Survivor Recounts Terror of Fred and Rose West's 'Games' Amidst Discovery of Six Buried Bodies

Kathleen Richards, one of the last known survivors of Fred and Rose West, has detailed the terrifying "games" the notorious couple used to lure young women into sexual abuse and murder. Richards, who was 17 when she moved into the Wests' home at 25 Cromwell Street in 1977 with her younger sister, described living in constant fear, unaware that the bodies of at least six victims were already buried on the property.

In a new true-crime documentary, Richards recounts her months-long ordeal and narrow escape from the Wests. "I thought I found a place to call home, but I walked straight into danger," she stated. She explained that Fred West had propositioned her, offering rent-free living in exchange for playing "games" with him and Rose.

Richards described escalating assaults by Fred, which were often interrupted by the chance arrival of her sister, other visitors, or the doorbell. She recounted one instance where Fred and Rose attempted to force her to wear a "torture mask" as part of their "games." "My head was spinning - I can't do this, I'm going to die," Richards recalled thinking.

Her escape came when she awoke one morning to find Fred West in her bed. While her sister was away visiting family, Richards managed to convince Fred she would join him and Rose later, after using the bathroom. She then fled the house, later returning with her sister to collect their belongings and leave for good, making them some of the few lodgers to survive the Wests.

At the time Richards moved in, the Wests had already killed nine individuals. Three victims—Ann McFall, 18, Catherine Costello, 26, and eight-year-old Charmaine West—were buried elsewhere. The six victims already buried at 25 Cromwell Street when Richards arrived were Lynda Gough, 19; Carole Ann Cooper, 15; Lucy Partington, 21; Therese Siegenthaler, 21; Shirley Hubbard, 15; and Juanita Mott, 18.

Shirley Robinson, who was also 17 when Richards moved in and was introduced as Fred's "lover," disappeared in May of the following year. Fred West told Richards that Robinson had gone to Germany, but she was in fact murdered and buried in the garden, becoming the first victim interred there. Later victims buried in the garden included Alison Chambers, 16, and Heather West, 16.

Richards' testimony was crucial in the trial of Rose West. "I didn't want to go to court but I had to," Richards said in a previous interview. "Another part of me wanted to shout at Rose, call her sick. She just stood there with no emotion, nothing. I couldn't get my head around the fact that she's a mum."

Rose West was convicted of ten murders and sentenced to ten life sentences. Fred West died by suicide in prison in 1995 before he could be tried for his crimes. The documentary "Surviving Fred and Rose West: Inside Cromwell Street" is available on U and U&W.