Rose West’s lawyer reveals what her life in prison is like now and his damning letter to her

Removed from a long-running household joke, this sadly turned out to be true. And it wasn’t solely Heather West’s physique that police would uncover within the ‘home of horrors’.

In whole, 12 victims have been uncovered, with 9 our bodies discovered on the Wests’ residence on 25 Cromwell Road, Gloucester, an additional two in a area close to Herefordshire and a single physique discovered on the couple’s former residence on Midland Road, Gloucester. It is thought there are a lot of others on the market, with the overall quantity who perished by the hands of the Wests remaining unknown.

The twelve identified victims of Fred and Rose West

Disturbing particulars and the variety of victims apart, the case additionally drew widespread consideration partly owing to the connection between Fred and Rose, with Fred initially seeming eager to guard his spouse from scrutiny the general public eye and take in all blame himself.

Later, it could transpire that Rose wasn’t as harmless as she appeared when it got here to not solely cruising for susceptible younger feminine victims, however attacking them too. Finally, Rose West was discovered responsible of ten counts of homicide and sentenced to life in jail.

She has at all times maintained her innocence and tried to enchantment following the decision.

However, her former lawyer of 12 years, Leo Goatley, tells Cosmopolitan UK, it could nonetheless be true that Rose was a sufferer of Fred herself, in addition to a perpetrator. He grew to become concerned with the Wests in 1992, after native youngsters enjoying on Cromwell Road raised the alarm to police that one thing was amiss within the West family.

This is what Goatley has to say on Fred and Rose West now, greater than 30 years down the road, and the damning letter he not too long ago wrote to his former consumer.

“Things were initially triggered when children playing on Cromwell Street told the police officer that one of their friends was being abused by their dad, and that resulted in Fred and Rose West being arrested on suspicion of child abuse,” he recollects. “The case really snowballed from there, so that all the younger children in the West family were taken into care.

“Legal proceedings really collapsed in 1993 referring to the [alleged] sexual abuse as a result of the youngsters refused to provide proof in opposition to their dad and mom, however the police stated, ‘Look, we have not completed with this’ and so they’d ask ‘Nicely, what’s Heather [West, one of the older children] doing now?’ as a result of Heather wasn’t about. There was no medical file for Heather, no employment file, after which there have been rumours, household jokes, about Heather being buried within the backyard. The police determined to take this severely, obtained the warrant in February 1994 and began digging the backyard. The remaining is historical past.”

Despite how she’s branded by most as being evil and sadistic, Goatley describes Rose as having been a ‘good client’ and relatively easy to work with. He says Fred didn’t want anything to do with him, however.

“It was a controlling factor, and Rose determined she did not need to have the identical solicitor as Fred,” the expert recalls. “I believe she was nearly happy to have a voice to hearken to apart from Fred’s. Generally she can be withdrawn and he or she would watch out about what she did say, as a result of I’ve little question she had a whole lot of secrets and techniques that she did not need to expose, however clearly she needed a sympathetic defence.”

A young Rose West with her husband, Fred

Goatley remembers that Rose could also have her “emotional moments, she might be fairly shrill and screech”. Usually her venom was directed at Fred, he adds, but also at the police and social services. “In contrast with some purchasers I would had, as a result of these are immensely emotional occasions with individuals are dealing with very critical offences, I did not assume she was a nasty consumer in any respect.”

As for whether or not she ever confessed in private, Goatley says Rose maintained her innocence behind the scenes, too. “I felt that she will need to have identified one thing, however she stated she was harmless of the homicide and that was what she was happening trial for.”

Her culpability is complex, says the solicitor. “She was such a younger girl when all this began; she was pregnant at 16. I believe Fred groomed her, it could be known as grooming now.”

It’s Goatley’s belief that the dark sexual fantasies and violence stemmed from Fred, but as a damaged young woman Rose was drawn in. “She’d already been terribly sexually abused by her father and whereas she was simply manipulated, she additionally had a vile, foul mood. I believe it is in all probability not at all times understood that these [killings] would not have occurred if it hadn’t been for the bizarre concepts in Fred’s head. However as soon as they occurred, it could have unleashed one thing in Rose which may have been fairly horrible. That is my very own perception.”

Fred also allegedly forced Rose to go out and have sex with other men, which she told her legal team she didn’t always want to do: as a mother with a large family, sometimes she’d have preferred to stay home sewing school uniforms.

“[I think] as a result of Rose was a lady, it was this concept that by some means she was worse [than Fred]. An entire betrayal of humanity and the understanding of the position of a mom,” Goatley theorises, when it comes to the enduring fascination with the case.

“She wasn’t an instigator. All of those bizarre issues would not have occurred, I do not assume, if she’d by no means have met Fred West. I do not assume she’d have ever obtained concerned in killing, whereas Fred West had already murdered earlier than he met Rose West [he killed Ann McFall who was pregnant with his baby in 1967].”

Rarely, says the insider into the case, who recalls seeing Rose cry only twice throughout the 12 years of being instructed by her: once when she was arrested for the murder of Heather and a second time when she was being taken down to the cells after being convicted of ten murders.

“I do not know whether or not there could have been self pity in that,” Goatley notes. “When she was crying, when she was initially arrested in February 1994 for Heather’s homicide, she was additionally cursing Fred West, saying she wished she had by no means met that man and this type of factor.”

One question that many who are familiar with the case have is why didn’t Fred kill Rose too, given she would fit in with his pattern of targeting young and vulnerable women. Why did Rose survive while his other lovers, such as Ann McFall, met an unthinkable end? Goatley suspects it may be because Rose showed herself to be a willing accomplice in Fred’s sick escapades from the start.

Rose’s time in prison has been up and down, from what Goatley can gather – with her cell even having been lit on fire at one point. She is currently in HM Prison New Hall, West Yorkshire.

“If she wrote to me, it was usually about issues taking place within the jail the place she was,” he says. “They’d have these routine cell searches, and he or she’d have to maneuver all her issues out of her cell, which she discovered very disruptive. Additionally, the jail regime modifications over time. Initially, she was on a wing, and so they have been all lifers, so that they felt pretty settled and had routines. They then introduced youthful girls prisoners in, who have been in for 12 months, 18 months, who have been fairly wild and have been out for fights to indicate who had the bragging rights, this type of factor.”

This brought about some issue, the solicitor shares. “Some folks have been making an attempt to set hearth to Rose’s cell and he or she had issues within the kitchen. Past that, the regime stopped giving courses. She appreciated to go and do stitching or no matter. It would not shock me if she was a mannequin prisoner, however when another person kicks off, I’ve little question Rose would stand as much as them. She wasn’t frightened. I believe it is in all probability extra settled now.”

Fred and Rose West’s former home during demolition after their crimes came to light

It’s a challenging role to represent someone in a case as controversial as the one surrounding the vile acts of Fred and Rose West, and Goatley reveals that he sent Rose a letter years after the guilty verdict was delivered – telling her that even he, as her solicitor, agreed with it. Perhaps not in the sense that Rose physically carried out any murders, but that she was guilty of doing nothing to stop them and playing a part in leading to them happening.

“I did write to her a few years in the past, perhaps three years in the past, to say that I concluded that she was clearly responsible, as a result of I hadn’t stated you are responsible,” he says, highlighting that there are varying degrees of guilt. “I used to be form of on the fence, I suppose, with that for a few years, however I concluded that she was responsible. She will need to have identified what Fred was doing. In among the circumstances, due to all of the injury in her childhood and abuse, she could have taken a lead in among the violence. So I did confront her on this letter and say that. I did not say all that, I simply stated ‘I believe you are responsible’. However I did not get a reply.”

Goatley is sure that even if Rose denies it, she must know more about Fred’s actions than she lets on. “She’d be doing herself a whole lot of good and an amazing service to if she is aware of something, to inform the authorities in order that there might be closure for different victims.”

 Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK’s multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She’s grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published writer, documentary marketing consultant (serving to to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and quite a few different publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.