Secrets of moors murderer Ian Brady’s briefcases could finally be released and lead cops to his victim’s body
THE SECRETS of Moors murderer Ian Brady's briefcases could finally be released and lead cops to one of his victim's bodies due to a change in the law.
Police had so far been refused permission to see the documents, which they believed could lead them to the body of one of Brady’s victims, 12-year-old Keith Bennett - the only victim whose remains are undiscovered.
The Home Secretary Priti Patel is to bring in a new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which would force the killer’s solicitor to grant police access to briefcases left by the Moors Murderer.
The monster, who died in May 2017, was jailed in 1966 alongside his twisted girlfriend Myra Hindley.
The pair murdered five children between 1963 and 1965.
Brady’s Samsonite briefcases were being held in secure storage by his solicitor and executor of his will, Robin Makin.
But Ms Patel wants to introduce measures allowing detectives to obtain a warrant for material that could reveal the location of little Keith's remains,
The briefcases were considered particularly significant because the original 1965 investigation discovered that the killer had stashed sick mementoes of his crimes in the cases.
These had been located at a Manchester railway station’s left luggage office.
The Home Secretary reportedly met with Keith Bennett’s younger brother Alan, who was now 64, this week to discuss her plans.
He also believed Brady’s paperwork could contain vital clues about his brother’s location.
CLOSURE FOR FAMILY
Killer Brady refused to ever reveal where Keith's body was buried.
But it was revealed he told a mental health worker he had left clues for police to find.
He claims to have left a trowel in a stream near the burial site, but died before his secret could ever be exposed.
However, the twisted killer kept notes, maps and pictures of Saddleworth Moor in his secret collection, which were believed to be linked to Keith's grave.
Alan Bennett has long believed Brady’s paperwork may contain vital clues about where his brother was buried.
“Keith’s story will be known to many, but what may not be known is the struggle which our family has gone through to try to seek closure,” he said.
“The Bill is large and wide ranging and will change the laws in a major way regarding police investigations."
He hoped there would be no “cold-hearted opposition” to the legal changes.
Police had initially met a roadblock in accessing the cases the day after Brady’s death, when a district judge refused them on the basis there was no prospect of an investigation leading to a prosecution.
Patel’s new bill would allow a warrant to be granted if there was a chance it could lead to the detection of human remains, even if outside of criminal proceedings.
The move would close a “legislative gap”, a Home Office source said.
A source said: “Priti is determined to give police the powers they need to access all available evidence and hopefully bring some closure to families in cases like these.”
While the new law appeared to be tailored to the circumstances surrounding the Brady briefcases, it could also assist in other cases.
The Bill was expected to be published within weeks.
On July 12, 1963, twisted Brady had told Hindley he wanted to “commit his perfect murder” when he spotted his first victim, 16-year-old Pauline Reade.
On November 23, 1963, Hindley approached John Kilbride, 12, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancs, and offered him a lift home before he was killed.
Keith Bennett, 12, was on his way to his grandmother’s house on June 16, 1964, when Hindley lured him into her van.
Desperate for another victim, cruel Brady and Hindley visited a fairground on Boxing Day, 1964, and came across Lesley Ann Downey, 10.
And on 6 October 1965 Brady met 17-year-old apprentice engineer Edward Evans at Manchester Central railway station and invited him to his home.
During the murders, the children were sexually assaulted, beaten, abused and gagged and made to pose for photographs.
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A post-mortem revealed that Brady's official cause of death was cor pulmonale and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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In a final insult to Keith Bennett’s family, he reportedly refused to show any remorse for his crimes hours before his death.
Brady's own lawyer Robin Makin revealed he would be "very surprised" if the killer left any useful information about where Keith's body was, telling Radio 4: "He did go to the Moors a long time ago and I suspect that if there had been information for him that he could have provided, he would have provided it then."
