Has murderer Ian Brady taken secrets of victims to his grave?

HAS CALLOUS Moors murderer Ian Brady died without revealing the lonely grave of his last undiscovered child victim?

Despite relentless appeals from Keith Bennett’s distraught family for the mass killer to give the location of the child’s final resting place, Brady remained tight-lipped.

But has he taken the secret to his grave? Or has he left a clue to the location of the 12-year-old’s body?

John Ainley is senior partner in a top flight legal practice in Oldham who represented Keith’s mother, Winnie Johnson, until she died a few years ago.

He also works closely with the Keith’s brother, Alan Bennett, who has never given up hope one day he will finally discover his brother’s grave on Saddleworth Moor.

Mr Ainley said: “The death of Ian Brady is a missed opportunity to find Keith. There was always a glimmer of hope that he would disclose vital information but that has gone.

“The only hope is that he has passed information to his representatives that will emerge in the days to come.”

He went on: “I have worked closely with Alan Bennett since the death of his mother Winnie and have always had the impression that he is close to finding the body of his brother Keith.

“He continued with the search and, like his mother, was convinced Ian Brady held the vital clue to Keith’s whereabouts.

“But despite more than one letter from me seeking his cooperation, he has not been prepared to help.”

Cllr Pam Byrne, retiring chair of Saddleworth Parish Council, said: “I lived in Greenfield at the time of these awful murders and had small children. It was a dreadful time.

“The death of Brady will never bring this to an end for those families that suffered and especially for the Bennett family.

“The only comfort to me is that both Brady and Hindley were incarcerated until their deaths.”

Ian Brady sexually tortured and killed five children and teenagers, between the ages of 10 and 17, together with Myra Hindley, who died in 2002, in the 1960s.

He died last month aged 79 at the high security Ashworth psychiatric hospital on Merseyside, and his death was confirmed by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. An inquest is to be carried out.

Brady had been held at the Ashworth secure psychiatric hospital for 32 years after being transferred there in 1985.

Four of Brady and Hindley’s victims were buried on Saddleworth Moor. The remains of 12-year-old Keith Bennett have never been found, despite searches as recently as 2014.

Following Brady’s death, Martin Bottomley, Head of Greater Manchester Police’s Cold Case Review Unit, said: “Our thoughts remain with the families of all of his victims.

“For decades they have suffered, not only from the unimaginable loss of their loved ones but they have also had to endure years of endless stories, speculation and rumour.

“It is especially saddening for the family of Keith Bennett that his killers did not reveal the whereabouts of Keith’s burial site.

“Whilst we are not actively searching Saddleworth Moors, Greater Manchester Police will never close this case. We will act on credible and actionable information that will help lead us to him.”