FRED West’s biographer has revealed that he always believed that the serial killer was responsible for the disappearance of Mary Bastholm.
Author and journalist Geoffrey Wansell, who was commissioned to write ‘An Evil Love, The Life of Frederick West’ by The Official Solicitor in 1995, says he always knew West killed the schoolgirl.
He told The Sun: “I’ve always believed West had a hand in Mary Bastholm’s disappearance. I’ve never doubted it, I’ve written it consistently.
“She disappeared off the face of the earth but it was clear West was involved.”
Meanwhile, cops are digging beneath a cafe today in the hope of finding the remains of a schoolgirl feared murdered by serial killer Fred West.
Bastholm, 15, was last seen on 6 January 1968 in Gloucester while waiting for a bus on her way to see her boyfriend.
Although she was never seen again and her body has never been found, cops believe she is likely to have been offered a lift by serial killer Fred West and then murdered.
Tragically both her parents passed away before discovering what happened to their daughter.
But The Sun today exclusively revealed that in an “extraordinary development” 26 years after West killed himself, police are excavating the basement of Gloucester’s Clean Plate cafe where Mary worked as a waitress.
Cops are warning the search, which has been launched following a “recent discovery” could take a “number of weeks”.
Follow our Fred West dig live blog below for up the minute updates
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WHO WERE PRISON MATES WITH ROSE WEST?
Marisa Merico and Linda Calvey were prison-mates with notorious serial killer Rose West.
Rose West also had a relationship with prison mate Myra Hindley.
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THE LATEST IN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARY BASTHOLM
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HOW DID FRED WEST DIE?
The notorious serial killer had been on strict suicide watch ahead of his trial.
But these were relaxed and he hanged himself on January 1, 1995 in his cell.
Fred West left a suicide note, which featured a drawing of a gravestone and a message to his wife Rose.
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WHO WERE THE SERIAL KILLERS’ VICTIMS?
Police uncovered a number of mutilated female bodies in the garden and cellar of the Wests’ Gloucestershire home.
In 1995 Rose was convicted of 10 murders, while Fred who admitted 12 murders hanged himself while on remand in prison.
He had confessed to killing up to 30 victims.
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HOW MANY CHILDREN DID THE WESTS HAVE TOGETHER?
Rose was often pregnant and was the mother of eight children.
Five of her children were fathered by Fred, while three were fathered by clients she met through her prostitution.
Fred also had another daughter, Anne Marie, from his first marriage which ended in 1971 – when the maniac murdered her mum Catherine.
He went on to have two other girls, Heather Ann and Mae, with partner-in-crime Rose — plus a son, Stephen.
Tragically, Heather became the couple’s final murder victim in 1987.
Cops discovered the couple’s house of horrors after Heather vanished at the age of 17.
The monstrous pair had strangled her and cut off her head. Her mutilated corpse was dug up at their Gloucester semi by police — who were stunned to find eight other bodies.
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HOW DID FRED MEET ROSE?
Fred met Rose, who was born in Northam, Devon, at Cheltenham bus station.
He was 28 and she was just 15 at the time.
Fred, then living in a caravan, pursued the teenager and within weeks she became a nanny to his children Charmaine and Anna Marie.
Her father Bill, a paranoid schizophrenic who repeatedly sexually abused Rose, disapproved of the relationship and threatened Fred.
The couple moved to a flat in Gloucester and Rose began working as prostitute.
They married in secret in January 1972 and, a few months later, they moved to 25 Cromwell Street.
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WHO WAS FRED WEST?
Fred West was born in Much Marcle, a village in Herefordshire, in September 1941 – and went on to become one of Britain’s worst serial killers.
He and wife Rose abducted, tortured, raped and murdered young women over 20 years – and buried many of them under the floorboards of their home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester.
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WEST’S VICTIM – CHARMAINE WEST
Charmaine West was Fred’s step-daughter from his marriage to Rena – she was eight years old at the time of her murder.
Although Rena was married to Fred when Charmaine was born, Fred wasn’t her biological father. Fred was actually in prison for the theft of car tyres and a tax disc at the time of Charmaine’s killing in June 1971.
Her body was kept in the coal cellar at their house in Midland Road, Gloucester until Fred was released from prison. He buried her remains in the garden – when exhumed in 1994, bones were missing from Charmaine’s skeleton.
They were thought to have been stashed as keepsakes. Rose was convicted of her murder in 1995.
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‘WHY HER?’
Cops began digging for a body yesterday at a cafe where serial killer Fred West was a regular and did building work.
A close friend of Mary’s remaining family said last night: “This has come as such a shock after all these years. The first we knew of the police activity at the cafe was a news alert about The Sun’s story online today.
“It would be wonderful to finally have some closure. Not a day goes by when we don’t think of Mary. She was such a sweet and quiet girl. We’ve always thought, ‘why her?’.
“If Rose West had spoken up, we wouldn’t have had all these years of uncertainty. She could have ended this years ago. That’s evil to keep people waiting.”
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DID ROSE WEST HELP ABDUCT MARY BASTHOLM?
The last life Fred West took was his own, denying his victims’ families the right to see him brought to justice as one of the worst serial killers in British history.
So it’s not known whether his wife, Rose West, helped him abduct Mary Bastholm.
With the help of Rose, Fred murdered at least 12 young women – most were raped, tortured and mutilated before being killed.
The evil couple would then bury their victims’ remains in the cellar or their house of horrors at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester.
Fred’s killing is thought to have began in 1967 and ended in 1987, some seven years before his arrest in 1994.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO MARY BASTHOLM?
Mary was just 15 years old when she was reported missing on January 6, 1968, and she has never been seen or found ever since then. She is believed to have been offered a lift by serial killer Fred West and then murdered.
Her mysterious disappearance had been linked to the serial killer as he was a regular customer at the cafe – then known as the Pop-In – when Mary vanished in Gloucester.
In 1970, Mary’s mum and dad, Doreen and Christian Bastholm spoke about the last time they saw their daughter, alongside her boyfriend, Tim Merrett, who had been expecting to meet her off the bus in Hardwicke, a village just outside Gloucester.
Asked to recall the last time they’d seen their daughter, Doreen told ATV’s Alan Jones: “Well, she came home about half past six, and had her tea, and sat in this corner, where I’m sitting and enjoyed the Bernie Winter [comedy TV] show.
“She went out about between 10 and quarter past seven with a carrier bag with a Monopoly set in to catch the 25 past bus at the end of Tuffley Avenue.
“And that was the last we saw of her.” -
WHAT HAPPENED TO FRED’S FIRST ALLEGED VICTIM, ANNA MCFALL?
The nanny of Fred and Rena West’s children, McFall was believed to have been murdered in 1967.
She was pregnant when she died, with West believed to have been the father. Her body was found in June 1994 in a shallow grave.
Fred West denied murdering McFall but he is said to have confided to a visitor after his arrest that he stabbed her following an argument.
This happened before Rosemary West met him.
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WEST SHOCK
Fred West’s official biographer has revealed he always believed the sadistic killer was responsible for the disappearance of waitress Mary Bastholm.
Now in an “extraordinary development”, 26 years after West killed himself, police are excavating the basement of the Clean Plate cafe in Gloucester where Mary worked as a waitress.
And author and journalist Geoffrey Wansell, who was commissioned to write ‘An Evil Love, The Life of Frederick West’ by The Official Solicitor in 1995, says he always knew he killed the schoolgirl.
He told The Sun: “I’ve always believed West had a hand in Mary Bastholm’s disappearance. I’ve never doubted it, I’ve written it consistently.
“She disappeared off the face of the earth but it was clear West was involved.”
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WEST SHOCK
Fred West’s official biographer has revealed he always believed the sadistic killer was responsible for the disappearance of waitress Mary Bastholm.
The schoolgirl was last seen on 6 January 1968 waiting for a bus to go and see her boyfriend.
She is believed to have been offered a lift by serial killer Fred West and then murdered.
Mary’s body has never been found with her parents tragically passing away before discovering what happened to their daughter.
Now in an “extraordinary development”, 26 years after West killed himself, police are excavating the basement of the Clean Plate cafe in Gloucester where Mary worked as a waitress.
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THE LATEST ON MARY BASTHOLM’S CASE
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WEST DIG
The site where police are digging for the remains of a 15-year-old girl feared murdered by serial killer Fred West was discovered by a TV documentary crew’s DOG.
Mary’s body has never been found with her parents tragically passing away before discovering what happened to their daughter.
Now in an “extraordinary development”, 26 years after West killed himself, police are excavating the basement of the Clean Plate cafe in Gloucester where Mary worked as a waitress.
And the new dig is all thanks to a cadaver dog, who was recently taken to the site by a TV documentary team and is said to have shown a positive reaction in the basement.
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WHO WAS MARY BASTHOLM?
Mary Bastholm was a schoolgirl who mysteriously went missing at the age of 15 more than five decades ago, in 1968.
Tragically for her family and friends, the teen’s body has never been found, with her parents passing away before discovering what happened to their daughter.
At the time of her disappearance, Mary had been working as a waitress at the Pop-In café in Gloucester – now called the Clean Plate café.
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SLOW MOVING SEARCH FOLLOWING ‘RECENT DISCOVERY’ IN FRED WEST VICTIM COLD CASE
Cops are warning the search, which has been launched following a “recent discovery” could take a “number of weeks”.
Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden said: “This could be a significant development on a case which has gained a lot of public interest over the years.
“On the basis of the information provided to us, we consider this to be new and potentially important evidence in the case of Mary Bastholm, however further detailed assessments will take place over the following few days to determine the extent of excavation needed.
“The Constabulary has always said any fresh evidence would be reviewed. This has happened and a focused and proportionate investigation will now take place.”
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WHAT HAPPENED TO MARY BASTHOLM?
Mary was just 15 years old when she was reported missing on January 6, 1968, and she has never been seen or found ever since then.
She is believed to have been offered a lift by serial killer Fred West and then murdered.
Her mysterious disappearance had been linked to the serial killer as he was a regular customer at the cafe – then known as the Pop-In – when Mary vanished in Gloucester.
In 1970, Mary’s mum and dad, Doreen and Christian Bastholm, spoke about the last time they saw their daughter, alongside her boyfriend, Tim Merrett, who had been expecting to meet her off the bus in Hardwicke, a village just outside Gloucester.
Asked to recall the last time they’d seen their daughter, Doreen told ATV’s Alan Jones: “Well, she came home about half past six, and had her tea, and sat in this corner, where I’m sitting and enjoyed the Bernie Winter [comedy TV] show. She went out about between 10 and quarter past seven with a carrier bag with a Monopoly set in to catch the 25 past bus at the end of Tuffley Avenue. And that was the last we saw of her.”
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CONTINUED: GLOUCESTER POLICE STATEMENT ON FRED WEST DIG
“This news may understandably alarm those who work near to the premises, as well as those in the wider Gloucester community and beyond.
“The Constabulary has always said any fresh evidence would be reviewed.
“This has happened and a focussed and proportionate investigation will now take place.”
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WHAT WERE THE KEY POINTS OF THE FRED WEST INTERVIEW?
WARNING: Contains graphic content, which some readers might find distressing.
- He tried to keep Rose’s name out of it by saying she had nothing to do with the murders
- He admitted that one of his killers had been strangled: “I’ve been squeezed around the neck. I mean I haven’t gone that quick. It’s surprising how long someone can hold you around the neck before you really have to do something, I suppose.”
- Fred described dismembering the body: “I finally manage to do it, to take her head off and then her legs. That was unbearable. I can hear that now in my sleep. I wake up very often screaming. I can hear that echoing.”
- The killer admitted that he had a serious problem: “I’ve got to tell Rose so she can get somebody to help me. So, I don’t do this thing again. Because the problem I’ve got, and I know it’s a problem, and I knew I should have got help with it.”
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GLOUCESTER POLICE STATEMENT ON FRED WEST DIG
Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden said: “This could be a significant development on a case which has gained a lot of public interest over the years.
“On the basis of the information provided to us, we consider this to be new and potentially important evidence in the case of Mary Bastholm, however further detailed assessments will take place over the following few days to determine the extent of excavation needed.
“First and foremost our thoughts are with Mary’s family and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
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EXPLAINED: WHERE IS ROSE WEST NOW?
In December 2020 West applied to change her name to Jennifer Jones. The 67-year-old widow of evil Fred is thought to have paid £36 to change it by deed poll.
A source told The Sun: “Rose thinks the name will give her some anonymity but there’s a lot of anger about it.
“She’s chosen the new surname because it’s so common and the Christian name just because she’s always liked it.”
Rose West was imprisoned at HMP Low Newton in Durham where guards are protecting her from other inmates, but in 2019 was reportedly moved to New Hall jail in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, after another serial killer threatened to murder her.
In August 2018 a fellow lag claimed she had found religion and “believes God will forgive her”. Prisoner Julie McAllister claimed in March 2017 that she pummelled West after being infuriated that she was getting fan mail behind bars.
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GLOUCESTER CAFE SEARCHED FOR BODY OF MISSING TEEN (CONTINUED…)
Along with his wife Rose, West tortured, raped and murdered an unknown number of women over a 20-year period.
A white tent was erected outside the cafe on Tuesday afternoon, with police officers stationed outside the building and a police van parked nearby.
Officers were seen carrying evidence bags out of the cafe at about 2pm on Tuesday.
Gloucestershire Police said its Major Crime Investigation Team has deemed that further assessments are required at the premises in order to determine whether an excavation is necessary, with officers expected to be at the scene for a number of weeks.
Family liaison officers have now been put in place to provide support and updates to Mary’s family. It is understood that Mary’s brother Peter Bastholm died last year.
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POLICE WERE CALLED BY PRODUCTION COMPANY FILMING DOCUMENTARY AT THE GLOUCESTER CAFE
Officers were called to the cafe by a production company filming a documentary, Gloucestershire Police said.
They reported how they had found possible evidence to suggest a body could be buried within the property.
The force said in a statement that people have previously linked the building to the disappearance of Mary Bastholm.
Mary was 15 when she was reported missing on January 6 1968 and has never been found.
Her disappearance had also previously been linked to serial killer Fred West and there was suspicion he was involved in her death.
Officers are expect to be at The Clean Plate cafe for a number of weeks.