[97], Also among the photographs in the suitcase were a number of scenes of the moors. He described Hindley as a "delightful" person and said "you could loathe what people did but should not loathe what they were because human personality was sacred even though human behaviour was very often appalling". [128] Jennifer Tighe, a 14-year-old girl who disappeared from an Oldham children's home in December 1964, was mentioned in the press some forty years later but was confirmed by police to be alive. [20] He had been known as a hard man while in the army and he expected his daughter to be equally tough; he taught her to fight and insisted that she stick up for herself. Ann Downey, mother of Lesley Ann Downey, pictured at a fairground on July 17, 1965, searching for clues to her daughter's disappearance. [220] Home Secretary David Blunkett ordered the GMP to find new charges against Hindley to prevent her release from prison. On 11 October, she too was arrested and taken into custody, being charged as an accessory to the murder of Evans and was remanded at HM Prison Risley. [104] The proceedings continued before three magistrates in Hyde over an eleven-day period during December, at the end of which the pair were committed for trial at Chester Assizes.[35][105]. [102] At the committal hearing on 6 December, Brady was charged with the murders of Evans, Kilbride, and Downey, and Hindley with the murders of Evans and Downey, as well as with harbouring Brady in the knowledge that he had killed Kilbride. [137], On 16 December 1986, Hindley made the first of two visits to assist the police search of the moor. Downey's mother was at the centre of a campaign to ensure that Hindley was never released from prison, and until her death in February 1999, she regularly gave television and newspaper interviews whenever Hindley's release was rumoured. [187][189], Myra gets the potentially fatal brain condition, whilst I have to fight simply to die. Before the trial, the News of the World newspaper offered 1,000 to Smith for the rights to his story; the American People magazine made a competing offer of 6,000 (equivalent to about 20,000 and 120,000 respectively in 2021). Then the screams carried on, one after another really loud. At some point Brady sent Hindley to fetch Smith, her brother-in-law. Transcript of the tape with recorded murder of Lesley Ann Downey Man - This is track four. [71], Early in the evening of 16 June 1964, Hindley asked twelve-year-old Keith Bennett, who was on his way to his grandmother's house in Longsight,[72] for help in loading some boxes into her Mini Pick-up, after which she said she would drive him home. [13] He was sent to Latchmere House in London,[12] and then Hatfield borstal in the West Riding of Yorkshire. At first, Smith refused to name the newspaper, risking contempt of court; when he eventually identified the News of the World, Jones, as Attorney General, immediately promised an investigation. [98] That same day, already being held for the murder of Evans, Brady and Hindley appeared at Hyde Magistrates' Court charged with Downey's murder. She said that she saw no possibility of release, and also exonerated Smith from any part in the murders other than that of Evans. View source History Talk (0) Redirect to: Ian Brady's briefcases (lost personal documents of Moors Murderer; 1963-2017) Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. [267][268], According to the 2020 television documentary Rose West & Myra Hindley: Their Untold Story with Trevor McDonald, Hindley and another British serial murderer, Rosemary West, "grew close in jail, bonding over their similar crimes, then had an affair, which cooled as they became rivals to be 'prison royalty.'"[269]. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) reopened the investigation, now to be headed by Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Topping, head of GMP's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). says", "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)", "Ian Brady resumes search for boy's grave", "1987: Moors murderer claims more killings", "Police call off search for Moors murder victim", "Spy satellite used in fresh bid to reveal Moors Murderers final secret", "Moors Murders: Donations fund search for Keith Bennett", "Ian Brady's mental health advocate will not face charges", "Moors Murders: 'Unlock Ian Brady's briefcases' plea", "Police to begin dig for Moors murder victim 58 years after he went missing", "Moors Murders: Search for Keith Bennett's body restarts", "Police dig for Moors victim Keith Bennett after skull reportedly found", "Moors Murders: No remains yet found in search for Keith Bennett", "Search ends for Moors murder victim Keith Bennett after no remains found", "UK's longest-serving prisoner, Straffen, dies", "Force feeding of Ian Brady declared lawful", "Ian Brady will not necessarily kill himself if moved to jail, tribunal hears", "Ian Brady should stay in psychiatric hospital, tribunal rules", "Ian Brady's ashes "not to be scattered at Saddleworth Moor", "Ian Brady: Moors Murderer "would remove feeding tube", "Moors Murderer Ian Brady died of natural causes, coroner confirms", "Moors Murders: Judge rules on Ian Brady body disposal", "Moors Murders: Ian Brady's ashes disposed of at sea", "Thatcher overruled minister to keep Moors murderers locked up for life", "Ian Brady: How the Moors Murderer came to symbolise pure evil", "Howard considers moving Hindley to open prison", "Regina v. Secretary of State For The Home Department, Ex Parte Hindley", "Myra Hindley, the Moors monster, dies after 36 years in jail", "I have no compassion for her. The victims were five childrenPauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward Evansaged between 10 and 17, at least four of whom were sexually assaulted. He arrived home around 3:00a.m. and asked his wife to make a cup of tea, which he drank before vomiting and telling her what he had witnessed. [174] He spent nineteen years in mainstream prisons before being diagnosed as a psychopath in November 1985 and sent to the high-security Park Lane Hospital, now Ashworth Hospital, in Maghull, Merseyside;[175] he made it clear that he never wanted to be released. Hindley and Brady murdered five children, aged between 10 and 17, in the Greater Manchester area between July 1963 and October 1965. The young Smith was similarly impressed by Brady, who throughout the day had paid for his food and wine. She also asked to join a pistol club, but she was a poor shot and allegedly often bad-tempered, so Clitheroe told her that she was unsuitable; she did though manage to purchase a Webley .45 and a Smith & Wesson .38 from other members of the club. In 1966, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were convicted of the abduction, sexual assault and murder of Lesley Ann Downey (10), John Kilbride (12) and Edward Evans (17). [52], In 1964, Hindley, her grandmother, and Brady were rehoused as part of the post-war slum clearances in Manchester, to 16Wardle Brook Avenue in the new overspill estate of Hattersley, Cheshire. This time, the level of security surrounding her visit was considerably higher. [194] In 2006 officials intercepted 50paracetamol pills hidden inside a hollowed-out crime novel sent to Brady by a female friend. The murders were the result of what Malcolm MacCulloch, professor of forensic psychiatry at Cardiff University, described as a "concatenation of circumstances". [255], In November 2017 it was revealed that, without the knowledge of her family, some of the remains of Pauline Reade, including her jaw bone, had been kept at the University of Leeds by Greater Manchester Police. [213][260] At the 1997 Sensation art exhibition, a reproduction composed of children's handprints caused controversy. [217][218], When in 2002 another life sentence prisoner challenged the Home Secretary's power to set minimum terms, Hindley and hundreds of others, whose tariffs had been increased by politicians, looked likely to be released. "Rape is not a crime, it's a state of mind, murder is a hobby and a supreme pleasure," these are the words by Marquis de Sade that inspired the Moors Murders. During the 1990s, Hindley claimed that she took part in the killings only because Brady had drugged her, was blackmailing her with pornographic pictures he had taken of her, and had threatened to kill Maureen. [109] Onlookers some travelling for hours would stand outside Chester Assizes every day during the trial. Even Hindley's mother insisted that she should die in prison, partly for fear for Hindley's safety. Higgins drowned in the reservoir, and Hindleya good swimmerwas deeply upset and blamed herself. Hindley claimed that when Downey was being undressed she herself was "downstairs"; when the pornographic photographs were taken she was "looking out the window"; and that when Downey was being strangled she "was running a bath". Published 11:30 AM EDT, Fri August 17, 2012. [231] That same year his children were taken into the care of the local authority. [146] Hindley made her second visit to the moor in March 1987. [145], At about the same time, Johnson sent Hindley another letter, again pleading with her to assist the police in finding the body of her son Keith. The pair were charged only for the murders of Kilbride, Downey and Evans, and received life sentences under a whole life tariff. But Brady, then 28, was given three concurrent life sentences for killing Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey and . Her father was an alcoholic who was frequently violent towards his wife and children. I deserved it. 3 Evil: Moors Murderer Ian Brady . [11], Within a year of moving to Manchester, Brady was caught with a sack full of lead seals he had stolen and was trying to smuggle out of the market. After a few minutes Brady reappeared in the company of 17-year-old Edward Evans, an apprentice engineer who lived in Ardwick, to whom he introduced Hindley as his sister. Four months after killing Lesley Ann, Brady took Hindley's 17-year-old brother-in-law David Smith on to the moors. The following morning Brady and Hindley drove Downey's body to Saddleworth Moor,[74] and buried hernaked with her clothes at her feetin a shallow grave.[75]. But Brady, then 28, was given three concurrent life sentences for killing Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey and . Amidst strong media interest Lord Longford pleaded for her release, writing that continuing her detention to satisfy "mob emotion" was not right. [48], By June 1963, Brady had moved in with Hindley at her grandmother's house in Bannock Street, and on 12 July, the two murdered their first victim, Pauline Reade, who had attended school with Hindley's younger sister Maureen, and had also been in a short relationship with David Smith, a local boy with three criminal convictions for minor crimes. Lesley was just 10-years-old when she was killed by them after they abducted her on Boxing Day 1964 at a fair in Ancoats, Manchester. By 2 December, Brady had been charged with the murders of Kilbride, Downey and Evans. Although Winnie Johnson's letter may have played a part, he believed that Hindley, knowing of Brady's "precarious" mental state, was concerned he might co-operate with the police and reap any available public-approval benefit. Brady was diagnosed as a psychopath in 1985 and confined in the high-security Ashworth Hospital. He did not refer directly to Bennett by name and did not claim he could take investigators directly to the grave, but spoke of the "clarity" of his recollections. Maureen moved from Underwood Court to a single-bedroom property, and found work in a department store. [107], The 14-day trial began in a specially-prepared court room at Chester Assizes before Justice Fenton Atkinson, on 19 April 1966. Some commentators expressed the view that of the two, Hindley was the "more evil". [237] Sheila and Patrick Kilbride, who were by then divorced,[238] attended Maureen's funeral thinking that Hindley might be there; Patrick mistook Bill Scott's daughter from a previous relationship for Hindley and tried to attack her. [177] Hindley was not informed of the decision until 1994, when a Law Lords ruling obliged the Prison Service to inform all life sentence prisoners of the minimum period they must serve in prison before being considered for parole. The only consolation is that some moron might have got hold of Puppet and hurt him. [7] Brady was accepted for Shawlands Academy, a school for above-average pupils. On 21 October they found the "badly decomposed" body of Kilbride, which had to be identified by clothing. Visitors to the burial site of 10 year-old murder victim Lesley Ann Downey on Saddleworth Moor in the South Pennines, circa 1965. When police asked for the key to the locked spare bedroom, she said it was at her workplace; but after police offered to take her to retrieve it, Brady told her to hand it over. [12] As he was still under 18, Brady was sentenced to two years in a borstal for "training". [61], On 12 July 1963, Brady told Hindley that he wanted to commit the "perfect murder". [3] Their crimes were the subject of extensive worldwide media coverage. She died in 2002 in West Suffolk Hospital, aged 60, after serving 36 years in prison. Speaking in 2012, Mr West said Mr Brady's death would help him. [28], In January 1961, the 18-year-old Hindley joined Millwards as a typist. In June 1957,[23] one of Hindley's closest friends, 13-year-old Michael Higgins, invited Hindley to go swimming with friends at a local disused reservoir, but she instead went out elsewhere with another friend. [5] Aged 9, he visited Loch Lomond with his family, where he reportedly discovered an affinity for the outdoors and a few months later the family moved to a new council house on an overspill estate at Pollok. [221], On 25 November 2002, the Law Lords agreed that judges, not politicians, should decide how long a criminal spends behind bars, and stripped the Home Secretary of the power to set minimum sentences. [54], Early on Boxing Day 1964, Hindley left her grandmother at a relative's house and refused to allow her back to Wardle Brook Avenue that night. [81], After the murder of Evans, Smith agreed to return the following morning with his baby's pram, to transport the body to the car, before disposing of it on the moor. The little girl's voice was full of fear. [249] Five years after their son was murdered, Sheila and Patrick Kilbride divorced. [180] In one letter, written in 2005, Brady claimed that the murders were "merely an existential exercise of just over a year, which was concluded in December 1964". Lesley Ann Downey was Brady and Hindley's youngest victim when she was murdered on 26 December, 1964. His mother continued to visit him throughout his childhood. She was in the car, over the brow of the hill, in the bathroom and even, in the case of the Evans murder, in the kitchen"; he felt he "had witnessed a great performance rather than a genuine confession". [35] The dock was fitted with bullet proof glass to protect Brady and Hindley because it was feared that someone might try and kill them. Moors Murders victim Lesley Ann Downey - December 26 1964. [246][247], In 1977, a BBC television debate discussed arguments for and against Hindley's release, with Lord Longford, a Catholic convert, on the side who argued that she should be released, and Downey's mother arguing against her release and threatening to kill her were the release to occur. [245] Smith died from cancer in Ireland in 2012. [14], In 2003, the police launched Operation Maida, and again searched the moor for Bennett's body,[161] this time using sophisticated resources such as a US reconnaissance satellite which could detect soil disturbances. As the death penalty for murder had been abolished while Brady and Hindley were held on remand, the judge passed the only sentence that the law allowed: life imprisonment. [30] In 2008 Hindley's solicitor, Andrew McCooey, reported that she told him: I ought to have been hanged. The victims were five children -- Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans -- aged between ten and 17, at least four of whom were sexually assaulted. [14] Released on 14 November 1957, Brady returned to Manchester, where he took a labouring job which he hated, and was dismissed from another job in a brewery. [62] Driving down Gorton Lane, Brady saw a young girl and signalled Hindley, who did not stop because she recognised the girl as an 8-year-old neighbour of her mother. THE brother of Moors murder victim Lesley Ann Downey has revealed he should have been with her at the fair on the day she was abducted. He rode a Tiger Cub motorcycle, which he used to visit the Pennines. Murders in and around Manchester, England, "The Moors Murderers" redirects here. Each was brought before the court separately and remanded into custody for a week. [114] When Smith accepted the News of the World offerits editors had promised additional future payments for syndication and serialisationhe agreed to be paid 15 weekly until the trial, and 1,000 in a lump sum if Brady and Hindley were convicted. Although five children were murdered in the Moors murders case, only three are named in the song: John Kilbride ("oh John you'll never be a man"), Lesley Ann Downey ("Lesley Ann with your pretty white beads"), and Edward Evans ("Edward, see those alluring lights"). [26] At 17, she became engaged after a short courtship, but called it off several months later after deciding the young man was immature and unable to provide her with the life she wanted. The family home was in poor condition and Hindley was forced to sleep in a single bed next to her parents' double bed. ", "Book by Moors Murder witness David Smith recalls horror", "Man who helped jail Moors murderers dies of cancer", "Moors Murder mother Winnie Johnson in DVD appeal to Brady", "Winnie Johnson, mother of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett, dies", "Moors Murder victim Keith Bennett's mother dies", "Police kept body parts of Moors murders victim without family's knowledge", "Moors Murders: Pauline Reade's remains reburied", "Lord Longford: Aristocratic moral crusader", "Goreytelling Episode 5: The Loathsome Couple", "From Myra Hindley to Three Girls: Maxine Peake's life and career", "Rose West's life behind bars to feature in ITV documentary", The official Keith Bennett website (archived version), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moors_murders&oldid=1141405323, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 22:27. [265], The book The Loathsome Couple by Edward Gorey (Mead, 1977) was inspired by the Moors murders. Both Hindley and Brady pleaded not guilty at their trial in Chester in April 1966. )[33] Their dates followed a regular pattern: a trip to the cinema, usually to watch an X-rated film, then back to Hindley's house to drink German wine. A former assistant governor claimed that such relationships were not unusual in Holloway at that time, as "many of the officers were gay, and involved in relationships either with one another or with inmates". [29] She soon became infatuated with Brady, despite learning that he had a criminal record. After confessing to these additional murders, Brady and Hindley were taken separately to Saddleworth Moor to assist in the search for the graves. The potentially fatal brain condition, whilst I have to fight simply to.... Expressed the view that of the two, Hindley was forced to sleep in a for! 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