Ian Brady biography

Crimes

On the night of July 12, 1963, 16-year-old Pauline Reade became their first victim. She was kidnapped by Hindley while on her way to a local dance; then driven up to where Brady was awaiting their arrival. Reade was raped, beaten and stabbed before being buried.

Four months later, on November 11, 1963, 12-year-old John Kilbride disappeared from the vicinity of the market in Ashton-Under-Lyne, never to be seen again

On June 16, 1964, 12-year-old Keith Bennett disappeared while on the way to his grandmother's house. His disappearance was not noted until the next day, and a massive police search revealed no clues. Hindley had in fact lured him into her car, with a request for assistance in loading some boxes, then rendezvoused with Brady on Saddleworth Moor, where Keith was taken, by Brady, to a gully next to a stream, then raped, strangled and buried there.

On the afternoon of the Boxing Day holiday, 1964, 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey disappeared from a local fairground, and again a huge police effort, bolstered by volunteers, unearthed no clues as to her whereabouts.

October 7, 1965 proved the turning point for the police, when Myra Hindley's 17-year-old brother-in-law, David Smith, arrived at Hyde Police station with a horrific tale of violence. Knowing Brady through the family connection, Smith was initially beguiled by Brady's unorthodox and violent politics, but this changed when he arrived at Hindley and Brady's home, on the evening of October 6, to witness Brady killing 17-year-old Edward Evans with an axe. After Evans was finally throttled with a length of electrical flex, Hindley and Brady joked about the mess, and also told Smith of other victims buried on the Moors. Concealing his horror for fear of meeting a similar fate, Smith assisted them with the clean up, before returning home to tell his wife and alert the police.

Convinced by Smith's tale, police and reinforcements arrived at Brady's home, found the body of Evans in an upstairs bedroom, and arrested Brady immediately. Brady claimed that there had been an argument between himself, Evans and Smith that had got out of hand, denying that Hindley had anything to do with the murder. She remained at liberty until four days later, when police found a document in her car describing in detail how she and Brady had planned to carry out the murder.

The investigation would probably have gone no further than the death of Evans, if Smith had not mentioned Brady's claim that other bodies were buried on Saddleworth Moor. Already familiar with the various unexplained disappearances, police were able to pinpoint the area favored by Brady and Hindley, and began digging for the bodies of the children who had gone missing in the area over the previous two years.

The naked body of Lesley Ann Downey was found on October 10, 1965, followed eleven days later by the body of John Kilbride.

Despite discovering the two bodies, the police had only circumstantial evidence against the pair. Fortunately, a more thorough search of their home led to the discovery of a left luggage ticket, which led in turn to a locker at Manchester Central Station.