I saw Fred West run over little Scots boy.
A man has told how he saw mass killer Fred West knock down and kill a Scots toddler.Three-year-old Henry Feeney, who was crushed under the wheels of West's ice cream van, is believed to be the perverted murderer's first victim.
Witness Robert Riley, 44,said: "The ice cream van came up then it reversed over the wee boy and went over his head.
"There was a great deal of hysteria at the time. Perhaps killing the wee boy could have triggered him off into becoming a murderer."
Another witness, Tom McGougan, said: "There was an angry mob and they didn't believe West's story that it was an accident.
"They began shouting and swearing and banging on the van windows. The crowd was going to lynch him."
Author Gordon Burn recalls the tragedy in his new book about Fred and Rosemary West, Happy like Murderers.
Mr Burn writes that West and Henry, of Castlemilk, Glasgow, became friends, and the little boy looked upon him as a friendly uncle. On November 3, 1966, West told the boy to meet him the next day and he would give him a firework for bonfire night.
When the van pulled up in the cul-de-sac near Stravanan Road, the boy was waiting. West reversed the van, killing him instantly. The author adds: "It was then regarded as an accident although locals suspected it was a deliberate act."
In 1994, West, who was responsible for at least a dozen murders in the House of Horrors in Cromwell Street, Gloucester, told police he regarded the Glasgow toddler as an adopted son.
A Daily Record report on the incident told how Henry's father Peter ran the 150 yards from his home to find the boy under the van.
Mr Feeney is quoted in the Record as saying: "At first I thought it was a bad dream. I dashed from the house to the accident but there was nothing I could do."
Henry's parents and their three other sons went to Canada a few years later and could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
West committed suicide in prison. His wife Rosemary received 10 life sentences.
Author Burn says West moved to Glasgow after meeting Rena Costello, from Coatbridge, a woman he was later to marry and murder.
Mr Burn says: "Given what we know about Fred West, there is every possibility he had arranged for the child to be there to kill him."
Police at the time decided Henry's death had been accidental and took no proceedings against West.
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| Author: | Griffiths, Stuart |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Date: | Sep 14, 1998 |
| Words: | 421 |
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