ROSEMARY West will stand trial at Winchester Crown Court, a judge
ruled yesterday.
Mr Justice Mantell, senior presiding judge of the Western Circuit,
provisionally set the start of the trial for October 3, and indicated he
might be the judge.
He announced his decision at a hearing in Bristol Crown Court when he
heard applications for the venue from the prosecution and defence
counsel.
Mrs West, 41, faces 10 charges of murder. Her alleged victims include
her daughter, Heather, 16, and stepdaughter, eight-year-old Charmaine.
She also faces charges of rape and indecent assaults involving two
women.
Last Tuesday, Mrs West, a mother of seven, of Cromwell Street,
Gloucester, was formally committed for trial after a seven-day hearing
at Dursley, Gloucestershire, before Chief Metropolitan Stipendiary
Magistrate Peter Badge.
She was not at yesterday's hearing.
Mr Neil Butterfield, QC, made a brief application for the Crown and
Miss Sasha Wass appeared for Mrs West.
The murder charges relate to the discovery of nine sets of human
remains in the house and garden at Mrs West's home in Gloucester.
Mrs West's husband, Fred, 53, was found hanged in his cell on New
Year's day at Winson Green Prison, Birmingham, where he was being held
on remand on 12 murder charges.
Meanwhile, his brother, Mr John Charles Edward West, 52, of
Gloucester, was committed for trial to Gloucester Crown Court, charged
with raping two girls between January 1, 1975, and January 1, 1980. He
was allowed conditional bail pending his trial.
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