Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story has landed on Netflix, featuring previously unseen interviews from those involved in the notorious true crime case, including Janet Leach – the appropriate adult and eventual confidant of Fred West.
The new documentary series tells the story of the UK’s worst serial killer couple. Between them, Fred and Rose West murdered at least 12 young women – including their daughter Heather and Fred’s daughter Charmaine – over the course of two decades.
They famously dismembered the bodies and hid them in the cellar or under the patio of their “house of horrors” Gloucestershire home. Many of the Wests’ children ended up in care, where police were alerted to the rumor Heather was buried in the garden.
Finally, in February 1994, Fred and Rose’s horrifying reign came to an end when the authorities excavated their garden. As is explored in the new Netflix docu-series, Fred was immediately taken into police custody, where he was introduced to an appropriate adult.
Why did Fred West need an appropriate adult?
Janet Leach was called in by Gloucestershire police to serve as Fred’s appropriate adult due to his learning difficulties and inability to read or write. This, coupled with the severity of his crimes, meant police were unable to interrogate him alone.
You may recognize the term from Netflix’s Adolescence, which saw Jamie Miller choose his father Eddie to serve as his appropriate adult. But in this instance, it’s because he’s a minor.
An appropriate adult in the UK is either a parent, guardian, social worker, or a responsible individual over the age of 18 who is there to safeguard the interests, rights, entitlements, and welfare of children and vulnerable people suspected of a criminal offense.
The senior investigator in the Fred West case, Ben Bennet, wanted to ensure there was no doubt that Fred comprehended everything during the investigation, and so they called in Janet.
Despite the fact that she was working towards a social work diploma, she wasn’t prepared for what she was about to hear – especially as this was her first case.
In archive footage shown in Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story, Janet explains, “I was working towards my diploma in social work, and I’d approached the Homeless Project in the view of becoming an appropriate adult.
“When someone gets in trouble with the police, we’d go down to the police station just to make sure that their needs were being met and they were being properly looked after.
“I’d just finished college, and the phone was ringing when I came through the door. It was the Homeless Project asking could I go out to Gloucestershire police station.”
Janet was taken into the custody suite, introduced to Fred West, and they went into the interview room, unaware of what was to come. During that interrogation, Fred admitted to killing his daughter and dismembering her in chilling detail.
“I think I was just in a state of shock,” says Janet. “I just thought, you know, ‘What on earth are you actually doing here?’… but he sort of said to me afterwards, ‘Would you come again tomorrow?’”
The police reiterated the question, and so she agreed. “I should have really said no,” she adds.
Janet recalls a moment during the investigation where Fred was directing officers to another buried body beneath his patio, but it was his behavior that left her unsettled.
“He just kept looking at me and winking, as if it was some sort of game,” she continues. “When we got back, I asked him, ‘What did you mean? What was you looking at me like that for?’ And he said, ‘Didn’t you see the bone sticking out?… It’s just by the back door.’”
Even though Janet was shocked, Fred trusted her and treated her like a confidant. So much so that she was a star witness in Rose West’s trial – until a scandal changed everything.
Janet Leach controversy explained
Janet Leach was set to share testimony as the prosecution’s key witness, but her credibility was compromised when it was revealed during evidence that she had broken the confidentiality agreement and sold her story to the Daily Mirror newspaper.
The truth is that Fred and Rose West committed heinous crimes for decades, both torturing, mutilating, sexually assaulting, and, in some cases, murdering young women for their own sadistic gratification.
However, when Fred was taken into police custody, he continually denied Rose was involved, claiming he had acted alone. Detectives knew this wasn’t true, but they needed evidence.
Fred did eventually change his story when Rose shunned him in court. However, on January 1, 1995, Fred hung himself in prison, dying at age 53. So, police had to find a way to convict Rose West without the testimony of her husband.
Janet would have been a star witness, explaining in the new true crime docu-series, “He’d told me in the beginning about the pact that they had made, that he was going to take the brunt of it all, and that it was worth it.
“He was clearing up a lot of Rose’s mistakes, ‘little mistakes,’ she used to call them. Rose was involved right from the onset. It was time to tell the truth.”
During the trial, Janet was asked if she had sold her story to the press, which she denied. In an unexpected turn of events, she suffered a stroke while on the stand and was rushed to hospital.
When she returned to court following treatment, it had emerged that she had, in fact, sold her story to the Daily Mirror for up to £100,000, which had an impact on the validity of her testimony.
Even so, Rose was found guilty and convicted of 10 murders. She is currently incarcerated at the HM Prison New Hall in West Yorkshire, aged 71.
Where is Janet Leach now?
According to reports, she still lives in Gloucester and keeps a low profile, having experienced negative press in the fallout of the trial. She has four sons and a daughter.
A 2011 report stated that Janet remarried the year prior and had started a new career as a health professional in the Gloucestershire area. However, in 2021, a neighbor told the Daily Mail that she’s now “quite reclusive,” and “doesn’t work anymore and lives alone.”
Janet’s eldest son Paul Leach was critical of his mother for her relationship with Fred West, as she continued speaking with the serial killer after the interviews were over.
“I think she fell under his spell. She was consumed by it all,” he told the outlet. “Rose West went through six ‘appropriate adults’ – they couldn’t handle hearing all the details – but my mother kept on going back.
“She was a little scared in the beginning, and needed pills to sleep at night, but the relationship between them quickly became intense.”
However, Janet maintained that she was communicating with Fred to help the victims and their families. “By listening to his perversions, I thought I was helping,” she said. “I was getting confessions out of him.”
A 2011 drama mini-series titled Appropriate Adult tells Janet’s story, with Emily Watson taking on the lead role. It’s available to stream on ITVX now – if you’re in the US, you can watch it using a VPN.
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