UK - Fred & Rosemary West, 1967 - 1987 (12-13+ victims), Gloucestershire

[Mercsw]

If they do find a body then there’s some serious questions of the police. West confessed numerous times to this murder and was relaying that floor around the time she disappeared...having been known to him by the poor girl! They even found a diary belonging to the girl in a wall cavity previously. It beggars belief they have refused to perform checks for 20 years on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

 

[Mercsw]

Wow. What are the chances of that.... filming a tragic story only finding you unravel additions to the story. That poor lady.

pretty good. He admitted to this murder initially but they didn’t charge him in the end due to no evidence. The family have had a 25 year campaign to look under that floor constantly refused.

I would be more amazed if they find nothing. Knowing what we know about his methods, we know a 15 year old he knew disappeared from her place of work at the same time he was concreting their basement. They have previously found an exercise book belonging to her in the wall cavity.

just very weird the police have had no urge to check until Trevor McDonald turned up!

 

[badgersmythe]

Aerial photos show police dig for Fred West's 'second victim'


Aerial photos show police dig for Fred West's 'second victim' as it enters its second day | Daily Mail Online

 

[ddraper]

The police said the diary was old and had no connection to Mary Bastholm

“
In 2012, police rejected a petition by campaigners to search the cafe.

“Then Chief Constable Tony Melville wrote to Mr Roberts saying: “The evidence is in no way categorical.

He said the book found by the previous cafe tenant was an old diary that was not connected to Mary.”

Friend of Fred West 'victim', 15, says they want 'closure' as police dig up cafe

 

[Mercsw]

The police said the diary was old and had no connection to Mary Bastholm

“
In 2012, police rejected a petition by campaigners to search the cafe.

“Then Chief Constable Tony Melville wrote to Mr Roberts saying: “The evidence is in no way categorical.

He said the book found by the previous cafe tenant was an old diary that was not connected to Mary.”

Friend of Fred West 'victim', 15, says they want 'closure' as police dig up cafe

i must have missed that, as I thought it was categorically belonging to the poor girl. Either way it’s very strange that there isn’t a team designated entirely to double checking all work done by west, knowing how he hid the others.

there are a lot of huge gaps in his timeline, plus he did say there were 20 more.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Yeah l agree. I don't know if it's true that the police decided not to try to identify all the belongings found in the pond where Chrsitopher Haliwell dumped them. But if it is, it's a disgrace. These investigations are not just about putting the bad person away so they can't harm anyone. It's also to give the families closure.

 

[badgersmythe]

Witness tells how he saw Fred West 'victim' grabbed by grey van driver


Retired reporter says he was last to see Mary Bastholm, thinks she was grabbed by grey van in 1968 | Daily Mail Online

 

[MrsWatson]

Fred West detectives 'find bones and material matching a coat' in Gloucester cafe basement dig | Daily Mail Online

 

[spangled]

Fred West detectives 'find bones and material matching a coat' in Gloucester cafe basement dig | Daily Mail Online

Goodness me!!

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I hope it’s Mary, so she can be laid to rest properly.

A lot of the news reports say it’s believed West laid the concrete floor sometime before Mary disappeared, I’ve also seen that the fireplace is being removed now. I wonder if we’ll ever find how he managed to conceal a body (bodies?) down there after he was working on it. Did he go back to do more work, on his own? Could he have had keys?

I think all and any building work he did around that time needs to be re-examined.

 

[Owlpellet]

From the BBC News

Miss Bastholm, 15, was wearing a blue coat when she disappeared - and police have now revealed a production company filming a documentary at the cafe tipped them off after finding an image of blue material in one area of the cellar.

Mary Bastholm: Excavation work to begin at Fred West cafe

 

[Owlpellet]

And from the Sun, details about where they are excavating:

“They are specifically analysing an area to the side of the basement which builder West converted into toilets.

The material and suspected bones are under a partition wall.

A source said: “Camera images clearly show material which matches the navy blue coat Mary was wearing when she was abducted.”

“In addition, there are images of what look very much like human bones.”

So this work could have been done after West laid the basement floor. Sounds like the film crew put one of those flexi cameras down through the base of the partition wall and made a grisly discovery.

RW frequented the cafe too. She would have been 14 years old and FW 26 (approx) when Mary Bastholm went missing.

Fred West cops find bones at cafe in hunt for teen feared murdered by killer

 

[badgersmythe]

Fred West detectives hunting for body of 15-year-old find six 'voids'


Fred West detectives hunting for body of 15-year-old Mary Bastholm find six 'voids' | Daily Mail Online

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Oh my word - imagine if they find six bodies

Fred told someone he’d killed hundreds of girls; an exaggeration, perhaps, but his family have said they wouldn’t be surprised if it was nearer thirty than the dozen he was jailed for.

I had a little read up on the story, and the dates of girls going missing / killed (that are already connected to the Wests) are:

1967 - one victim
1968 - Mary Bastholm vanished
(met Rose 1969)
1971 - ex wife and her daughter
1973/4/5 - six victims
1978/9 - two victims
1987 - daughter Heather

Mary went missing in 1968 before Fred met Rose. Could it be that he had killed other girls in the 60’s and buried their remains at the cafe when he was concreting the floor?

 

[Owlpellet]

It appears the sighting of bones may have been greatly exaggerated by the tabloid press... just blue cloth for now:

“He (detective) dismissed media reports circulating on Monday evening that bones had been found as untrue and "unhelpful and hurtful to Mary's family".

Fred West: Police to excavate cafe toilet in missing girl search

 

[CoverMeCagney]

For reference, Fred was in the Gloucestershire area all his life (1941-1995) aside from approx 3 years spent in Scotland in Coatbridge then Glasgow, from early 1963 to late 1965. I think.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

It appears the sighting of bones may have been greatly exaggerated by the tabloid press... just blue cloth for now:

“He (detective) dismissed media reports circulating on Monday evening that bones had been found as untrue and "unhelpful and hurtful to Mary's family".

Fred West: Police to excavate cafe toilet in missing girl search

Well who started THAT rumour?! How strange.

EDIT I just went back to The Sun article. A source said: “Camera images clearly show material which matches the navy blue coat Mary was wearing when abducted. In addition, there are images of what look very much like human bones. Great care is being taken to sift through the surface.”

 

[badgersmythe]

Oh my word - imagine if they find six bodies

Fred told someone he’d killed hundreds of girls; an exaggeration, perhaps, but his family have said they wouldn’t be surprised if it was nearer thirty than the dozen he was jailed for.

I had a little read up on the story, and the dates of girls going missing / killed (that are already connected to the Wests) are:

1967 - one victim
1968 - Mary Bastholm vanished
(met Rose 1969)
1971 - ex wife and her daughter
1973/4/5 - six victims
1978/9 - two victims
1987 - daughter Heather

Mary went missing in 1968 before Fred met Rose. Could it be that he had killed other girls in the 60’s and buried their remains at the cafe when he was concreting the floor?

Thats what I’m thinking. I’m taking the Mail article with a massive shovel of salt, the voids could just be holes maybe? But the fact a cadaver dog hit on one of them is interesting.

 

[badgersmythe]

Fred West: 'Six voids' found under cafe linked to serial killer and missing girl Mary Bastholm
Fred West: 'Six voids' found under cafe linked to serial killer and missing girl Mary Bastholm

a bit more detail in this article. The search was delayed as they found asbestos, and the cafe is built above an ancient burial ground.

 

[badgersmythe]

Fred West: 'Six voids' found under cafe linked to serial killer and missing girl Mary Bastholm
Fred West: 'Six voids' found under cafe linked to serial killer and missing girl Mary Bastholm

a bit more detail in this article. The search was delayed as they found asbestos, and the cafe is built above an ancient burial ground.

Quoting myself here, just a thought, would the ancient burial ground confuse the cadaver dog?