In 1994, Howard Sounes began investigating a case of serial murder in an English cathedral city. A married couple, Fred and Rose West, had killed at least twelve women and girls, including their own daughter. They cut their victims up and buried the remains of nine bodies under their house at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, where the Wests continued to live undetected... for decades.
Uncovering their secrets as a journalist and author, researching his classic crime book Fred & Rose, Howard recorded his enquiries and interviews on cassette tape. Twenty-five years on, Howard revisits these previously unheard tapes. He also speaks to new witnesses, as he reveals the full story of the Wests, with new insights, in this compelling 12-part podcast series from Somethin’ Else (https://www.somethinelse.com/work/podcasts-radio-stations-smart-speakers/).
Fred & Rose by Howard Sounes is available now on Amazon.co.uk (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0751577502/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tu00_p1_i0) and Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WGXM9RW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0)
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Everyone’s heard of Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged partner in crime). But there’s a shadowy figure who hangs above her who you likely don’t know: her father, media tycoon Robert Maxwell. His rise from nothing to fall… from the deck of his super yacht under mysterious circumstances is straight out of a crime novel. His favorite daughter Ghislaine’s theory: her father was murdered. From Somethin’ Else, makers of ‘The Immaculate Deception’ and ‘The Faultline: Bush, Blair & Iraq’, hosted by Investigative journalist Tara Palmeri, ‘Power: The Maxwells’ is a seven part series on the incredible true story of a media mogul whose legacy is still being felt today.
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29 Sept 2020
Introducing... The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq
Hi Unheard fans, we've made a show we think you'll like....
On September 11th 2001, as he faced incalculable losses after the terrorist attacks that day, President George W Bush made a call to his greatest international ally: British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 18 months later, Bush and Blair led a coalition into a war that went horribly wrong. David Dimbleby, one of the BBC’s best known news hosts and reporters, takes us back to those crucial 18 months. Talking to prime ministers, politicians, spies and weapons inspectors he asks how and why we came to invade Iraq. And as we experience an era of lies and mistrust - did the events of 17 years ago set the stage for the world we live in now?
This is a Somethin' Else (https://create.acast.com/episodes/b19f6588-71ff-47cc-870a-b73c483f4af8/www.somethinelse.com) production.
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19 Mar 2020
Introducing... The Immaculate Deception!
Hi Unheard fans, we've made a show we think you'll like....
Fertility doctor Jan Karbaat was renowned for getting amazing results. Women who were desperate for children would visit him at his Rotterdam clinic and leave pregnant. But when the clinic closed, rumours began about the methods Karbaat used to achieve his success. The children conceived at the clinic - the Karbaat Kids - began asking difficult questions about what happened to their mothers.
What happened in Dr Karbaat’s clinic? From Somethin’ Else, The Immaculate Deception (https://pod.link/deception) is a story about a doctor who was determined to create life - by any means possible. Reported and hosted by Jenny Kleeman.
This is a Somethin' Else (https://create.acast.com/sign/somethinelse.com) Production.
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26 Nov 2019
12: The Aftermath
In October 1996, Fred and Rose West’s house, 25 Cromwell Street is knocked down by Gloucester City Council. In the years since, what happened to the Wests and to the families of the victims caught up in the murder enquiry? Howard reflects on the legacy of Cromwell Street.
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19 Nov 2019
11: Sister
Christmas 1973. Marian Partington’s younger sister, Lucy, was a university student at home for the holidays. She was visiting a friend for the evening and was meant to catch the bus home. But she never returned. 21 years later, Lucy’s body was among the nine uncovered from 25 Cromwell Street. How did Marian confront the horror of what happened to her sister? She reveals a long and difficult process that led her towards forgiveness for the Wests.
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12 Nov 2019
10: The Trial
October 1995. With Fred West dead, Rose West stands accused of ten murders amid huge media attention. Howard speaks with Sasha Wass, part of the legal team defending Rose. Intense media scrutiny threatens the chance of a fair trial. Could Rose walk free?
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5 Nov 2019
9: The Unravelling
Derek and Wendy Thomson owned a construction company. One of their employees was Fred West. In February 1994, Derek receives a phone call from Rose. She sounds panicked and wants to speak to Fred urgently. The police have arrived at their home with a search warrant to dig up the back yard. The muder investigation begins...
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29 Oct 2019
8: The One That Got Away
Spring 1994, the British media’s appetite for the West case is insatiable. Howard meets Caroline Owens, one of the Wests’ victims who managed to escape. She was assaulted by the Wests in the early 70s and reported them to the police. How did the Wests escape justice for another two decades?
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22 Oct 2019
7: The Search For Juanita
Belinda Mott’s sister, Juanita, was last seen alive in 1975. She was 18, estranged from her parents and sofa surfing around Gloucestershire, England. In the years after the disappearance, Belinda visited friends who lived at 25 Cromwell Street not knowing that her sister’s body was buried in the cellar. Howard Sounes meets Belinda and her other sister Mary-Ann to hear about their search for Juanita.
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15 Oct 2019
6: "They'll Kill Me"
While Gill Britt lodged at Cromwell Street she had no idea that her landlord Fred and his wife Rose were murderers. She noticed Rose’s prostitution and overheard childrens’ screams. But 40 years on, in her first ever interview, she recalls the warning signs she missed at the time.
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8 Oct 2019
5: "I'm Happy, Mum"
Howard Sounes meets Rose’s mother Daisy Letts as she tries to come to terms with the news that her daughter is an alleged mass killer and that her grand-daughter, Heather, was among the victims. Howard uncovers Rose’s unhappy childhood.
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1 Oct 2019
4: Mother and Daughter
How did Fred meet Rose? Howard Sounes interviews family members to try to piece the story together. Rose left a care home to live with Fred shortly after her 16th birthday. Then while Fred is in jail, a mysterious death happens at their flat in Gloucester, England.
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24 Sept 2019
3: Fingerpost Field
In 1994, in a field outside the small village of Much Marcle, the remains of Fred West’s first victim were found. She’d been dead for twenty-seven years. Her disappearance had gone unreported. How was this possible? Howard Sounes follows the trail to Glasgow, Scotland, where Fred moved with his first wife in the early 60s.
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17 Sept 2019
2: Young Freddy
What made Fred West into a murderer? The West family say Fred had never been the same since a teenage motorcycle accident. Howard visits Fred’s birthplace, the quaint village of Much Marcle, and uncovers details from his past.
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10 Sept 2019
1: The Missing Daughter
In June 1987, sixteen year old Heather West disappears. Her parents, Fred and Rose tell their other children she has gone to work at a holiday camp. Heather’s siblings never hear from her again. Seven years later, her remains are excavated from the back yard of the family home. This discovery leads to journalist Howard Sounes receiving a tip-off that sets him on a journey into one of the UK’s most infamous crime stories.
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21 Aug 2019
Unheard: The Fred and Rose West Tapes
In this gripping 12-part series, author Howard Sounes revisits his unheard interview tapes to reveal the true story of husband and wife serial killers, Fred and Rose West.
Fred & Rose by Howard Sounes is available now on Amazon.co.uk (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0751577502/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tu00_p1_i0) and Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WGXM9RW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0)
A Somethin' Else (https://www.somethinelse.com/work/podcasts-radio-stations-smart-speakers/) production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
3.9 / 5
618 ratings
Contact Unheard: The Fred and Rose West Tapes
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