Ian Brady 'may have revealed' Keith Bennett burial place

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19292164

Ian Brady 'may have revealed' Keith Bennett burial place

Moors Murderer Ian Brady may have revealed information about where one of his victims, 12-year-old Keith Bennett, is buried, detectives believe.

Police are investigating whether Brady gave details to his mental health advocate, Jackie Powell, during a visit to his psychiatric hospital.

Ms Powell was arrested in south Wales on suspicion of preventing the lawful burial of a body and has been bailed.

Brady and Myra Hindley murdered five children between 1963 and 1965.

They kidnapped, tortured and murdered the children, whose bodies were buried on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester.

Keith's is the only body never found.

He was abducted on his way to visit his grandmother in Manchester on 16 June 1964 and his mother Winnie Johnson, 78, has fought a long campaign to get Brady to reveal the location of her son's grave.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "On 30 July 2012, Greater Manchester Police received information that led officers to believe that Ian Brady had recently given details of the location of Keith Bennett's body to one of his long-term visitors."

'Duty to investigate'
Martin Bottomley, from Greater Manchester Police's Major and Cold Case Crime Unit, said: "I want to be explicitly clear about this: Ian Brady has not revealed to police the location of Keith's body.

“We do not know if this is true or simply a ruse”

"What we are looking at is the possibility, and at this stage it is only a possibility, that he has written a letter to Keith's mum Winnie Johnson which was not to be opened until after his death.

"We do not know if this is true or simply a ruse but we clearly have a duty to investigate such information on behalf of Keith's family."

The police were alerted to the possibility of information about the location of Keith's remains by the makers of a documentary about Brady, who said Ms Powell had told them she had received letters from the killer, one of which was for Mrs Johnson.

The programme's editor Emma Cooper said after learning of the documents, she had informed police.

"No-one can verify the contents of the envelope and therefore what information it does or does not contain but given the enormity of the implications as suggested by Brady's letter, we felt we had a responsibility to inform the family via their family liaison officer," she said.


Keith Bennett's mother, who is now 78, has fought a long battle to find out where he is buried
In a statement posted on a site dedicated to Keith, his brother Alan Bennett said that "until some definite information is found regarding Keith's whereabouts we do not want to raise our hopes too high at this stage".

"Nonetheless, it is a very important development," he added.

Brady, 74, was jailed for life in 1966 at Chester Assizes for the murders of Lesley Ann Downey, 10, John Kilbride, 12, and Edward Evans, 17.

He has spent the past 25 years at the high-security Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside and has been tube-fed since refusing food 12 years ago.

Hindley, who died in prison in November 2002, aged 60, was given a life sentence for the murders of Lesley Ann and Edward and for shielding Brady after John's murder.


In 1987 they admitted killing Keith and 16-year-old Pauline Reade, whose bodies had not been found. Both were taken back to Saddleworth Moor to help police find the remains of the missing victims but only Pauline's body was found.

The director of public prosecutions at the time decided prosecuting Brady and Hindley for the final two killings would not be in the public interest.

Police abandoned the hunt for Keith's body in 2009 and officers said they would need fresh evidence to resume the search.

'Proper family burial'
Greater Manchester Police said warrants were executed at Ashworth Hospital and an address in south Wales on Thursday and searches of both locations were continuing.

Last month Brady, who was born in Glasgow, was due to go before a mental health tribunal to consider his application to be transferred to a Scottish prison and be allowed to die. But it was postponed when he suffered a seizure.


Last December, Mrs Johnson, from Longsight, Manchester, said she wanted to attend the planned hearing to face Brady, saying she had "never seen him face to face".

But in the days leading up to the tribunal, before it was called off, she said it would be too traumatic for her to attend.

Mrs Johnson's solicitor John Ainley said she was not aware of the new developments, but said his client had "always believed that Ian Brady knew where her son was buried".

"Her one and only desire is to give her son a proper family burial during her lifetime."

He added that he found it "difficult to believe this story is true, but if it is, she will be bitterly disappointed that after all the requests she has made to Brady that he has left it to this very late stage to provide information and even that information isn't readily available.

"I remain to be convinced - it seems rather late in the day and a strange turn of events to come to light at this time."

Channel 4 is going to broadcast a programme "Ian Brady: Endgames of a Psychopath" on 21 August.
 
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As long as they don't let him strave to death. Keep him alive with those hidious thoughts. Saying that, how much of the tax payers money is being spent keeping that freak behind bars. Sometimes you wonder why they don't bring back the injection?
 
As long as they don't let him strave to death. Keep him alive with those hidious thoughts. Saying that, how much of the tax payers money is being spent keeping that freak behind bars. Sometimes you wonder why they don't bring back the injection?

Was the injection ever a method of capital punishement in the UK? As for Brady, I hope his information leads to some comfort for the family, but according to the producer of the Channel 4 documentary which sparked all shis off, it could well be part of the psychopathic beaviour, to retain some control over his position.

P.
 
Was the injection ever a method of capital punishement in the UK? As for Brady, I hope his information leads to some comfort for the family, but according to the producer of the Channel 4 documentary which sparked all shis off, it could well be part of the psychopathic beaviour, to retain some control over his position.

P.

who taught you how to spell?
 
Was the injection ever a method of capital punishement in the UK? As for Brady, I hope his information leads to some comfort for the family, but according to the producer of the Channel 4 documentary which sparked all shis off, it could well be part of the psychopathic beaviour, to retain some control over his position.

P.

Nope. Brady should be ignored and left to fester; he's been playing mind games with the families of his victims for decades. He & Hindley waited 20 years before they even confessed.
 
The man is, and always was, an absolute monster. I feel that this is his Last chance to somehow still keep some control of his feeling of "Power" over the family of Keith . As Amy has said above, he's been playing mind games for decades. I have a "gut" feeling that this is all just another sick "Joke" by him, to increase their torment even further by supplying false hope to a dying mother....I hope he rots for the rest of his natural life( Prolonged, and as Lonely as possible), and that there is then indeed a God in Heaven, and a Satan that does actually have a place in Hell, for him and his "friend" Myra. Rest in peace Keith, wherever you may lay...if that BASTARD will ever let you...
 
Arresting his advocate is wrong. She might not even have any good information. But why can't he be sent to one of those countries where they send alleged terrorists when they need to get information out of them?
 
There's something very British about a large proportion of the population wanting capital punishment back for murder but when one of them WANTS to die, no no no he must stay alive & suffer.

Incidentally, Skinny spelled his post correctly - shis is an abbreviated form of 'this shit' just so you know.
 
There's something very British about a large proportion of the population wanting capital punishment back for murder but when one of them WANTS to die, no no no he must stay alive & suffer.

Incidentally, Skinny spelled his post correctly - shis is an abbreviated form of 'this shit' just so you know.

Great point Mr A. I was just talking to Mrs F about this - the judge in the Nicklinson case said it wasn't for her to set the law. However, if they took the Swiss route, as many have done before, it would be looked upon compassionately. This poor bloke deserves his own destiny and wishes.

P.
 
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I agree that if Nicklinson finds his life so unbearable that he wants to end it, and he has the support of his family, then he should be allowed to do so.

On the other hand, former Middlesbrough & Burnley footballer Gary Parkinson is in exactly the same boat as Nicklinson but rather than wallow & demand to die, he got a job.
What's to say in 12 months time he wouldn't change his mind?
 
I agree that if Nicklinson finds his life so unbearable that he wants to end it, and he has the support of his family, then he should be allowed to do so.

On the other hand, former Middlesbrough & Burnley footballer Gary Parkinson is in exactly the same boat as Nicklinson but rather than wallow & demand to die, he got a job.
What's to say in 12 months time he wouldn't change his mind?

Another good point. I heard a radio interview with someone close to him. I think I don't know enough about the individual cases and capabilities to make anything other than general points.

P.
 
all seems to be getting mixed up here???

Re Keith Bennett: watching uk tv earlier today it seems that Winny Johnson, Keith's mother is now in a hospice in the latter stages of cancer. She has not been told about this 'story' as she is not well enough to deal with the possibilities it offers. It is a truly tragic situation. These few lines stolen from the Guardian a few years ago sums up her approach when she was well:

"Keith's mother, Winnie Johnson, sits on the sofa in her living room in Longsight, Manchester, with that image of Keith in a frame above her. A sampler with his face screened on to it accompanied by a poem hangs on another wall. "From that day to this / I pray both day and night / That I will find my Keith / And lay his soul to rest."

You wonder if she can bear to be asked yet again about her missing murdered child. Does she mind being asked about Keith? With her characteristic, surprising flashes of good humour, she replies, "No! Do I heck! I'd rather people talked to me about Keith than look at me and stare at me – I can't stand that. It makes me feel better talking about him."

We'd all hope she'd find what she was looking for, but that now seems very remote.

C4 are running a doc on Monday about Brady, from which this story has arisen. It remains a highly emotive subject in the UK and I hope that C4 do no one a disservice with their programme. Personally I do not see any value in addressing the Brady issue at this point. I hope the programme justifies the decision to do so. It is a thin line.
 
:tears:
 
So this case and this television special are being used to get people used to the idea of the death penalty? Television specials like that should really be ignored. Television is about the advertisements. What happens in between is formulaic and without shame, using whatever it takes to get the public to watch. It seems completely immoral to make a film exploring the cruel mental pranks of a child-killer but they know it gets the ratings. Beyond that it's being used to make you consider resorting to more barbaric views. You really shouldn't watch this or buy any paper he's on that doesn't have any real developments.
 
There's something very British about a large proportion of the population wanting capital punishment back for murder but when one of them WANTS to die, no no no he must stay alive & suffer

I'd personally behead the sick sod myself. I wouldn't waste tax payers money on people like him.

So this case and this television special are being used to get people used to the idea of the death penalty? Television specials like that should really be ignored. You really shouldn't watch this or buy any paper he's on that doesn't have any real developments.

I hope nobody watches this load of rubbish and gives it the time of the day. I certainly won't be. As for the papers, I wouldn't even use them as an alternative to toilet paper. There's enough crap that comes out of them anyway. Usually miserable depressing crap that nobody wants to know about.
 
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My understanding is the programme was made to coincide with Brady's most recent application to be transferred to a Scottish prison where he would be allowed to die. The programme was to be screened on the first day of his tribunal in July however he was too sick to attend and the tribunal was postponed.

I cannot fathom why there is such a marked rejection of a television programme which I imagine would be revisiting the issues and updating the public on any developments. It's not like the producers helped in digging the graves.
 
Sadly, Winnie Johnson has passed away, tragically before the search for Keith Bennett could possibly bring any results.
This is so sad.
 
RIP Winnie.
 
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