Fred and Rose West's son, 40, died of painkiller overdose, inquest hears 

Barry West died in August last year after being found slumped over a table in Maidstone, Kent

The son of Fred and Rose West died of a painkiller overdose after telling a doctor his life was ‘not worth living,’ an inquest heard. 

Barry West was just seven when he watched his parents beat his sister Heather to death at their Cromwell Street home in Gloucester. 

He died at the age of 40 on August 28 last year after being found slumped over a table at his supported living accommodation in Maidstone, Kent.

An inquest into his death this week heard how Mr West, who was too scared to give evidence at his mother’s 1995 trial, had a ‘complex medical history’.  

It was said he tried to commit suicide in 2015, and that he had taken ‘many overdoses’ alongside suffering from PTSD, anxiety, depression and chronic pain.

Mr West also struggled with dissociative of identity disorder, in which people may feel the presence of other identities with their own names, voices and mannerisms.       

Coroner Patricia Harding, sitting at Maidstone Coroner’s Court, heard how Mr West felt ‘abandoned’ by the NHS and died after injecting himself with pain relieving medication. 

Mr West’s mother Rose, 67, was convicted of 10 murders and jailed for a life in 1995 – increased to a whole life term in 1997.

His father Fred hanged himself before his trial in 1995 after being charged with 12 counts of murder.

Many of the victims’ bodies buried at the now notorious 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester, nicknamed the House of Horrors.

He was just seven when he watched his parents (above) beat his sister Heather to death at their Cromwell Street home in Gloucester 

An inquest into Mr West’s death this week heard how Mr West, who was too scared to give evidence at his mother’s 1995 trial, had a ‘complex medical history’ 

The inquest heard how Mr West – who had changed his name to Michael Moore and was the couple’s youngest child – had an addiction to opioids, as well as a history of heroin misuse dating back almost 20 years.

The hearing was told how he was living in ‘supported accommodation’ in Maidstone after being released from St Martin’s mental health hospital in Canterbury on August 3.

Pictured: Heather West, who was killed by her parents in 1987 

Giving evidence at the inquest, Nicholas Esson, a mental health manager at Kent County Council, said that Barry West was having ‘difficulty coping with pain’ and felt he had ‘no quality of life’.

He said that when he met with a social worker on August 26 – just two days before he died – he said he ‘felt abandoned’ by mental health services.

Mr Esson said that in the wake of Mr West’s death an internal review had been launched into how better to support people during Covid-19 pandemic – including staying in touch with patients more often.

The inquest heard how Mr West had ‘clashed’ with his doctor about the best drugs to treat his chronic shoulder and back pain, with the serial killer’s son saying he wanted to be put on ‘opioid treatment’, which he said made him ‘happier’ and the ‘most pain free’.

Mr West’s doctor told the inquest: ‘There were many times he was very frustrated at our unwillingness to prescribe an additional opioid – and he said life was not worth living.’

Ms Harding ruled that Mr West had died following ‘voluntary injections of pain relieving medication’ and gave a verdict of misadventure.