David Smith, the brother-in-law of Moors murderer Myra Hindley, has published a book detailing his experiences as a witness to one of the killings. The book, titled Witness, recounts the night in October 1965 when he saw Ian Brady beat 17-year-old Edward Evans to death with an axe.
Smith, then 17 and married to Hindley's sister Maureen, said he helped conceal the body before reporting the crime to police. 'I wanted to do the right thing, and that was the only thing to do,' he said. Brady and Hindley murdered four children between 1963 and 1964, burying their bodies on Saddleworth Moor. The remains of Keith Bennett, 12, have never been found despite extensive searches.
Smith described the year he met Brady as his 'car crash.' He said the couples spent evenings drinking and talking, but there was no indication of the horrors to come. 'He was a slightly eccentric friend. That's all,' Smith said of Brady.
At the 1966 trial, Smith was the chief prosecution witness. Brady and Hindley tried to convince the jury he was involved, a lie that many believed. Smith said he was beaten by strangers and saw people spit at his baby son. Now 64 and living in Ireland, he wants his grandchildren to know the truth. 'People put this aura around Brady that he doesn't deserve. He's a paedophile. He's a child murderer. He's a coward. Brady's nothing.'
