The Moors Murders case centres on the abduction and killing of five children in and around Manchester between 1963 and 1965.

Myra Hindley met Ian Brady in 1961 while working as a secretary at a chemical firm. Their relationship quickly deepened into shared interests in Nazi literature and violent fantasies. Hindley later stated that Brady exerted considerable influence over her decisions, yet court records and witness statements confirm she participated actively in the planning and execution of the crimes.

The pair lived together in Hattersley and used Hindley’s grandmother’s house as a base. They owned a car and frequently drove to Saddleworth Moor, an area they came to associate with their offences. Police later recovered bodies from the moor after Hindley and Brady provided directions during investigations.

Background

Hindley grew up in Gorton, Manchester, in a working-class family. She left school at fifteen and held several clerical jobs before meeting Brady. Contemporary accounts describe her as quiet and conventional until the relationship began. Brady, born in Glasgow and raised in an orphanage, had a record of petty crime and expressed admiration for Hitler and de Sade.

Their correspondence and diaries, seized by police, revealed detailed discussions of murder as an intellectual exercise. Hindley typed letters and notes at Brady’s direction. These documents formed key evidence at trial.

The Crimes

The first victim was Pauline Reade, aged sixteen, who disappeared on 12 July 1963 while walking to a dance. Hindley later admitted she lured Reade into a car on the pretence of helping search for a lost glove. Brady then attacked her on the moor.

John Kilbride, aged twelve, vanished from a market in Ashton-under-Lyne on 23 November 1963. Keith Bennett, aged twelve, disappeared on 16 June 1964 after leaving his home in Longsight. Lesley Ann Downey, aged ten, was taken from a fairground in Ancoats on 26 December 1964. Edward Evans, aged seventeen, was killed at the house in Hattersley on 6 October 1965.

In each case Hindley drove the car or stood watch. A tape recording of Downey’s final moments was played at trial, confirming both perpetrators’ presence.

Arrest and Investigation

The breakthrough came on 7 October 1965 when Hindley’s brother-in-law, David Smith, witnessed Evans’s murder and contacted police. Officers searched the house and found Evans’s body. Further searches of the moor, guided by photographs taken by Hindley, located the remains of Downey and Kilbride.

Hindley and Brady were arrested and charged with murder. Additional bodies of Reade and Bennett were recovered years later following renewed searches in the 1980s.

Trial and Conviction

The trial opened at Chester Assizes in April 1966. Both defendants pleaded not guilty. The prosecution presented the tape, photographs, and Smith’s testimony. Hindley claimed she had been under Brady’s control, yet the jury rejected this defence after three weeks of evidence.

Both received life sentences. The judge described the crimes as the most horrific he had encountered.

Imprisonment and Appeals

Hindley served her sentence in several women’s prisons. She began studying for a degree and later claimed to have renounced her earlier beliefs. In 1985 she confessed to further involvement and assisted police with the search for Bennett’s body, which was found in 1986.

Brady remained in high-security hospitals until his death in 2017. Hindley died in 2002 while still in custody. Successive home secretaries ruled that life meant life for both.

Legacy

The case prompted changes in police procedures for missing children and greater scrutiny of accomplice liability in murder trials. Public discussion of Hindley’s role continues to focus on questions of agency and coercion, supported by trial transcripts and later confessions.

The victims’ families have maintained campaigns for full disclosure of burial sites. Bennett’s body was recovered; Reade’s grave was identified in 1987. Memorials on the moor and annual remembrances honour the children.

Conclusion

The Moors Murders stand as a documented record of planned and repeated violence against children carried out by two adults acting together. Official records, court evidence and subsequent confessions establish the facts without ambiguity. The case remains a reference point for British criminal justice on sentencing and victim support.

Bibliography

Williams, E. (1968) Beyond Belief: The Moors Murders. London: Pan Books.

Goodman, J. (1973) The Moors Murders. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.

Lee, C. (2012) One of Your Own: The Life and Death of Myra Hindley. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing.

Topping, P. (1989) Topping: The Autobiography of the Police Chief in the Moors Murders Case. London: W.H. Allen.

Cunliffe, I. (2001) The Moors Murders: The Full Story. London: Blake Publishing.

Keating, H. (1997) The Murder Guide to Great Britain. London: Michael O’Mara Books.

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