Netflix is once again turning to one of Britain’s darkest criminal cases, releasing a new docuseries that reexamines the horrifying acts committed by Rose West and her husband, Fred. Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story pulls viewers back into the decades-long nightmare that unfolded inside the couple’s Gloucester home — a place authorities now describe as a “factory of abuse.”
The series highlights the disturbing fact that three of the pair’s victims were members of their own family. Rose, who has long insisted she was not involved in the murders, is believed to have personally killed Charmaine West, her husband’s young daughter, as well as their oldest daughter together, Heather.
Netflix weaves in previously unreleased footage, testimonials from surviving children, and rare archival material to shed new light on how investigators finally unraveled the couple’s brutal crimes. Premiering May 14, the series places heavy emphasis not just on the killers but on the innocent victims whose lives were taken between 1971 and 1987.
Rose West is widely considered one of the most violent female serial killers in British history. Together, she and Fred sexually assaulted, murdered, and dismembered at least 10 young women and girls over a 16-year span. Their partnership began when Rose was still in her teens, but Fred already had a long history of predatory behavior. Once Rose killed Charmaine in 1971, the pair began operating as a deadly team — and the violence escalated at a terrifying pace.
Police didn’t uncover the full scope of their crimes until 1994, when they began searching for Heather West, who had quietly vanished years earlier. That investigation cracked open the horrific truth buried beneath the family’s own home. Rose was convicted the following year on 10 counts of murder and is still serving a full life sentence with no chance of parole.
The documentary also outlines Rose’s troubled childhood — marked by a violent father and a deeply unstable household — but stops short of framing her past as an excuse. Instead, filmmakers highlight how her relationship with Fred created a perfect storm of manipulation, cruelty, and unchecked brutality.
Netflix’s latest deep dive into the Wests’ crimes adds to a long list of documentaries, books, and dramatizations surrounding the case. Yet its focus on first-person accounts and decades-old investigative footage gives viewers a rawer, more intimate look at the family behind one of the most horrifying crime sprees the U.K. has ever witnessed.