Fred West news: Police begin drilling in cafe basement in search for serial killer’s suspected victim
Latest developments in hunt for teenager Mary Bastholm who disappeated in 1968
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Police have begun work to drill through the cellar of a cafe in Gloucester in search of the body of Mary Bastholm, a suspected victim of serial killer Fred West.
Forensic archaeologists are carrying out excavations at the Clean Plate cafe in Southgate Street in connection with the disappearance of the teenager, who was last seen alive in January 1968.
Gloucestershire Police had received possible evidence from a TV production company to suggest the body of the missing girl could be buried at the location.
Investigators found a number of structural anomalies within the cellar that warrant further exploration and six voids in the floor will be examined. West, who died in prison in 1995 aged 53, was previously suspected over Mary's disappearance.
However the former lawyer for Rose West, Leo Goatley, told The Independent he believed the “voids” were unlikely to be connected to Bastholm.
Read more:
Rose West’s daughter fears her mother could keep location of possible victim a secret
Rose West’s daughter believes her mother may never reveal secrets about a teenager feared to be one of his murder victims.
Asked if she thought her mother would give information about suspected victim Mary Bastholm, the West’s daughter, Mae, said: “She won’t. I think Mary’s murder was before her time but how do I know what they discussed?
“I probably asked mum about Mary when we were in safe houses. Police said we were the best officers they’d known – we’d question mum about things that they had just told us.
“She never said anything. I don’t know how she would have known, because mum would have been 15 when Mary disappeared.
“That’s not to say that they didn’t speak about it between them.”
Here is the story:
Serial killer Fred West’s daughter fears her mum could keep location of possible victim a secret
Police are searching cafe in hunt for Mary Bastholm’s remains
The crimes of Fred and Rose West
Here is a timeline of the crimes of Fred and Rose West and the “House of Horrors” at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester.
1968 - January 6: 15-year-old Mary Bastholm, who worked at the Pop In cafe in Gloucester, last seen alive at a bus stop on Bristol Road in the city.
1969 - November: Shortly after her 16th birthday Rosemary Letts leaves her parents’ home in Bishops Cleeve, near Cheltenham, to live with Fred West.
1970 - July: Fred West, Rosemary Letts move to 25 Midland Road in Gloucester.
- October 17: Heather West born to Rose Letts and Fred West.
1971 - June: Rosemary Letts murders Charmaine West at 25 Midland Road while Fred West is in prison. When he is released, he buries her body at the property.
1972 - January 29: Fred West and Rosemary Letts marry in Gloucester. The West family move from Midland Road to 25 Cromwell Street.
1987 - June: Fred and Rosemary West murder Heather West at 25 Cromwell Street.
1994 - February 23: Gloucester magistrates give police warrant to search rear garden at 25 Cromwell Street.
- February 25: Fred and Rosemary West arrested on suspicion of murdering their daughter Heather.
- February 26: Fred and Rosemary West arrested on suspicion of murdering Shirley Anne Robinson and an unnamed woman. The first body - Heather’s - is discovered in the garden.
- February 28: Fred West appears in court, charged with murdering Heather. Police find second and third bodies - Alison Chambers and Shirley Robinson - in garden.
- March 5: Ground-penetrating radar, used for first time, gives positive readings. Fourth and fifth bodies - Therese Siegenthaler and Shirley Hubbard - found in the basement.
- March 6: Sixth body - Lucy Partington - found in basement.
- March 7: Seventh, eighth and ninth bodies - Juanita Mott, Lynda Gough, and Carole Ann Cooper - found in cellar and bathroom areas.
- March 10: Fred West in court charged with five murders. Police appeal for “missing” youngsters to contact their homes.
- March 29: Police start digging at Letterbox Field, Kempley.
- April 10: Tenth body - Fred West‘s first wife, Catherine - found at Letterbox field after 13 days of digging.
- April 13: Digging starts at Fingerpost field, Kempley.
- April 24: Rosemary West charged, jointly with Fred West, with murdering Lynda Gough.
- April 25: Police start searching 25 Midland Road, Gloucester.
- April 28: Search at 25 Cromwell Street ends after 55 days.
- May 4: Eleventh body - eight-year-old Charmaine West - found at 25 Midland Road.
- June 7: Twelfth body - nanny Anne McFall - and bones of her unborn baby found at Fingerpost field after 56-day search.
- July 4: Fred West appears at Gloucester magistrates’ court on the 12th murder charge.
1995 - January 1: Fred West found hanged in his cell at Winson Green Prison, Birmingham.
- January 13: Rosemary West charged with murdering her step-daughter Charmaine - the 10th charge against her.
- October 3: Trial of Rosemary West on 10 murder charges begins.
- November 22: Rosemary West found guilty of 10 murders. Trial judge sentences her to life in prison and warns it is likely she will never be released from prison.
1996 - March: Rosemary West‘s appeal against conviction rejected by the Court of Appeal.
1997 - July: Home Secretary changes Rosemary West‘s sentence to a whole life tarrif.
Rose West's former lawyer doubts ‘voids linked to serial killer’
The victims of Fred and Rose West
The House of Horrors inquiry led to the eventual discovery of the bodies of 12 young women and girls.
Here is a list provided by the PA news agency of the victims, in order of their disappearance:
- Anne McFall: Scots-born Anne, believed to be Fred West‘s first victim, was just 18 and pregnant when she disappeared in May 1967. Anne was nanny to Fred‘s children and lived with him in his caravan, becoming his lover during one of the periods when his wife was away. He was the father of her child.
Her skeletal remains, with the remains of her unborn baby, were found in a field at Kempley, near Fred West‘s home village of Much Marcle.
- Catherine ‘Rena’ Costello: Fred West‘s first wife - and his second victim - left him for the last time in 1969. Fred was by now having an affair with 15-year-old Rosemary Letts, who subsequently became his wife.
They had married at Ledbury in 1962, when Catherine was pregnant with Charmaine, who was fathered by another man. Her remains were found at a field in Kempley close to where Anne McFall was buried.
Fred and Rosemary West were involved together in the murders of the following 10 victims:
- Charmaine West: Charmaine was just eight years old when she disappeared in 1971. Her skeletal remains were found buried under the kitchen window at 25 Midland Road, Gloucester.
- Lynda Gough: She was friendly with lodgers at 25 Cromwell Street and was known to have sex with them. She vanished in April 1973 and her parents reported her missing. Lynda’s remains were found in a former car inspection pit in a garage which had been converted to a bathroom at 25 Cromwell Street.
- Carole Ann Cooper: She disappeared after getting on a bus to return to the home after a night out on November 10, 1973. Detectives concluded the Wests picked her up while she was hitch-hiking. Her body was found buried in the cellar at 25 Cromwell Street.
- Lucy Partington: The 21-year-old university student disappeared two days after Christmas 1973. It is thought that the Wests picked her up as she waited for a bus to her home at Gretton, near Winchcombe. Her mother reported her missing to police, sparking a massive search. Lucy’s remains were found under the floor of the cellar at 25 Cromwell Street.
- Therese Siegenthaler: Swiss-born Therese, 21, a student at a London college, disappeared at Easter 1974 after setting out to hitch-hike to Ireland to visit a friend who was a priest. She had no known connection with Fred and Rosemary West. Her remains were found under the floor of the cellar at 25 Cromwell Street.
- Shirley Hubbard: Shirley, 15, was the youngest of the victims to be found at Cromwell Street. She was reported missing to police, but no trace of her was found. Her remains were found under the floor of the cellar at Cromwell Street.
- Juanita Mott: Junita was just 18 when she vanished, a day before a friend’s wedding in April 1975. Her remains were found in the cellar of 25 Cromwell Street.
Soon after Juanita’s death the floor of the cellar - the bodies beneath arranged neatly in a clockwise fashion - was concreted over, and the room was turned into a bedroom for the Wests’ children.
- Shirley Anne Robinson: Shirley Anne lodged with Fred and Rosemary West and became Fred‘s lover. She also became pregnant by Fred. Shirley Anne was last seen in May 1978 when she was about eight months pregnant. Her body, with the foetus of her unborn child, was found buried in the garden at the Wests’ home.
- Alison Chambers: Alison, who lived in a children’s home, was a frequent visitor to 25 Cromwell Street. She disappeared in August 1979 shortly before her 17th birthday. Alison’s remains were found in the garden at 25 Cromwell Street.
- Heather West: Heather, who was 16 when she was murdered in 1987, was the first victim whose body was found at 25 Cromwell Street but the last victim of the Wests’ killing spree. She was the first child of Fred and Rosemary West.
Her parents never reported her missing, although they told various people that they had. In reality, Heather had been murdered and buried under the garden patio.
Digging equipment taken to Fred West site
Here is footage from a little earlier today of digging equipment being taken to the site of the excavation.
Police are continuing to search the area for clues about the whereabouts of Mary Bastholm.
How Rose West became most notorious female mass killer in Britain since Myra Hindley
Rosemary West became the most notorious female mass killer in Britain since Myra Hindley when she was jailed in 1995 for the murder of 10 young girls and women.
With her husband Fred West, Rose preyed on vulnerable young girls and women to play out their sick sexual fantasies, which eventually led to murder.
In one of the major trials of the 20th century, West, 46, was jailed for life after being found guilty of 10 murders at her trial at Winchester Crown Court.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Mantell, told West he hoped she would never be released when the jury found her guilty of murdering her eldest daughter Heather, 16, stepdaughter Charmaine, eight, her husband Fred‘s pregnant lover Shirley Anne Robinson, 18, Lynda Gough, 19, Carol Ann Cooper, 15, Lucy Partington, 21, Therese Siegenthaler, 21, Shirley Hubbard, 15, Juanita Mott, 18, and Alison Chambers, 17.
In a bizarre twist, her builder husband hanged himself in his remand cell at Winston Green jail, Birmingham, on New Year’s Day 1995 before facing trial.
He was accused jointly on the 10 counts and alone faced further charges alleging the murder of his first wife, Catherine Costello, 26, and girlfriend Anne McFall, 18.
The “House of Horrors” at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, became one of the most notorious addresses in the country after police discovered the bodies of nine women, including their daughter Heather, buried in the cellar and garden of the terraced house.
Former journalist thinks he was last person to see teenager alive
A former journalist believes he may have been the last person to see a teenager alive before she was taken by serial killer Fred West.
Alan Watkins has spoken out as police in Gloucester carry out excavation work in the basement below a cafe in the city.
Officers and forensic teams are looking for the remains of Mary Bastholm who went missing in 1968.
Police revealed an ITV production crew filming a documentary at the Clean Plate Cafe tipped them off after finding an image of blue material in one area of the cellar - the same colour as the coat Mary was wearing when she vanished.
Retired reporter Mr Watkins witnessed the 15-year-old waiting at a bus stop before being picked up and driven away in a grey van.
The 74-year-old, who worked for a news agency and the Gloucester Citizen newspaper, told a senior police officer what he had seen the next day at a press conference in which an appeal was launched for the missing waitress.
But he says his information, although described by the inspector as “very interesting”, was not followed up. Speaking from his home in Rainham, Kent, Mr Watkins said: “Looking back, it makes me angry.
“I assumed the information I gave would be processed through the normal channels.”
As a reporter Mr Watkins covered the horrific Fred West case and visited Mary’s parents, who have since passed away.
He said: “They were lovely people. I feel angry they died not knowing, and not being able to mourn because they did not know what happened to their daughter.
“I think the police owed it to them to follow up my information.”
On the night of her disappearance, he had been waiting for a bus when he noticed the young girl at the stop opposite before the van pulled up to her.
He said: “I was aware that she was there because it was unusual to see somebody at that bus stop at that time of night. But I didn’t really take much notice.
“I saw that she was talking to somebody inside the van. I couldn’t tell if there was more than one person, or if it was a man or woman. The next thing, she was gone and my bus arrived.”
Additional reporting by SWNS