Mae West says she tries not to dwell on the past and the effect her serial killer parents have had on her (Picture: PA/Rex)
The daughter of two of the UK’s most notorious serial killers says she has hidden her family’s dark past from her children.
Mae West, 52, whose parents Fred and Rose West slaughtered 12 people, remembers growing up at their house on 25 Cromwell Street as a time of unmitigated horror, according to The Sun.
In addition to being subjected to sexual abuse by her parents, she also says she was forced to sleep on rotting bodies the couple had buried in the basement.
Tragically, their victims also included Mae’s sister, their daughter Heather, who was buried in the back garden.
Speaking 30 years to the day her parents were arrested, Mae told the newspaper: ‘I am just trying to live a normal, everyday life – well, as normal and everyday as it can be.
‘My life is now about protecting my children, especially the younger one. He knows nothing about my past. Not a clue.
‘He’s at an age now where he’s starting to ask questions. All I’ve told him is my dad’s dead and I don’t speak to my mum.
‘As far as I’m concerned, he never will. Not from me, anyway.’
Rose West is currently serving life in prison on ten counts of murder and sexual assault (Picture: Rex)
She went on: ‘It feels like another life that was not mine. The years have helped. It’s true what they say, time heals.
‘Sometimes it feels like a story you read and you had no part in it. At other times, you’ll be reminded of something from back then and you know you’re going to have a bad day.
‘I don’t talk about it. No one in my life now, apart from my husband, knows who I am in terms of my connection to Fred and Rose. I suppose I’m wearing a mask now.’
Fred West killed himself in prison the day after he was arrested for the grisly murders (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)
Mae also revealed that she stopped speaking with Rose over 16 years ago, after which she received a letter from her mother in prison.
Mae said: ‘Me and my mother stopped speaking 16 years ago. We fell out. It was her choice.
‘She wrote me a letter basically telling me ‘It’s best if I leave you to it.’. In other words, she no longer wanted to see me or communicate with me.
‘It made me question a lot of things at the time, such as was I with her or not with her. It’s weird that someone is your parent and alive but you no longer see them.’
Mae West’s sister Heather was murdered by their serial killer parents (Picture: PA/Rex)
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While Mae tries not to dwell on the past, she does often think about her sister who was brutally murdered by their parents.
She said in her recent interview: ‘I do get terribly sad when I think about Heather, how old she’d be now, what kind of life she’d have had. I love her so much.
‘Having parents like I’ve had has made me like I am. My challenge is coping with the effect they have had on me, rather than who they are.’
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