit right for immediately these kids as much as like you know they're their parents and they
00:20:58
just kind of dealt with this stuff they know their parents too they know what their parents are all of them had their
00:21:05
parents numbers every single [ __ ] one of them well and they've also seen people come on as like nannies and then
00:21:11
just [ __ ] disappear forever and they've heard [ __ ] they've heard [ __ ] there's no way they're not hearing
00:21:16
screaming screaming crying like horrible stuff they know what their parents are capable of they've experienced it
00:21:24
they've seen it they've witnessed it they've heard it they've they experienced it personally right and
00:21:30
they're probably so much more connected than even like a typical sibling Duo because they have that shared experience
00:21:37
tra and so may knew immediately something's wrong here her she said her father seemed almost cheerful about
00:21:44
sharing the news but she said Rose seemed very upset about Heather leaving that's her daughter which Fred explained
00:21:51
away as her being just disappointed that Heather that you know like she thought Heather was going to be staying but now
00:21:57
she's not so she said that she's leaving was Rose involved with the sexual abuse
00:22:02
of her kids in way of participating or was that just Fred um she definitely she was involved in at the very
00:22:14
least like a bystander okay of letting it happen because like and again some of the things that were done to some of
00:22:23
these kids and like an Marie in particular was out in the open open for everybody to see okay and it was
00:22:32
horrific I mean how do you not step in and protect your kid cuz you're a [ __ ] monster Rose is a monster she's
00:22:41
a monster right along with Fred she gets no nothing I'm just like how do you not
00:22:47
have that motherly Instinct after carrying a baby in your womb for nine [ __ ] months I don't get it and then
00:22:53
to let a man do that and to stand there and do nothing like yeah I mean like that's your kid cuz I didn't I didn't
00:23:02
read too far into like how she participated yeah but she certainly is not at the very least she didn't stop it
00:23:09
and she's certainly not a a passive person in any of that she's very much actively at least in some way shape or
00:23:17
form that's so heinous she's [ __ ] terrible um so the West children had spent again their entire lives being
00:23:25
manipulated lied to and abused by their parents especially their father so even though they knew he wasn't telling the
00:23:33
truth about Heather they knew this was a lie but it's just like what can they do
00:23:36
they also knew you don't push himh so we're not going to push him cuz then you'll be in the same position yeah and
00:23:42
they're like who knows what's going to happen now in the days and weeks after that Fred and Rose went out of their way
00:23:47
to reinforce their story that Heather had simply gone away and would be coming back she was going to be coming back
00:23:54
like you said it was only mon this is forever they would receive phone calls in the night apparently from some
00:23:59
drunken woman that they claimed was Heather and then they would get an an argument on the phone and hang up with
00:24:05
her and the children were like okay I guess she's all right and she's going to be home like they couldn't figure out
00:24:10
they were playing a twisted game but after a few months they became concerned that Heather was not going to be coming
00:24:16
back and in an attempt to quiet their concerns Fred and Rose continued the charade that simply Heather had decided
00:24:23
not to come home now she she went to this this camp and now wants to stay for longer and you know in fact she's so mad
00:24:32
at us now like she's had enough of this house apparently she's like they decided
00:24:35
to [ __ ] all over and be like she's just like you know she's turned on us whatever she's turned on us and now she
00:24:40
doesn't want to have any contact with us at all gee I wonder why if that was actually the case may knew this was a
00:24:46
lie but what was she going to do but but and she was like honestly all my parents
00:24:52
did was lie to me right like they just lied and manipulated so she's like what else is new I can't say anything I don't
00:24:58
know what to say to anybody like all the kids were handling it differently so they all had to retreat in themselves
00:25:04
now Heather never came home obviously and may never saw her sister again and in time May and her siblings would learn
00:25:12
that their sister didn't leave for a job in 1987 but was in fact killed by their
00:25:18
parents now in this in his interview with police Fred told investigators that he's such a [ __ ] [ __ ] this is
00:25:26
their new story he told investig ators that they thought that their daughter was actually a lesbian and was planning
00:25:32
to leave with a woman on the night she went missing so he said Heather told him and he quotes if you don't let me
00:25:39
[ __ ] go I'll give all the kids acid and they'll all jump off the church roof and kill
00:25:45
themselves seems legit seems legit right and Fred's claimed that that sent him into a rage and he grabbed her by the
00:25:52
neck and began to choking her and he told detectives I can't even remember what happened what happened but the next
00:25:58
minute she's blue that no incorrect yeah he then said when she was dead he dismembered hea
00:26:05
Heather's body and buried her remains in the garden his daughter dismembered his
00:26:10
daughter now may says she never believed that story for a [ __ ] second also now
00:26:16
I'm just trying to tally it I'm pretty sure he's killed three of his kids at this point or two because he didn't kill
00:26:21
Charmaine but he's killed um Shirley was pregnant and an and an yeah um so the fact that we can't even tally up
00:26:31
how many of his own children that he's killed several pregnant with his child and like
00:26:38
we're talking like eight months pregnant with brutally tortured and murdered in fact in in both cases he waited very
00:26:46
long the pregnancy yeah yeah that's a whole different pathology yeah that's something that should be studed that's a
00:26:54
something's something's happening there wow yeah wow now may never believe this story either no and neither did
00:27:01
investigators investigators were like [ __ ] off detectives had two theories as to Heather's death both e easily
00:27:09
plausible in the first they believe Fred attempted to sexually assault his daughter and which she resisted he began
00:27:15
choking her yep um this theory was supported by the fact that Heather was buried naked uh like the other victims
00:27:22
she had no clothing no clothing was found in the grave also like the other victims there were several bones missing
00:27:28
from her hands and feet as well really the second theory is that Heather had become a liability and they feared that
00:27:34
she would or maybe she threatened to tell someone about the abuse that had been occurring in the home for well over
00:27:40
a decade right now regardless of what the motive for her murder was Heather would be the final body buried in the
00:27:48
west garden and it would be her disappearance that would actually bring an end to their Killing Spree okay now
00:27:57
it's unclear why and this is really wild there was an 8year Gap in the murders between Alice
00:28:05
aliceon Chambers and Heather really eight years and what they think is it's entirely possible that they killed other
00:28:14
women and buried them elsewhere because they also were frankly running out of room at their own place run out of room
00:28:21
in the basement and we're now filling the garden and I don't I don't know like what the neighbor situation is like how
00:28:27
close they are to other they're pretty close so it's like they don't have a ton of space so I would bet a lot of money
00:28:35
that there are other victims around that they will eventually hopefully find now
00:28:41
what is clear though is that Heather's murder was definitely different from the other victims as well like Anna McFall
00:28:47
it seems that Heather was likely killed in their eyes to solve a problem that they saw you know being discovered they
00:28:54
didn't want to be found out right um this was an entirely like one of their sexual sadist like killing for sexual
00:29:02
gratification murders um whenever anyone would ask about Heather in the years after this Fred and Rose would give some
00:29:08
variation of the unexpected employment or the lesbian lover story which typically satisfied whoever was asking
00:29:16
and then The Disappearance was just never truly investigated at first it really is so awful that that was their
00:29:21
way of like obviously it's not degrading to be a lesbian I'm not saying that their view they're like oh let's let's
00:29:27
say She's a Lesbian cuz that's a bad thing like you can tell that's why they're doing it be like oh she's just a
00:29:32
[ __ ] lesbian yeah they were like uh and he's basically saying she was a lesbian and she was violent yeah and
00:29:40
like I had to kill her to save us all like I had to get rid of this ridiculous this violent lesbian and it's like it's
00:29:46
like you're degrading her even in death yeah like no now Fred and Rose had gotten away with so many horrific crimes
00:29:53
over the years that they probably assumed Heather's murder was just one more girl that no one was going to miss
00:29:59
their own child shaking my head right now that might have been true had it not been for the courage of one of Fred's
00:30:06
sexual assault victims who eventually came forward with her story and began an in investigation that would literally
00:30:13
unearth the secrets of 25 Cromwell Street in the spring of 1992 just a week a few weeks after the death of Fred's
00:30:22
father a 13-year-old girl who lived in the neighborhood divulged to a friend that Fred West had sexually assaulted
00:30:30
her but she didn't want to go to the police 13 years old he's a [ __ ] monster I hope he wherever he is I hope
00:30:40
he is just living in a cyclic Loop Purgatory [ __ ] brutal torture I really do that he doesn't enjoy yeah exactly
00:30:52
well he didn't I don't think he enjoyed it I think he enjoyed inflicting um but this girl's friend sat
00:30:59
with the information for a few days before eventually going to her mother who in turn informed a local police
00:31:05
officer now the tip about the wests prompted an investigation which was led by veteran detective Hazel Savage which
00:31:11
is such a cool name love it um who this this investigator this detective had experience working sex crimes and crimes
00:31:19
involving children so perfect person to get involved in this wow at first the case seemed a little straightforward you
00:31:25
know a single incident of sexual assault horrific crime but one that they could easily just go forward with yeah but the
00:31:32
more she dug into the family's background the scarier and stranger that the story became but it all started with
00:31:39
a story told by one of the West's children now when the complaint against Fred and Rose was initially made the
00:31:46
children were immediately removed from the home and placed in foster care which I was like my God that should have
00:31:52
happened a long time ago yeah for real while they were there one of the children told one of the social workers
00:31:57
that their father often threaten them with violence saying if you ever talked about what went on in the house they
00:32:02
would be killed and buried under the patio just like their sister Heather so he would literally say that to his
00:32:08
children like I'll [ __ ] kill you and bury you under the patio like Heather oh my God these poor kids I can't the your
00:32:17
brain can't even like put that together of you will be buried next to your sister my daughter whom I killed
00:32:26
who I killed like yeah my brain is just all over the place right now and also to me that puts a lot
00:32:34
more wait on the idea that Heather might have said I'm going to I'm leaving and I'm telling or they had some weird idea
00:32:43
that she was going to Ked absolutely I agree with you now Fred would later claim that was just a
00:32:50
joke you know a funny dad joke you know and he explained that Heather had run off with a female lover she was a
00:32:58
lesbian everybody that's what he keeps trying to claim but by then the story had changed so many times and the
00:33:04
comments about the patio made everything seem way more suspicious so in her initial interview Rose was Cy about
00:33:12
Heather's disappearance and whenever she was asked directly why she hadn't reported her daughter missing yeah she
00:33:18
would answer I don't know or I don't remember she's a I can't like [ __ ] off she's an [ __ ] after repeated
00:33:26
questioning Rose finally said I can remember now why I didn't pursue Heather because things pointed to her being a
00:33:34
lesbian meanwhile [ __ ] Rose herself is interested in women too so like what is your [ __ ] problem here that's what
00:33:41
it is it's all this [ __ ] up Loop of being of hating themselves yeah and taking that hate out on other people
00:33:51
yeah it's totally putting it out on other people it's just making me so mad that
00:33:56
they're like they're putting that on her afterwards and acting like it's a bad thing when Rose very much came on to
00:34:03
other women like in aggressively so like such an aggressive Manner and like I'm just like and now you're saying like oh
00:34:11
I didn't report her missing cuz she was a lesbian well it's literally a mother saying I didn't report my child's
00:34:16
missing because she was a lesbian yeah oh I'm sorry do you think that makes you look better right you [ __ ] [ __ ]
00:34:23
like [ __ ] you Rose and and sitting there both yeah sitting there saying not knowing full well what happened to her
00:34:31
for her whole life how she was killed and where she is yeah like she's under [ __ ] porch you wake up every single
00:34:39
morning over your daughter's dead body like you [ __ ] pig yeah a true Pig like I'm so mad right now Pig like true
00:34:48
[ __ ] Hogs Pig just it's so filthy it is that's the thing it just gets worse and worse now
00:34:58
throughout the rest of 1992 and most of 1993 investigators continued building their case against Fred and eventually
00:35:05
he was charged with three counts of rape of a minor with rose being charged as an
00:35:09
accomplice wow but they remained free on bail pending the trial a rapist a child rapist a child rapist on
00:35:18
three [ __ ] counts where are they yeah like What's happen [ __ ] county is this now in the meantime the Department
00:35:25
of Social Services continued their search for Heather West interviewing the children as they went for more inter
00:35:31
information and the process was very slow goinging and at first it was yielding very little information but
00:35:37
eventually they had gathered enough testimony from the children because that's also a delicate process it's a
00:35:43
slow process you don't want to re-traumatize them right you're to go about it in the right way to personally
00:35:49
give you a testimony and a narrative of what they've gone through that's a lot even for grownass adults to do like
00:35:56
that's a lot and you're doing it while their life has just been like offended in so many ways exactly uh but they had
00:36:03
eventually gathered enough testimony from the children as well as other Witnesses and they strongly suspected
00:36:09
that there was vital evidence of Murder in the house on cromr Street yeah so in late February 1994 Hazel Savage applied
00:36:17
for a warrant that would allow investigators to search the West House and Garden for evidence of Heather West
00:36:23
and the application was granted Hazel Savage forever [ __ ] Savage now with the search
00:36:29
weren't secured it seemed only a matter of digging in the yard but investigators
00:36:34
had no idea where to look and the process was further Complicated by all the alterations that Fred had made to
00:36:40
the house and the extensive Stone workor in the backyard also when detectives came to
00:36:46
the house to present the warrant Rose and several of the older children did everything they could to stall the
00:36:52
investigators which would buy them enough time for Fred to come home and stop the search make a big fuss out of
00:36:58
everything again very clearly you have to know these are these older children remember what they' G they've abused
00:37:05
their whole lives and brainwashed and doing what they been taught to do like you know like absolutely right and they
00:37:12
and they probably did not believe for a second any of these claims you know they're terrified they've been scared
00:37:19
since they came into the world they've lived nothing but fear and horror and sadness and loneliness and isolation and
00:37:28
pain and just any horrible thing you can think of they've lived it their entire lives from the two people who are
00:37:36
supposed to provide the safest place for them yep so I give I put nothing on them
00:37:41
to have the kind of average reactions that any of us would have at all now despite their protests Rosen Fred's work
00:37:49
did begin on the west backyard on February 24th we have a [ __ ] warrant yeah they [ __ ] you
00:37:55
we're um and they began with the hole dug in the back corner and they were going to just slowly move forward the
00:38:01
work was very slow but they were very methodical about it and it was kept getting stalled and interrupted and
00:38:07
[ __ ] up and by Fred and Rose because they kept interfering and arguing with investigators whenever they could like
00:38:13
they just kept trying to [ __ ] it up I like okay cool why don't you go sit in jail then and await your [ __ ]
00:38:18
sentencing for your [ __ ] thing that you're on bail for right now you're interfering with an investigation you
00:38:23
should be arrested go sit in the [ __ ] jail cell but after a few days it did seem to have dawned on Fred that he
00:38:30
wasn't going to be able to stop this search and that they were going to discover a lot lot and he was like
00:38:37
they're also going to move into the house they have a warrant for the house as well so they're going into that
00:38:41
basement and they're going to find that so given that it probably seemed no use in keeping up the charade so Fred went
00:38:47
to detective Savage and told her they may as well bring him in and they hadn't found anything yet and he was like you
00:38:54
know what you might as well I mean they were going to as they LED Fred from the house now that he walked up to Hazel
00:38:59
Savage and said you might as well bring me in because you're going to find [ __ ]
00:39:02
and she was like awesome okay they led him to the H from the house to the police car and he made a large public
00:39:09
spectacle protesting screaming and being like I didn't kill her like acting like
00:39:16
he didn't just walk up to somebody and say you might as well bring me in cuz there's going to be a ton of stuff here
00:39:21
acting like it's not going to come out very soon when they're done with this whole excavation process that there are
00:39:26
however many numerous bodies outside and then when they move inside however many
00:39:31
bodies are inside that the basement is literally filled the point that you ran out of room like I don't really know
00:39:37
what you're doing here because all of this is coming to Light Within weeks well also they got him in the car closed
00:39:43
the door and he immediately confessed to murdering Heather yeah so there you go so he all the way to the car I didn't
00:39:50
kill her how dare you I didn't kill her gets in the car and he's like I did I killed her can you imagine and then he
00:39:57
literally looked at Savage and he said detective Savage you're digging in the wrong
00:40:02
place what A pompous [ __ ] what a [ __ ] [ __ ] and also like what the [ __ ] is wrong with you now it's possible
00:40:09
that Fred thought he could prevent the discovery of the other bodies if he confessed to the murder of Heather and
00:40:14
pointed detectives away from the other Graves he thought maybe they'll stop after they get heather yeah totally but
00:40:20
by then the stories had changed so many times and there was so much circumstantial evidence that detective
00:40:25
Savage and the others definitely thought that Fred wasn't telling the whole truth
00:40:29
so they were not going to stop at that um and at this point they have no idea what's in anyway what is in store for
00:40:35
them they're looking for Heather so he that's why he thought they'll stop after that how could they ever know that I
00:40:41
have 12 other bodies in this house meanwhile it's like dude what if they don't even find Heather first and they
00:40:46
find someone else well he was trying to lead them right to Heather so that they would stop like how do you even remember
00:40:52
now whatever Fred's motive his plan didn't work investigators continue digging in the back backyard obviously
00:40:58
because if you can kill your own child you are capable of a lot you [ __ ] idiot obviously also imagine living next
00:41:05
door to this and being like that was there the entire time how many 12 B I wave to all my neighbors constantly like
00:41:13
hey hey hey being like I just wave to that man every [ __ ] morning as he walked out and stood on top of his child
00:41:21
literally and countless other bodies and dismembered all these people too like their neighbors are probably sitting
00:41:27
there being like in that house at night sometimes when a light was on they were sawing a part a body yeah sometimes
00:41:35
their own child right and I was just going to sleep it would be so hard to stay like your house isn't even where
00:41:43
the horrors happened I feel like I would have such a hard time staying in my own
00:41:48
house after that I would have trouble staying in that neighborhood I would have trouble there was a lot of people
00:41:52
that had a lot of that was a that was a big source of just really bad vibes and really bad stuff like after this like
00:42:02
people were horrified that it was standing they were I mean looking at that house afterwards I can't imagine no
00:42:08
just knowing the horrors that happened there it's it's so dark dark isn't even the word for it because it's not just
00:42:13
murder it's sexual assault it's rape it's child abuse it's child sexual assault I mean that the things that were
00:42:19
found in that house are Beyond Comprehension and that just the energy surrounding the entire Place must have
00:42:24
just been abysmal yeah but the investigators kept digging up the backyard and within a week they
00:42:30
discovered not one but two sets of remains in the west backyard and a day later a third was discovered and the
00:42:37
third set of remains were identified as Heather West so they didn't even find Heather find her first now on February
00:42:44
27th 1994 Fred and Rose West were arrested for murder when the discovery in the garden was announced to the press
00:42:51
the police and missing persons Bureau was flooded with calls from around the country all with people loved ones who'd
00:42:57
gone missing and they were like potentially are they in that back have to make that call is my loved one in
00:43:03
that Garden like I can't even think of it how do you Bureau DET uh director Christopher Dre told the Press we have
00:43:10
been inundated with calls we have 19 lines and during yesterday they were engaged constantly as the search kept
00:43:17
going local residents watched in absolute horror these neighbors as one body after another was taken from this
00:43:25
home they just watched being like what the [ __ ] and at the same time stepen and
00:43:31
one of the other siblings West siblings began speaking to reporters to try to defend their
00:43:37
parents and in the interview with the Gloucester Echo Steph repeated the story about Heather running off and insisted
00:43:44
she was still alive and he said we would not live here if we thought they had murdered her no of course that tells you
00:43:50
the depth of yeah of how they're being manipulated abused here like they have been taught to be this way and they're
00:43:58
probably just desperate to think I would never have been in this house if I knew she was back there if I
00:44:04
knew that they killed my sister like but as the days went on it was getting harder to defend Fred and Rose and by
00:44:11
the end of the first week of March the ninth body had been removed from the west house and investigator and this was
00:44:18
within only a couple weeks my God and investigators expected to find more in the basement so that was just the
00:44:24
backyard nine bodies in the yard by that Point Fred had been forly charged with the murder of Heather and the murder of
00:44:31
former lodger Shirley Anne Robinson but detectives fully expected that there were going to be way more charges to
00:44:37
come the growing number of bodies and the very slow identification process led to a great deal of speculation
00:44:44
especially around The Disappearance of uh Mary basol many years earlier Mary's brother Peter said and this is so sad he
00:44:53
said quote in some ways it would be a relief if police identify her as it would stop the wondering and we would be
00:44:58
able to hold a funeral for her yeah oh like to have to think like that's I guess our best case scenario at this
00:45:05
point like that's so awful by mid-march all the bodies had been removed from the
00:45:10
house but there was still a lot of work to be done to identify all of them in the meantime Fred must have realized
00:45:16
that things were looking pretty bad because he started speaking to investigators wow mistakenly believing
00:45:23
that he could explain away the 12 dead bodies discovered in his house huh um but Fred's statements would eventually
00:45:29
prove pretty useful in the identification process luckily like through no he didn't mean to it just
00:45:35
happened um but he was really stupid he was not intelligent and he was really a bad liar to be honest like he was able
00:45:44
to lie to vulnerable people but when somebody's trying to detect one and looking for it as a trained in pretty
00:45:51
bad it um so his interviews were really vague they were sometimes confusing very
00:45:56
frustrating interviews he's also not dealing with younger people ex younger people who have already been through
00:46:03
things and are vulnerable and right will will believe a lot more because they've
00:46:07
been through a lot more these are seasoned investigative adults now by the end of March Fred had
00:46:13
been charged with nine murders and by the end of June when the victims had finally been identified he was formally
00:46:19
charged with 11 counts of first-degree murder 11 now while Fred kept talking to investigators about the women found in
00:46:26
the house Rose had also started talking to detectives and at that point interviews with the West's extended
00:46:32
family and several of the children revealed that she was not a [ __ ] unfortunate victim she was trying to
00:46:40
make herself that yeah the extended family and all the children were like uhuh no she's been time Rose was a very
00:46:47
willing participant in the violence um in she was the one that initiated it yeah she was just as bad now sensing
00:46:54
that she was soon going to be under investigation herself Rose turned on Fred wow which tells you exactly who she
00:47:01
is wow and started giving investigators any information that they asked for and hope that she might be spared this
00:47:07
really is so akin to my Myra immediately turn like wow which you're like cuz you're not [ __ ] human
00:47:14
you don't have human emotions you don't love each other that's not what that is you don't know what love is you're out
00:47:19
for number one and Rose's betrayal created further fractures in the family um as Steven responded the son Steven
00:47:27
responded to her betrayal by going to a reporter from the news of the world and giving an exclusive interview about what
00:47:33
he experienced and what he saw on June 30th Fred and Rose West appeared before a judge in Gloucester magistrates Court
00:47:40
um the first time they'd seen each other since Fred's arrest in February they were jointly charged with nine counts of
00:47:47
first-degree murder among other things why only nine if they found more bodies I think they were still trying to
00:47:53
identify people oh okay they were jointly charged with nine counsel a first-degree murder among various other
00:47:59
things and Fred was charged with the additional murders of Reena and Charmaine oh okay because he did those
00:48:07
his on his own presumably on his own well actually Rose killed Charmaine right that's what we think but but he
00:48:15
ended up I think he ended up I me not that I'm like should Char Char I'm just like wait a second I think it was just
00:48:22
going off of evidence but um as the and also remember he was the one who disposed of charmaine's body and
00:48:30
dismembered her yes so there was that I don't know what the lead up and again we
00:48:34
don't know the details of the leadup to that we presume that Rose rage uh killed that little girl oh
00:48:44
now as the summer turned to fall it must have occurred to Fred that things were really bad for him at this point yeah no
00:48:51
matter what he told investigators about supposedly consensual sexual encounter relation they all dead in your garden
00:48:59
dude accidents he kept saying they were all whoops you're so unfortunate yeah it's wild um but no matter what he was
00:49:08
saying he'd left a trail of bodies in three locations and no lies or excuses were going to be enough to spare him the
00:49:15
absolute harshest penalties available like he wasn't getting out of there like what are you even thinking at that point
00:49:20
yeah now it was it hit him I mean he knew right there's no getting out of I'm going to get the worst what whatever
00:49:26
they can give me I'm going to get it so on the afternoon of January 1st 1995 just before 1 p.m. a prison officer at
00:49:34
Winston green jail in Birmingham went to check on Fred and found him hanging from
00:49:40
a noose that he'd fashioned from his own shirt that makes me so angry that [ __ ] should have been on 247
00:49:48
surveillance before he got to do anything well so medical Prof Personnel tried for 30 minutes to revive him but
00:49:57
their efforts were useless he was dead uh but Fred had been on suicide watch since the hearing in July but in
00:50:04
December those restrictions had been lifted he was no longer deemed highrisk so he had been on suicide watch for
00:50:11
months and then the second he got off it the second it was lifted in fact the asshol seemed to be
00:50:18
in High Spirits the night before his death he played pool he was celebrating the new year with the other inmates he
00:50:25
celebrating his last [ __ ] day on Earth the guards told reporters he seemed completely normal it was just
00:50:29
like any other day wow now this is this is the only thing that's good I guess is
00:50:36
that the news of Fred's death was met with resounding cheers from nearly everyone who'd been affected by his M so
00:50:43
that is good so as long as they're they look at it as that's good enough for me Allison chamers mother Joan Owen said
00:50:51
this is the best news I've heard for a long time after all the evil things he did that supposed be the only good thing
00:50:56
he ever did anyone who can do what he did and then walk around and act as if nothing happened is truly evil
00:51:02
absolutely and Marie's husband Chris Davis was very enthusiastic about the news calling Fred suicide a great result
00:51:10
and saying he will rot in hell for what he did he deserves everything that's waiting for him and I say agreed here
00:51:17
here Chin Chin here here now although Fred Su aside meant that he was not going to be legally held accountable for
00:51:24
the crimes he committed nearly everyone seemed to take the news well including those who worked in the justice system
00:51:30
to be honest well and if you think about it it's like he's able to sit there in [ __ ] jail and play pool and shoot the
00:51:36
[ __ ] with other inmates like he shouldn't have that ability now he canot rotten hail yeah rotten hail now the
00:51:42
massive investigation had taken a huge financial toll on Glo I always say this wrong and I apologize I'm going to try
00:51:48
to say it right gloustershire gler justice system I hope I said that right for you guys and was an immense
00:51:55
strain on the min IP Al's resources I mean they were struggling through this so if nothing else it saved everyone a
00:52:03
lot of time money and heartache well that's good so everyone involves seems see you yeah honestly everybody involves
00:52:09
seems fine with it so I'm so that's all that I'll take at first I was like come on but well and that's and that's
00:52:15
honestly I see why you said that because there is a part of it that you're like [ __ ] he didn't face the mus well and
00:52:22
also his death presented a big problem for the crown prosecution service because they were intending to prosecute
00:52:28
rose with Fred unable to corroborate any of the statements he' made regarding her
00:52:34
participation and the murders there was they weren't admissible in court anymore
00:52:38
his statements and they would have to rely on Rose's statements alone so that's not good so that sucks now
00:52:46
despite pressure to drop the charges against Rose which would save obviously a lot of
00:52:53
time and money detective superintendent John who was in charge of the case reassured the families that the case
00:53:00
against Rose was going forward that's a real one right there he said whilst financed must always be a consideration
00:53:06
with any investigation or inquiry it is always secondary to the result of any of
00:53:11
the inquiries we have undertaken we are totally committed to the care of the victim's families with this case that's
00:53:16
incredible now Rose's trial began October 3rd 1995 at Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire before Justice
00:53:23
Charles mantel I like justice Charles M to you have to wonder where that other Justice was that like threw out the
00:53:30
first sexual assault case I'm like where are you cuz let's smack him in the face
00:53:36
a little bit but I'm glad we have a Justice now that we like here he's good now arguing for the crown was prosecutor
00:53:41
Brian leveson while Rose's defense team was led by Richard Ferguson Ferguson in the months leading up to the trial the
00:53:48
defense made a lot of attempts to get it thrown out completely wow which I'm like
00:53:52
how do you [ __ ] sleep at night I'm sorry I know we've gone through this and I know I'll get a ton of messages that
00:53:56
are like that's our job I know that I realize that one though you're like this one I don't understand I know it's their
00:54:02
job I get M's Not Innocent though but like I personally don't I could never Mama's not innocent and I'm sorry but
00:54:09
y'all don't believe that she is but they were trying to get it thrown out on The
00:54:12
Logical idea that given the intense and lurid press coverage since the arrest there was no way that Rose was going to
00:54:18
get a fair trial well but the judge said hm disagree and the case was allowed to
00:54:24
proceed which I love that the judge like huh yeah that nope I don't think so I think it's good maybe you don't be
00:54:31
involved in murdering that many people and you'll find a fair trial oh oh you won't actually have to have a trial yeah
00:54:35
cuz you about that now in his opening statement to the jury Justice mantel reminded them that they were expected to
00:54:41
leave behind all preconceptions Prejudice and sentiment they that they had about the defendant and base their
00:54:48
decisions entirely on the case as it was presented in court yeah so he did his due diligence he says enter upon your
00:54:54
very heavy responsibility in a clear cut way unaffected by anything you may have
00:54:58
read about this case which certainly has its Sensational aspects can you imagine
00:55:04
sitting on this jury no with his statement out of the way the clerk read the charges against Rose and the most
00:55:11
significant of which those um of those charges were the 10 counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of sh
00:55:17
because she was eventually charged with Charmaine good Charmaine West Linda gof Carol Cooper Lucy Partington theres seen
00:55:25
thaler sh hubard Wanita M shirleyanne Robinson Allison Chambers and Heather West you hear all the names it's like
00:55:34
horrifying it is and these are all young girls who had their whole lives ahead of
00:55:38
them in his opening statement Brian leveson laid out the facts for the jury in Grizzly detail emphasizing the fact
00:55:45
that Rose had been a very enthusiastic and active participant in the brutally violent sexual T torture
00:55:53
and murder of at least 10 women wow he said the picture which I shall described revealed by the evidence and
00:56:00
the material including photographs you will see is in places horrific and harrowing I do not do this to shock or
00:56:07
provoke sympathy but so that you have an entire picture against which to decide the case now leveson began uh his story
00:56:15
with the murder of Heather West and then he worked backwards okay he provided details on all the other nine women Rose
00:56:21
was accused of killing and he said for the rest their last moments on Earth where as objects of the sexual depravity
00:56:28
of this woman and her husband yep which I think is a perfect way of describing it and it is so bone chilling and so
00:56:36
[ __ ] gut-wrenching but it's the truth and it Paints the picture of like look at this [ __ ] monster sitting before
00:56:41
you she treated them as objects and she very much did I mean the fact that they covered their faces the way they did and
00:56:47
she was part of everything yeah one after another the expert Witnesses told the evidence collected in the west home
00:56:53
this um included several homemade torture devices are you kidding me and sexual props and also a variety of
00:57:00
pornographic materials that included the abuse of children's children and animals
00:57:05
oh my God they're the wor you can't think of something worse than them no it's every gross horrific nasty thing
00:57:14
that exists that was their thing also forensic experts and several Pathologists were called to the stand
00:57:20
all of them did their best to explain the evidence discovered on the bodies exuded from the graves at both the West
00:57:26
homes and the field where an McFall and Reena West were buried now arguing in Rose's
00:57:32
defense Richard Ferguson claims Rose was innocent and was as much a victim of Fred as anyone else please he said he
00:57:40
abused her as he abused everyone else in his evil life and he said it is because
00:57:44
of him that she is before the court no it's not testifying in her own defense girl bye Rose told the jury about her
00:57:52
difficult upbringing and her own experiences with sexual violence that had led her to trust a man like Fred
00:57:58
West he she said he promised me the world he promised me everything because I was so young I fell for his lies he
00:58:05
promised to love and care for me and I fell for it okay girl sure that's how you entered into this with FR exactly
00:58:12
I'll give you that y but you became what the [ __ ] are you doing now burying another child and murdering it yeah what
00:58:19
the [ __ ] are you doing now exactly and what are you doing in a house with child
00:58:23
abuse images and animal abuse images torture devices that you made together your daughter in the backyard cuz you
00:58:30
had a tough upbringing like plenty of people have a tough upbringing people in the courtroom somebody raised their hand
00:58:34
did you have a tough upbringing did you do this like shut the [ __ ] up Rose no that's absolutely
00:58:40
ridiculous to claim a she was in tears she cried I bet she was and if it scored any points with the jury we don't know
00:58:49
because she then had a very combative attitude under cross-examination by the prosecutor and that didn't help her at
00:58:55
all and they I'm sure that's when they saw the real rose that's when she came out for real Rose had portrayed herself
00:59:00
as a scapegoat for Fred's crimes saying I'm the one now in the spotlight Fred Russ is dead and I've got to be made
00:59:07
responsible for what he has done [ __ ] please leveson though said [ __ ] off Rose
00:59:13
he didn't hesitate he fired right back saying it's not everyone dumping everything on you it's you dumping
00:59:20
everything on Fred you fully participated in each and every murder didn't you yep and it's possible that a
00:59:27
1995 jury could have been sympathetic to the argument put forth by the defense AB
00:59:32
of course but the problem was there was like no evidence or testimony to back up
00:59:37
any of the claims she had of being an innocent victim right Fred and Rose had developed very few social relationships
00:59:44
outside of themselves at least very few that weren't built on sexual exploitation so there was almost no one
00:59:51
who would testify on her behalf like no one anybody who testified was testifying
00:59:56
against her there was no one that was going to sit up there and say she was anything but a [ __ ] monster and also
01:00:02
in the years since the arrests were first made the family had fractured and parted even more right with nearly
01:00:08
everyone abandoning Fred and Rose well because at that point it's like everything coming to light and they're
01:00:14
probably at this point processing their own traumas now that they have time to be away from their parents Mon moners
01:00:21
and the result of her very tearful performance GP pretty ineffective yeah so she really wasted give a [ __ ] for all
01:00:29
those girls crying in fact you you couldn't even see it you wrapped their head in plastic tape while they cried
01:00:34
underneath that so [ __ ] you so [ __ ] you Rose but further complicating matters
01:00:38
was the multiple Witnesses and living victims who testified that they had been sexually assaulted and abused by both
01:00:45
Fred and Rose at their home on Cromwell Street so she wasn't going to get I don't know what she good try that's the
01:00:51
thing you there's still living people that you've affected that are going to come out and say [ __ ] you you were part
01:00:55
of the thing exactly good when leveson confronted rose with the violent sexual assault on Caroline Owens in
01:01:02
1972 Rose responded by saying are you ready for this no her response to this no it was a oneoff it was the one
01:01:10
mistake I made in my life I regret it now the one mistake you killed anold you killed a [ __ ] 8-year-old
01:01:20
you sat by and watched your [ __ ] husband kill your daughter you sat by and you [ __ ] participated in how many
01:01:27
other murders and you want to sit there and call it a oneoff it was This Woman's violent and brutal and horrific
01:01:36
and traumatizing sexual assaults and torture was a wof it's one mistake I made a mistake is like oh [ __ ] I just
01:01:45
got in like a fender bender oopsie a mistake is oops I put someone on an email I shouldn't have yeah that's a
01:01:52
mistake oops my bad this the fact that her mind works that way that she's like it was a one-off like why are you even
01:01:59
bringing that up a one call that a oneoff nobody else's one mistake in their life is violently torturing and
01:02:06
sexually assaulting a woman sorry that's not that's not what anybody can describe
01:02:10
as a one-off oops a mistake no no no no no no no but and the thing was he wasn't
01:02:16
a oneoff since the jury had just heard testimony from a number of other young women who told the court about their
01:02:23
assault by Fred and Rose West it was never just Fred none of these women were getting up there saying oh yeah and Rose
01:02:32
was just you know around the house or something no rose actively participated doing the same things now in this in his
01:02:39
closing statement Richard Ferguson the defense um shut up reminded the jury that they should find his client not
01:02:45
guilty no bye that didn't mean the murders like they said if you find my client not guilty that doesn't mean the
01:02:50
murders go unpunished he said Frederick West provided his own solution his death
01:02:56
has ensured that the relatives of the victims need not worry that the their deaths have gone unpunished so that's a
01:03:02
weight that's been lifted from your shoulders if that woman didn't sit in [ __ ] prison those families would have
01:03:08
been absolutely outraged don't even pretend for a second this man stood up there and said she didn't do anything
01:03:16
and then Said Fred Rose took care about everybody why are you being such [ __ ] about it he literally sat there and was
01:03:23
like what he killed himself move on he got punished he that's exactly what he he literally was like he killed himself
01:03:30
pun why are we here that's literally what he's saying here is like what you don't have to worry anymore oh I don't
01:03:37
have to worry how about all these the problem is sitting up here and you're telling me that she could walk how about
01:03:42
all these women that are sitting here oh yeah telling me their experiences also what if she were to meet somebody as
01:03:47
equally depraved you're going to tell me that going happen again she'll go find it she [ __ ] has a type clearly well
01:03:53
and as he had done as he had done through most of the trial he used his closing arguments to put all of the
01:03:59
responsibility on Fred and reminded the jury that the case was almost entirely circumstantial and then he warned them
01:04:05
not to get caught up in the details about Fred and Rose's quote unquote unconventional sex
01:04:12
life I was like you sir unconventional honestly my antenna's up on you if that's what you call this like I'd be
01:04:20
like somebody needs to go search his [ __ ] hard drive what's going on there unon unconventional sex life is what
01:04:26
you're calling this that man practiced like I know you got a job I know you got a job to
01:04:33
do wow youed you Ed the phrase unconventional set you could have omitted that one he practiced that in
01:04:41
his closing arguments before standing up there in front of everybody you could have omitted that somebody probably
01:04:45
signed off on that and was like yeah good call yeah that's fine what the actual [ __ ] [ __ ] blew my mind
01:04:53
unconventional in the end the jury was thankfully pretty unmoved by Ferguson's argument thankfully yeah I mean you
01:05:02
never know how something's going to go but like in this I mean you're like come on my guy yeah and on November 22nd 1995
01:05:09
Rose West was found guilty of all 10 murders with the judge passing sentence the very same day good and judge mantel
01:05:19
said the sentence is one of life in prison if any attention is paid to what I think you will never be released and I
01:05:26
was like let's go yeah honestly judge Manel imposed the maximum penalty Allowed by
01:05:33
the law sentencing her to at least 25 years but in 1997 Home Secretary Jack straw citing the brutality of the case
01:05:42
because it is quite clearly above and beyond most cases 100% he imposed a whole life tariff meaning Rose would
01:05:51
spend the rest of her life in prison I've never even heard of that well this was only the second time the sentence
01:05:57
had been imposed on a woman in UK history wow and it's because it's so brutal they were like you can never
01:06:03
leave like we can never let you out that's crazy I want to look up the first person who got it I know I didn't I
01:06:08
didn't look it up I should have but yeah if you will look it up now Rose maintains her
01:06:13
innocence get so [ __ ] [ __ ] into the sun rose truly [ __ ] off but since her failed bid at an appeal in 1996 the year
01:06:23
that Ash came into this world hey she's declined to pursue any further appeals because one she knows she's guilty as
01:06:30
[ __ ] and two she knows she's not getting out interesting actually Myra Henley End
01:06:35
up wonder if it was Myra she's not the only one I think I wondered if it was Myra there's Myra and then there's
01:06:41
Joanna Deni oh okay I'm not sure I wondered if Myra was going to be in there so Fred and Rose West are among
01:06:50
clearly the most prolific and shocking and horrific and brutal and sadistic serial killers in the in UK history
01:06:59
definitely and their story and those of their victims honestly remains as horrifying and appalling today as it did
01:07:06
when they were first arrested and that's some 30 years ago but while Rose has been in prison since her sentencing the
01:07:12
story has continued to evolve in 1996 anarie Davis the West's oldest daughter alleged that her uncle John West had
01:07:22
sexually assaulted her more than 300 times between 1975 and 1980 oh no that's her
01:07:30
uncle according to anarie when she complained to Rose about the abuse her mother laughed and told her don't be
01:07:37
stupid don't don't be stupid about what John West was arrested and was facing a trial himself when he hanged himself in
01:07:46
his garage in November 1996 what yeah same fate wow now two years later in the spring of 1998 Fred's cousin William
01:07:57
Hill was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting four young girls in his home in M Markle in
01:08:04
1976 he was only 24 years old at the time oh my God what happened to this family this family is just has like
01:08:11
disgusting [ __ ] running deep he was questioned at the time and denied any involvement but and he wasn't arrested
01:08:18
until 1997 when more victims came forward oh no the this a pathology throughout this
01:08:24
family it is and while there's no question that Fred and Rose killed the 12 victims referenced in the court
01:08:30
documents investigators do believe there's more victims abut including Mary basol and efforts to recover their
01:08:37
bodies have been ongoing as recently as 2021 wow and recently investigators in Gloucester have been digging at several
01:08:44
sites around the city where Fred was known to have visited worked hung out anything but as of now they have yet to
01:08:50
find any additional victims you really I mean you hope that like there aren't any
01:08:57
Logics you that he didn't go that long like these these year periods and even like at one point there was an
01:09:04
eight-year period I just don't buy with how sick and twisted they were that they
01:09:08
didn't yeah that's you don't want there to be additional victims obviously but you also if they're missing persons that
01:09:16
are victims of them you want them to be found and identified yes exactly it it really is such a double-edged sword yeah
01:09:22
it just doesn't make sense that they're going these long periods of time but you
01:09:25
know I mean it happens strange I just feel like because of their pathology yeah they seem frenzied frenzi very
01:09:33
frenzied and very um it was almost like instinct to them like yeah it was like a
01:09:39
kneejerk kind of thing yep absolutely yeah it just seems like they wouldn't have taken that time but yeah who knows
01:09:46
but I'm glad that we got through the whole thing and that we were able to I feel like you did a really good job of
01:09:52
like telling each victim's story and like I feel like like I've said I've heard this case covered before but I
01:09:58
don't think I heard as much detail about each girl no thank you and honestly Dave
01:10:03
is a absolute I'm going to canonize him I think like he's a saint for for helping me with this because he was just
01:10:11
as like elbow deep as I was and I think we're both just like okay bye and he was so good at that and you
01:10:21
guys if you're looking if you do want to read anarie West's book is is out of the
01:10:26
Shadows we'll link it in the show notes and it's harrowing truly harrowing sounds like she went through so much
01:10:33
more than any of us could ever even imagine yeah it's truly unbelievable all right well you promised to do something
01:10:40
spooky yooki or like oh yeah I'm I'm taking a little bit of a turn we got something spooky coming from you next
01:10:48
yeah um and I think we'll have a listener Tale in between this and the next episode so that will be a nice
01:10:53
little pallet cleanser pal answer and in the meantime we hope you keep listening
01:10:57
and we hope you keep it weird you know I'm not going to tell you not to keep it this weird because that would be so
01:11:03
silly of me to say cuz I know you won't keep it us fa no by bye [Music] [Music] [Music]

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    Most heartbreaking
  • 90
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  • 90
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Episode Highlights

  • Sourdough Journey
    Ash shares her adventures in baking sourdough bread and the support from fans.
    “It's fun to tell!”
    @ 02m 00s
    May 27, 2024
  • Horrific Murders
    The discussion turns to the tragic story of Allison Chambers and the Wests' crimes.
    “It's gut-wrenching.”
    @ 09m 47s
    May 27, 2024
  • The Disappearance of Heather West
    Heather's sudden departure raises alarms for her sister May, who senses something is wrong.
    “Something didn't hit right for May.”
    @ 20m 50s
    May 27, 2024
  • The Horrific Truth
    May learns the devastating truth about her sister's fate at the hands of their parents.
    “Heather never came home, obviously.”
    @ 25m 07s
    May 27, 2024
  • Investigative Breakthrough
    A courageous victim's report leads to an investigation that uncovers the West family's dark secrets.
    “The courage of one of Fred's sexual assault victims.”
    @ 30m 06s
    May 27, 2024
  • Fred's Confession
    Fred West confesses to murdering Heather, but his motives are questioned.
    “Detective Savage, you're digging in the wrong place.”
    @ 39m 59s
    May 27, 2024
  • The Horrors Uncovered
    Investigators discover multiple bodies in the West's backyard, revealing a horrific truth.
    “If you can kill your own child, you are capable of a lot.”
    @ 40m 58s
    May 27, 2024
  • The Arrest
    Fred and Rose West are arrested for murder after the discovery of remains.
    “The police and missing persons Bureau was flooded with calls.”
    @ 42m 47s
    May 27, 2024
  • Fred's Death
    Fred West's suicide is met with relief from those affected by his crimes.
    “This is the best news I've heard for a long time.”
    @ 50m 51s
    May 27, 2024
  • Rose's Trial Begins
    Rose West's trial starts, revealing her active participation in the murders.
    “She was a very enthusiastic and active participant in the brutally violent sexual torture and murder.”
    @ 55m 50s
    May 27, 2024
  • Rose West's Sentencing
    On November 22, 1995, Rose West was found guilty of all 10 murders and sentenced to life in prison.
    “Good, and Judge Mantel said the sentence is one of life in prison.”
    @ 01h 05m 16s
    May 27, 2024
  • Continuing Investigations
    Investigators believe there may be more victims of Fred and Rose West, with ongoing efforts to recover bodies.
    “Efforts to recover their bodies have been ongoing as recently as 2021.”
    @ 01h 08m 37s
    May 27, 2024

Episode Quotes

  • It's hard out here in these streets.
    Fred & Rose West (Part 4) | Morbid | Podcast
  • I feel it in my gut.
    Fred & Rose West (Part 4) | Morbid | Podcast
  • I hope he is just living in a cyclic loop of brutal torture.
    Fred & Rose West (Part 4) | Morbid | Podcast
  • How could they ever know that I have 12 other bodies in this house?
    Fred & Rose West (Part 4) | Morbid | Podcast
  • He deserves everything that's waiting for him.
    Fred & Rose West (Part 4) | Morbid | Podcast
  • Rose would spend the rest of her life in prison.
    Fred & Rose West (Part 4) | Morbid | Podcast

Key Moments

  • Bread Journey03:35
  • Fantasy Life08:18
  • Sister's Disappearance20:27
  • Parental Manipulation23:23
  • Detective Investigation31:09
  • Arrest42:44
  • Trial53:18
  • Brutal Crimes1:05:51

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown