It’s been 30 years since the capture of sadistic murderers Fred and Rose West, but the scope of the pair’s grotesque crimes continues to fascinate and appal.
One man opened up about the moment he paid £300 to enter their notorious “house of horrors”. Narrating his spine-chilling experience on the fresh-out-the-box Apple podcast series Fred and Rose West: The House of Horrors, Martin Brunt confesses that what he uncovered within the walls of 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester continues to trouble him.
The Wests’ spree of depravity stretched from 1967 to 1987, when they barbarically tortured, assaulted, and slaughtered at least a dozen young women and girls – including two of their daughters – with the carnage concealed beneath their own roof. Before justice could be served, Fred took his own life behind bars in 1995; still, Rose faced her fate in court and was convicted on ten counts of murder. Her sentence was a lifetime behind bars without any hope for release – one of Britain’s harshest verdicts ever dealt to a female inmate.
Sky News’ Brunt shared insights with co-host Helen Fospero, stating: “People talk about criminals being evil. And I’ve never really thought that you could describe anybody as wholly evil until I encountered the story of Fred West, who seemed to derive simple pleasure from inflicting torture and death on his victims.
“And I think to some extent, that’s true of Rose. I mean, certainly the jury’s verdict in her trial was that she was equally as culpable as Fred was for the murder of those young women.” Brunt, who at the time was a producer for Sky, added: “As well as all the daily events of a breaking, moving, major investigation that we had to cover, we were also looking for our own scoops.
“And I remember a young scallywag who we’ll call Jim coming up to me.” After being introduced to some local personalities, the young man offered Brunt a look inside the “House of Horrors,” asking for £300 for the privilege. Brunt said: “And of course, you know, there was only one answer and he wanted £300 and that seemed quite cheap.”
Having just returned to Sussex, he immediately went back to the West Country where, at 1 am, he and his reluctant cameraman met with Jim on Wellington Street, not far from Cromwell Street. Brunt said: “I spoke to the cameraman again recently and he still doesn’t want to be identified. He still feels rather guilty about what happened. So anyway, Jim led him to next door to number 23 Cromwell street, which was the other side of 25, two adjoining semi detached properties.”
Brunt continued, “And the cameraman still says, I don’t remember a key being used. We just walked up to the door and walked in.” Jim guided them to number 23 and up three floors, leading them through a loft shared with number 25, eventually descending into a dark top floor.
Brunt recalled the scene: “Suddenly I was inside the House of Horrors. And the first thing he filmed was a discarded rubber glove, presumably left by one of the forensic team.” He pondered whether a police officer might have missed their clandestine exploration: “I can’t remember whether there was still a police bobby guarding the front door, but if there was, he didn’t detect what was going on inside that night.”
The group navigated back down the staircases, capturing footage of the stark rooms: Jim led them down the three flights of stairs, “filming a very boring, mundane series of rooms that had been stripped of furnishings and fittings by the police and the forensic searchers” and finally into the gloomy cellar with its creepily innocuous decorations.
Brunt revealed even more eerier sights: “And down onto the floor of the cellar where there were these odd childish drawings on the walls. There was a cowboy figure, some childish writing.” The basement harboured a grim record of the investigation’s discoveries. “But the distinctive thing was there was evidence where five holes had been dug by the police and then a screed had been put over them. And that’s where by then we knew that they had found the bodies of five of the victims buried in the cellar.”
The tour guide was eager to move the crew along after capturing the footage, and Brunt added: “It was afterwards I realised that the reason Jim wanted to get my cameraman out so quickly was that he had our rival camera crews waiting around the corner to do their shift inside.”
Reflecting on his extensive career three decades later, Brunt shared his profound experiences: “People often ask me, what’s the worst case you’ve ever covered? I mean, it’s a traditional question, I suppose, particularly for crime reporters.
“And in 1994, when I started covering the Cromwell Street murders, at the time, as it began to unravel and the sheer depravity over such a long time of this couple, it did become the worst case I’d ever covered. I thought it then and I still think it is now.”
He continued: “I mean, I’ve covered many cases since, but I don’t think anything has ever reached the scale of depravity, killing their own children, the level of torture and unpleasantness and pain that was inflicted on their victims.” Brunt couldn’t emphasise enough the magnitude of the harrowing story: “Nothing has matched it. I don’t think anything has ever come close to the story of the house of horrors.”
Following the trial that horrified the nation, the infamous residence at Cromwell Street was razed two years later in 1996, not just to wipe away its bleak heritage but to dissuade any dark tourism. The infamous plot of land was paved over, transforming into a walkway and effectively obliterating the sinister traces of its past.
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