Beyond a staggering amount of journalism, there have been many true crime books written and documentaries made about British serial killers Fred and Rosemary West. Now, Netflix is set to release its own three-part series.
Announced on Wednesday with a trailer, Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story comes directed by Dan Dewsbury (Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America) and produced by Blink Films, which has released a number of documentaries about the Wests and their brutal crimes. The second in Netflix’s series subtitled A British Horror Story, Fred and Rose West follows the platform’s documentary series about British paedophile and sex offender Jimmy Savile.
Between 1967 and 1987, as the BBC reports, the Wests tortured, raped, and murdered at least 12 young women in Gloucestershire: Ann McFall, Catherine ‘Rena’ Costello, Charmaine West, Lynda Gough, Carole Ann Cooper, Lucy Partington, Therese Siegenthaler, Shirley Hubbard, Juanita Mott, Shirley Anne Robinson, Alison Chambers, and Heather West, the Wests’ daughter. The couple committed many of their crimes at 25 Cromwell Street, referred to as the “house of horrors” by media since the 1990s investigation.
In a press release, Netflix said the series will focus on the Gloucestershire police investigation and include “previously unseen police video and unheard audio recordings.” Notably, the series will also include interviews with some of the victims’ family members; Netflix said “a few of whom are speaking for the first time.”
It remains to be seen how Dewsbury and Netflix will approach such a known, chilling case amid a continually complex ethical landscape of true crime entertainment media — a contentious genre Netflix is no stranger to.
Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story will be streaming on Netflix May 14.
If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.
