Vanessa Frake-Harris, a former prison governor, has revealed unsettling details about Rose West’s reaction upon learning of her husband Fred West’s suicide in 1995 while they were both imprisoned for heinous crimes. Speaking to The Sun, Frake-Harris described how Rose showed an eerie lack of emotion when informed by herself and the duty governor at Holloway Prison that Fred had died by suicide.
Frake-Harris recounted, “I told her along with the duty governor that Fred had committed suicide, and there was no emotion. She blinked a couple of times and then said, ‘Oh right’.” She added, “She didn’t even flinch—nothing changed in her expression. No tears, no reaction—just that glazed stare. The level of control and dissociation was staggering.”
Believing Rose saw Fred’s death as an opportunity, Frake-Harris explained, “I firmly believe she thought that with Fred dying, she would get off all the charges.” She further noted, “There was almost a glint in her eye, as if to say, ‘Okay, he’s dead—he can take the rap for it. I’m happy to plead to lesser charges.’”
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Despite Rose’s apparent indifference, she was ultimately convicted. The Wests’ home at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester became infamous as the site where they committed unspeakable acts—raping, torturing, and murdering at least 12 women, with their remains concealed beneath the floorboards and garden from 1973 to 1987. This dark chapter is now being revisited in the three-part Netflix documentary series Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story.
Vanessa, who closely observed Rose in the lead-up to her trial, described her as deceptively charming but deeply sinister beneath the surface. “Rose was very compliant and charming. She did what she was told, when she was told to do it. She was no trouble to staff,” Frake-Harris said. “But there was always an underlying sense that she was full of her own importance. I had no doubt she was guilty.”
She characterized Rose as a “typical narcissistic psychopath,” noting her manipulative nature, lack of empathy, and complete absence of remorse. “She could be very charming to those around her—meaning the prison staff—and willing to do whatever it took to appear different from who she really was.”
Reflecting on Rose’s current life at HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, the former governor explained that Rose adopts the persona of a benign, elderly relative. “We used to call her ‘Auntie Rose’ because she was like the kind of aunt you’d visit for tea and cakes, always knitting with big glasses and cardigans,” Frake-Harris said. “She had this sing-song way of saying ‘Mor-ning’ in a chirpy voice. She was never any trouble—just wanted to knit.”
Due to her segregation for both her safety and the safety of others, authorities made an exception to allow Rose to have knitting needles.
Rose West was found guilty of ten murders in 1995 at Winchester Crown Court and received ten life sentences. In 1997, Home Secretary Jack Straw imposed a whole life tariff, making her only the second woman after Myra Hindley to receive such a sentence.
Vanessa, author of The Governor: My Life Inside Britain’s Most Notorious Prisons, commented on Rose’s demeanor during sentencing: “There was no emotion, which is typical of a psychopath. Rose West is a very complex character with many facets. She does what she wants when she wants to do it.”