The horrifying case of Fred and Rose West's abuse and murder of multiple young women - including two of their own children - drew nationwide attention when it became publicly known in the 90s. Now, Netflix is re-examining the story in a docuseries, Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story.
While Fred took his own life before the murder trial was fully under way, he was previously convicted of child molestation, deception and actual bodily harm. Rose was convicted of ten counts of murder in late 1995 and sentenced to a whole life order, which she is currently serving in a Yorkshire prison. Both were investigated for child abuse in 1992, and Fred was charged with multiple counts of rape and one of buggery with Rose as an accomplice. The charges were dropped in 1993.
In February 1994, the police returned with a warrant to search the family home and garden, sadly finding the first body of many.
Speaking exclusively to Cosmopolitan UK, Rose's former solicitor of 12 years, Leo Goatley says there was plenty of evidence that never made it to the high-profile trial – some of which highlights just how incredibly sordid the Wests were and could have painted a clearer picture of just how many victims there were.
"The actual evidence heard at court, at the trial, was probably only 10 to 20% of the evidence the police had accumulated," Goatley explains.
"Back in the early noughties, I prepared an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission based on a number of things on, revisiting press coverage and payments to witnesses, but also the fact that a lot of material had disappeared between 92 and 94 that might have been helpful."
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He says, "It's pretty sordid. Fred, I believe, used to take Polaroid photographs of the women he abused. Really intimate photos, I think in the porn trade they call them 'hamburger shots', and there were a lot of these available at the child sex abuse hearings, and they'd all gone. They had disappeared."
This sick images, Goatley points out, could have "provided a number count, and also an opportunity for some sort of forensic consideration by an expert [of those photographs] that might have been helpful."
He adds that other material which would have been relevant to uncovering the truth was also seemingly thrown out or lost by the police in the time between the Wests being investigated following accusations and concerns of child abuse and the investigation turning into a murder case.
"There was other material, possibly some other home movies, there were photographs, there was paraphernalia," the solicitor who worked closely with Rose for many years says. "A lot of material had disappeared, and all the police could say was that it had been lost or it was thrown out after the collapse of the sexual abuse case in 1993. Given the fact the police had said they're not letting [the case] go, they're going to carry on, you think, 'Well, why did they get rid of all that material?'."
Goatley continues, "That was something that bothered me and but then Rose said, 'Look, I don't want you to continue with this application. I have decided I want to stay in prison'. So I said to 'Well, does that mean you're admitting these offences?' And she said 'no'."
The solicitor adds that he hasn't spoken to Rose for a number of years now, but more than twenty years after she was charged with the ten counts of murder she was ultimately found guilty of, he wrote to her in order to tell the killer that he too thought she was guilty.
Goatley says he received no reply from Rose.
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 author, documentary consultant (helping 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 numerous other 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.
