Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England.

The Moors murders represent one of the darkest chapters in modern British criminal history, a series of horrific crimes committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965. These unspeakable acts, carried out in and around the vibrant city of Manchester, England, sent shockwaves across the nation, leaving an indelible scar on the collective consciousness and forever altering the landscape of child safety and criminal justice.

Five innocent children, Pauline Reade (16), John Kilbride (12), Keith Bennett (12), Lesley Ann Downey (10), and Edward Evans (17), became their victims. These young lives, ranging from ten to seventeen years old, were brutally cut short, with at least four enduring sexual assault before their deaths. The sheer vulnerability of the victims and the calculated cruelty of their perpetrators cemented these crimes as truly chilling.

Saddleworth Moor: A Landscape of Despair

The desolate, windswept expanse of Saddleworth Moor in the Pennines, east of Manchester, became the infamous burial ground for several of their young victims. This remote and bleak upland area, usually known for its natural beauty, was tragically transformed into a site synonymous with unimaginable horror. In 1965, during the initial investigation, the bodies of Lesley Ann Downey and John Kilbride were tragically unearthed from shallow graves on the moor, confirming the worst fears. Decades later, in 1987, a third grave was discovered, revealing Pauline Reade's remains, a discovery that came more than twenty years after Brady and Hindley's initial trial. Yet, one enduring and heart-wrenching mystery persists: the body of Keith Bennett, despite countless dedicated searches spanning decades by police, volunteers, and his devoted family, has never been found. This unresolved agony leaves his family, particularly his mother Winnie Johnson who passed away without finding him, in perpetual anguish, highlighting the ongoing human cost of these crimes.

The Initial Trial and Convictions

At their initial trial, which gripped the nation with its horrifying details and unprecedented brutality, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were charged and convicted for the murders of John Kilbride, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward Evans. The lack of physical evidence for the other two known victims at the time meant these three cases formed the basis of the prosecution. The severity of their crimes led to both receiving life sentences, accompanied by what was then referred to as a 'whole life tariff' – a rare judicial pronouncement signifying that they would never be considered for parole and were destined to die in prison.

The Reopening of the Case and Further Confessions

For two decades, the true extent of their depravity remained partially hidden, haunting the families of Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett. However, in 1985, a significant and dramatic breakthrough occurred when the investigation into the Moors murders was sensationally reopened. This came after reports emerged that Ian Brady, while in prison, had confessed to the murders of Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett to a journalist and an author. Following these confessions, both Brady and Hindley were, separately, taken back to Saddleworth Moor under heavy security to assist authorities in the grim search for the additional graves. These harrowing excursions offered some measure of closure for the Reade family when Pauline's remains were eventually located, but the whereabouts of Keith Bennett's body remained agonizingly elusive, even with the perpetrators on site.

Myra Hindley: The Public's 'Most Evil Woman'

Myra Hindley, once an ordinary young woman, became notoriously branded by the press as 'the most evil woman in Britain,' a chilling moniker that captured the public's profound revulsion and fear. Throughout her incarceration, she made numerous appeals against her whole life sentence, consistently claiming to be a reformed individual, no longer a danger to society, and seeking release. These appeals were met with widespread public outrage, fierce opposition from victims' families, and intense media scrutiny, ultimately rejected by successive Home Secretaries and parole boards. The collective societal judgment was that her crimes were too heinous for any possibility of freedom. Hindley died in prison in 2002, at the age of 60, after serving 36 years behind bars, never having been released.

Ian Brady: An Unrepentant Killer

Ian Brady, in stark contrast to Hindley's appeals for release, never expressed remorse or any desire to leave prison. Diagnosed as a psychopath in 1985, he was subsequently confined to Ashworth Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility designed for those with severe mental health issues and criminal histories, where he spent the remainder of his life. His chilling demeanor was consistent; he made it unequivocally clear that he wished never to be released and, disturbingly, repeatedly sought permission to be allowed to die. Brady passed away at Ashworth in 2017, aged 79, taking with him any lingering secrets about the exact location of Keith Bennett's grave, a final act of cruelty that further cemented his malevolent legacy.

The Enduring Legacy and Impact

The Moors murders transcended a typical criminal case, becoming a deeply embedded, traumatic part of British consciousness, shaping public discourse on evil, punishment, and the nature of criminality. Professor Malcolm MacCulloch, a distinguished forensic psychiatrist at Cardiff University, aptly described the crimes as the result of a "concatenation of circumstances," pointing to a complex interplay of psychological, social, and relational factors that led to such extreme depravity. Mr. Justice Fenton Atkinson, the trial judge, in his powerful closing remarks, condemned Brady and Hindley as "two sadistic killers of the utmost depravity," words that continue to resonate with their chilling accuracy. Their crimes, meticulously covered by global media, left an indelible scar on the nation. Even after the deaths of both perpetrators, the poignant and determined efforts by Keith Bennett's family, and indeed other individuals with deceased relatives, to locate his physical remains underscore the profound, unresolved grief and the enduring human cost of these unspeakable acts, a testament to the fact that for some, true closure remains elusive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who were Ian Brady and Myra Hindley?
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were British serial killers responsible for the Moors murders, a series of child killings committed in the Manchester area between 1963 and 1965. They became two of the most infamous criminals in British history.
How many victims were there in total?
There were five confirmed victims: Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward Evans. Their ages ranged from 10 to 17 years old.
Why were they initially only charged with three murders?
At their initial trial in 1966, they were charged and convicted for the murders of John Kilbride, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward Evans. Evidence linking them to the murders of Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett only emerged later, following Brady's confessions in 1985.
What was Saddleworth Moor's significance?
Saddleworth Moor was the remote, desolate area in the Pennines where Brady and Hindley buried the bodies of their victims. It became infamous as the site of the graves, and multiple searches have been conducted there over the decades.
Was Keith Bennett's body ever found?
Despite extensive and repeated searches spanning over 50 years, the body of Keith Bennett has never been found. This remains a source of profound sorrow and an unresolved mystery for his family.
Did Myra Hindley ever express remorse or seek release?
Myra Hindley claimed to have reformed and repeatedly sought appeals against her life sentence, expressing a desire for release. However, her appeals were consistently denied, and she died in prison in 2002 without ever being released.
What happened to Ian Brady?
Ian Brady was diagnosed as a psychopath and spent most of his incarceration in Ashworth Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility. He never expressed remorse, refused to seek release, and died at Ashworth in 2017.
What was the "whole life tariff"?
A "whole life tariff" is a severe judicial sentence in the UK that means an offender will spend the rest of their life in prison with no possibility of parole. Both Brady and Hindley received this tariff.
Why were these crimes called "The Moors Murders"?
The crimes became known as "The Moors Murders" because several of the victims' bodies were discovered buried on Saddleworth Moor, a distinctive and remote geographical feature near Manchester where the perpetrators lived and operated.