Moors murderer Brady seen in public for first time in decades

17 Jun 2013 12:26

Brady, 75, is attending his mental health tribunal where he is seeking a transfer from high security Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside

Moors Murderer Ian Brady was seen in public for the first time in decades as his mental health tribunal began today.

Brady, 75, with wavy greying hair, wore a pair of dark spectacles and a dark jacket and was sitting between two female members of his legal team, hunched over, elbows leaning on the desk in front of him, in the tribunal room at the maximum security Ashworth Hospital, Merseyside.

Brady spoke briefly, in a gravelly, pronounced Scottish accent, at the start of proceedings to ask about the procedure of the tribunal, but his words were mostly inaudible.

The hearing was held in a room inside Ashworth but relayed by video to Manchester Civil Justice Centre, where around 40 journalists watched TV screens.

He was seen briefly on screen as the camera panned around the room, introducing the parties at the start of the tribunal.

A handful of people sat watching in a separate room set aside for members of the public while a small number of relatives of victims and their supporters sat in a third room, away from press and public.

The tribunal has been brought by the infamous child killer, who wants to get out of high security Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside.

He has been on hunger strike for more than a decade and is force-fed through a tube in his nose. Brady believes if he is allowed to go to a prison he will be able to die behind bars.

The tribunal, scheduled to last around a week, was postponed last June when Brady fell ill after suffering a seizure.

It is not known if Brady himself will give evidence.

Brady and his partner Myra Hindley were responsible for the murders of five youngsters in the 1960s.

They lured children and teenagers to their deaths, with victims sexually tortured before being buried on Saddleworth Moor above Manchester.

Pauline Reade, 16, disappeared on her way to a disco on July 12, 1963 and John Kilbride, 12, was snatched in November the same year.

Keith Bennett was taken on June 16, 1964 after he left home to visit his grandmother; Lesley Ann Downey, 10, was lured away from a funfair on Boxing Day 1964; and Edward Evans, 17, was killed in October 1965.

Brady was given life at Chester Assizes in 1966 for the murders of John, Lesley Ann and Edward.

Hindley was convicted of killing Lesley Ann and Edward and shielding Brady after John’s murder, and jailed for life.

In 1987 the pair finally admitted killing Keith and Pauline.

Both were taken back to Saddleworth Moor in 1987 to help police find the remains of the missing victims but only Pauline’s body was found.

Keith’s mother Winnie Johnson made repeated calls for Brady to reveal the location of his grave.

Mrs Johnson, 78, died on August 18 last year without being able to fulfil her last wish of giving her son a proper burial.

Hindley died in jail in November 2002, aged 60.

Credit: Manchester Evening News:

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