Forced to sleep on rotting bodies in a cellar, raped by her uncle aged five and forced to watch hardcore porn of her own mother - Mae's childhood sounds like something out of a horror film. Frederick Walter Stephen West was born on 29 September 1941, at Bickerton Cottage, Much Marcle, Herefordshire, the first surviving child of Walter Stephen West (1914-1992) and Daisy Hannah Hill (1922-1968). And why would Mum collude in the sexual abuse? We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. But she added: I probably asked mum about Mary when we were in safe houses. Prosecution believe she was abducted before being killed, with Fred West later building a fake chimney over her grave. Police said we were the best officers theyd known wed question mum about things that they had just told us. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk. MAE West, the daughter of Fred and Rosemary West, grew up in Britains House of Horrors, where nine of her parents victims were buried. "I had my son and stayed at home for far too long - I just didn't go out", she say. I often see cases in the news and wonder: What happened to the children?. Over the next several years, Lynda Gough, Lucy Partington, Juanita Mott, Therese Siegenthaler, Alison Chambers, Shirley Robinson and 15-year-old schoolgirls Carol Ann Cooper and Shirley Hubbard all became victims of the Wests. Mae said she had not spoken to her mother in 12 years and the pair are now so distant that she does not expect to be told when Rose dies. Rose was coercive, controlling and guilty of the awful crimes she so vehemently denied. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. He is one of eight children who grew up in the house of horrors. They were subjected to brutal sexual assaults by Fred, and sometimes Rose as well. More info. Her body was found in March 1994, 19 years later, with West having concreted over the floor of the cellar. Sometimes I think when the criminals are sorted out, people overlook their families, she says. The couple were married in 1972 in Gloucester, against the wishes of Rose's family who were worried about her being with an older man. Cops discovered the couple's house of horrors after Heather vanished at the age of 16. She put all her children into different boxes and my role was to care for her. Revealed: The top 10 fastest-growing destinations for UK pensioners retiring overseas. The sex was apparently consensual, and conducted while Stephen was working as a builder. She said: My daughter did go to a Halloween fancy dress ball and they [other party guests] went as mum and dadthey actually dressed as Fred and Rose West.. He committed suicide on January 1, 1995, in his cell at Birmingham Prison, where he was being held on remand. The notorious husband and wife were charged with the combined murders of 12 women at their home in Gloucester between 1967 and 1987, including the death of Mae's sister Heather. Forced to sleep on rotting bodies in a. Fred admitted to this monstrous catalogue of crimes, claiming hed acted alone. Rose West is currently imprisoned at HMP Low Newton in Durham, where guards are protecting her from other inmates. Mae West, 46, said she "knew immediately" her sister Heather was a victim. Speaking to Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain, she said: I just wish mum said her part in it, confess to what her part is, just to give closure to everybody., Asked if she ever feared she would be killed by her parents, Ms West said: I was probably better off if just left on the street You were not safe in that house., Of sexual abuse by her father she said: If you knew he was coming home youd make sure you had jeans on, go to bed fully dressed, or wed get up early in the morning dressed before, because hed just come into the room and rip the covers off.. Well have to keep an eye on you.'". To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Barry was the youngest biological son of Rose and Fred. There remains a widespread belief that Fred and Rose West's victims numbered far more than the 12 with which they were charged. Mr West was married with another daughter, prior to meeting Rose, but they murdered his previous wife, Catherine 'Rena' Costello. ITV documentary fronted by Trevor McDonald due to look back at her parents' heinous crimes was cancelled at the last minute, the truth about the Wests sadistic reign of terror, for Rose - who was working as a prostitute, now that I know there really were horrors under that floor, her mother every month in HMP Durham prison for ten years, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). I cant talk about how I feel, she says. Fred and Rose West were secretly married in Gloucester in January 1972, and their second daughter, Mae, was born in June of the same year. I did think he was definitely strange.. Heather resisted his attentions and, in 1987, told a friend about the goings on in the house. It was initially claimed she had moved to Scotland but her body was later found. Convicted of ten murders, she was sentenced to life imprisonment with a later order from the Home Secretary that she should never be released. He thought they were his property. Share Your Memories and Sympathies and Join the Bereaved! When I started to think about it all, doubts crept in. She recoils, still, from the memory of her parents grotesque lack of sexual inhibition. "We feel stigmatised, of course we do. Rosemary "Rose" Letts was born in Devon on November 29, 1953, the result of a difficult pregnancy, with both of her parents suffering from mental illness. She never said anything. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. It's suspected he may have died of an overdose after fighting a lengthy battle with drug addiction and severe mental health issues as a result of the abuse he suffered from his parents growing up. Asked how many women she believed her parents murdered she said altogether maybe 30 more. I know I cant work with children, and its about self-protection as much as anything, because if something happened to a child in my care if they fell and hurt themselves Id be blamed because of my background. In February 1994, a warrant was obtained to search the Cromwell Street house and garden. "I just hid for eight years.". She claimed that Dad influenced and controlled her and that shed made a pact to stay with him as long as he didnt harm us kids. Mary was last seen at a bus stop in. The second of eight children the couple had together, her older sister Heather, 16, and step-sister Charmaine, eight, were among the 11 known victims of Fred West. It had become a burden.". The 1996 appeal was rejected, and she dropped the later one. And I have all these anxieties about my son finding out about his grandparents. I just wish shed tell the truth to the authorities, then wed all know, wouldnt we?. Her mutilated corpse was dug up at their Gloucester semi by police who were stunned to find eight other bodies. THE daughter of notorious serial killer couple Fred and Rose West has opened up about life in UK's "House of Horrors". When West's first wife, Rena, came in search of her daughter, she was strangled, dismembered and also had her fingers and toes removed. She stopped writing to me. 25 as a torture chamber, and his daughter, Anna Marie, became one of its first occupants, subjected to a horrifically brutal rape by her father while her stepmother held her down. Mae told how her half-sister Anna Marie was raped by Fred as an eight-year-old with Rose a participant in the assault. Cops discovered the sexually depraved couple would pick up or abduct girls from bus stops around Gloucester and imprison and torture them for several days before killing them. In the course of the investigation, Savage uncovered the abuse of Anna Marie as well as the disappearances of Charmaine and Heather, warranting further investigation. It became known as the House of Horrors after police excavations unearthed a series of dismembered female bodies in the basement and under the patio. It is a moment of profound sadness. But he couldnt get in, and Im sure its because hes married to me. Its dealing with the present. In the summer of 1974, Ms Mott moved into 25 Cromwell Street but later went missing when she was living in Newent. Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Mae said: "In the 70s I was really young, I knew we had tenants and it was normal to see people come in and out. Not only did she have a close bond with her siblings, Rose taught her to crochet and was a wonderful cook who would make traditional roast dinners, plum puddings andiced cakes for their birthdays. Rose West refused to accept her fate and launched appeals in 1996 and 2000, claiming variously that new evidence clearing her had come to light, and then that huge media interest had prevented her from receiving a fair trial. "I remember there was a chest down there, a sort of toy box, and wed jump onto it and pretend it was a boat while we waited for Mum to come and let us out. Sorry, we are unable to accept comments about this article at the moment. I learnt strategies for coping and Im still hyper-vigilant. Her defense counsel tried to argue that evidence of assault was not evidence of murder but, when Rose testified on her own behalf, her violent nature and dishonesty became clear to the jury, and they unanimously found her guilty on 10 separate counts of murder on November 22, 1995. The West marriage became increasingly unstable and Rena returned to Scotland, leaving her children with West and McFall, but she returned some months later to find them living together in a caravan. How on earth did the West children, also victims of their parents sexual and/or physical abuse, cope with the appalling knowledge that their mother and father were guilty of such unspeakable crimes? It's GRAYGATE! The relationship was discovered after the child became pregnant and Stephen took her to a clinic for an abortion. Specially the bit where Bambis mother dies.. Imagine then being the daughter of Fred West, daughter of a real life Cronus, devourer of his own children. Rosemary claimed the little girl been taken by her mother, but her skeleton was found at the Midland Road property, hidden and missing bones. Ms West said her own son had never asked Wheres your mum and dad? and that her daughter had never really talked about it. In its place is a pathway that leads to the town center. According to some researchers, this profession may have catalyzed his morbid obsession with death, mutilation and dismemberment. You would never guess from her life today a stable marriage, two children, a comfortable, modern home in a smart enclave of a historic English town the depths of horror and depravity that scarred her childhood. Picture: Rex Features She will, however, always hold fast to one link with her past: she remains in touch with all her siblings. When questioned, Rosemary West, herself pregnant with her daughter Tara at the time of the murder, claimed she did not remember her, which was described as ludicrous by the prosecution. By this time, Rose earned extra money as a prostitute and West committed acts of bondage and violent sex acts on underage girls. Fred and Rose West are two of the UKs most notorious serial killers. Because I wasn't his daughter he left me alone.". I thought: Shes not going to give me an honest answer for all her promises. And she never has done. West didn't do well in school and eventually dropped out to become a farm laborer. But Assistant Chief Constable Julian Moss said: All reasonable lines of inquiry were explored at the time and there are no new ones for us to investigate.. We had normal meal times, tv times. Mae, the second eldest of the West children, has recalled what it was really like growing up with Fred and Rose West as parents News. Witnesses, including stepdaughter Anna Marie, testified to her participation in sexual assaults on young women. Around 30 men marched up a busy street in Sydneys inner west on Friday night chanting the Hail Mary sparked by a joke about Jesus by a queer comedian. The crimes of Maes parents, Fred and Rosemary West, were so heinous they appalled and transfixed the world. West claimed sole responsibility for the murders and, when Rose heard of the confession, she denied all knowledge of Heather's death. Rose West 'believes she will be forgiven by God' and goes to weekly chapel services, Killer Rose West has grown a moustache that other lags find scary, Did Fred West murder MORE victims? Glover disputed that there was an engagement and said the media attention over his letters to Rose had cost him his position with the band. He was born in 1973 and is the third child of the evil couple. Early life Childhood. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Adnan Syed: A Complete Timeline of His Trial, Appeal and Killing of Hae Min Lee. Mae West, now 46, cut off contact with her mother after the convicted serial killer refused to give her straight answers about the death of her sister Heather. All times AEDT (GMT +11). We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Her father killed . You can unsubscribe at any time. ", "She's never talked about it. Composed in demeanour, softly spoken, articulate, likeable and with a quiet line in ironic humour, she speaks powerfully on behalf of the tiny but forgotten minority to which she belongs. Mae has started working again she has a job in retail which she says is a giant step forward and she hopes one day to take a university degree, a long-term ambition she would never have realised in her teens as her parents believed a womans sole job was to breed. With Heather, we thought she had run away., But she added of growing up in the house: There was a lot of normality to it. 25, where son Stephen was forced to assist with digging the hole. Rena moved into the caravan following McFall's disappearance. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. and I dont think he did. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. At the time they met Rose was just 15-years-old and Fred was 28-years-old. She also went on to write a book about her relationship with her parents, titled, Love as Always, mum after receiving letters from her mum in prison. Mae West and her siblings were subject to numerous sexual and physical assaults by her father while living in the murderous couple's so-called 'House of Horrors'. I think he stopped using the house.. He fitted out the cellar at No. Picture: Tim O'Sullivan Despite having moved on, Mae who detailed her battle with anxiety and a fear of rejection said she still thinks about Heather often and was close to her younger siblings, feeling she was like a mother to them too. In the past, if people asked: Are you Mae West? Id say Yes and feel I had to tell them my whole life story. The last murder with a sexual motive established. They would give you a bucket at night and the light bulb would be taken out and the doors locked. Establishing the identities of each victim was a mammoth task. But the monstrous pair had strangled her and cut off her head. Here's everything you need to know about their children Rose was the mother of eight children, five of those children were fathered by Fred, while three were fathered by clients she met through her prostitution. As the case against them developed, Rose tried increasingly to distance herself from West, claiming that she was also a victim, but police were not convinced of her innocence given the sheer number of murders which had occurred and her participation in the rapes. She learned, too, from her early childhood when she was raped by her uncle, to shut off her emotions. Her mother, Daisy, moved out of the family home, taking Rose with her. "I cut her legs off with that and I'm not telling you I have lived that a million times doing that since then and then I cut her head off and then I put her in the bin and put the lid on and rolled it down to the bottom of the garden behind the Wendy house," he told police. Actually, were very lucky., MONDAY: Mae West starts her incredible story. But the spectre of her parents crimes still haunts her. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. He was found dead at a hostel in Maidstone, Kent in 2020. The first child born to Fred and Rosemary West, there is no evidence she was aware of the killings. Im alert to all the awful stuff that can happen. If that was the case, why didnt she leave when Heather went missing? We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. On December 13, 1994, West was charged on 12 counts of murder and taken into custody at Winson Green Prison in Birmingham, where, on January 1, 1995, he hung himself in his cell with knotted bed sheets. 2021 Associated Newspapers Limited. Fred and Rose's eldest biological child, Heather, was subject to equally revolting treatment from her parents. Photo: Universal History Archive/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images, Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Fred West, Birth Year: 1941, Birth date: September 29, 1941, Birth City: Much Marcle, England, Birth Country: United Kingdom.