In July 1964, Rena bore Fred a daughter, Anna Marie. The child was born at the couple's Savoy Street home. The family nanny, Isa McNeill, and neighbours of the Wests, recall Rena as a considerate mother "struggling to bring up two children"; Fred treated the children harshly. He kept the girls in the bottom of a bunk bed with bars fitted to the space between the bunks, effectively caging them; they were allowed out only when he was at work. Via McNeill, the Wests became acquainted with 16-year-old Anne McFall, a friend of McNeill's, who was despondent over the death of her boyfriend in a workplace accident. McFall spent a great deal of time at the Wests' flat.