Notorious child killer Ian Brady uttered a chilling two-word explanation for committing the horrifying Moors Murders, which he carried out with accomplice Myra Hindley and which rocked the nation. Brady, who died aged 79, started his killing spree because of a long-held fantasy: he wanted to commit the 'perfect murder.'
Hindley's Chilling Explanation from Prison
Hindley offered a chilling explanation for their murders from prison. She was sentenced to life in 1966 for the murder of 12-year-old John Kilbride and 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey, and acting as an accessory in the killing of 17-year-old Edward Evans. Brady was sentenced to life for all three murders. In 1986, both confessed to killing 10-year-old Keith Bennett and 16-year-old Pauline Reade. Hindley died in jail in 2002.
Hindley’s first confession to the police came in 1986, after which she decided to divulge more of her twisted mentality. She told the Guardian, two years before her death: 'I understand that it can't be a film for me. I know that what you do has to be balanced. I just feel it's right after all this time to explain what happened. Then people can decide what they think.'
Forensic Psychiatrist's Analysis
A forensic psychiatrist, Professor Malcolm MacCulloch, interviewed Brady over several years. He believed that events preceding crimes like the Moors Murders help explain them. Regarding Hindley’s late explanations, he said: 'One has to look at what is there and what is missing.'
Hindley said of her father: 'I detested him because of the way he beat my mother, which was often - as soon as we heard the first raised voice and the inevitable sound of fighting, we used to rush in and my gran would hit him with a rolled-up newspaper and I'd cling on to his legs and try to get him off my mother. This always resulted in my being kicked out of the way or slapped and even punched.'
Professor MacCulloch said these events show she is able to deal calmly with violent events. He explained: 'I think there are clues here in that she describes her father as being tough and abusive towards her mother. She withstood what might be construed as abuse. I think on balance the evidence is that she is a tough-minded and independent-minded woman, who later came not to be revolted by some of the things she was engaged in.'
Police Officer's Perspective
The former head of Greater Manchester CID, Detective Chief Superintendent Geoff Knupfer, who took her confession in 1986, had known her longer than any other police officer. He said Brady was the sole reason for her crimes. Knupfer said: 'I think she was a perfectly normal girl prior to meeting Brady. Had she not met Ian Brady and fallen in love with him, she would have fallen in love and got married and had a family and been like any other member of the general public.'
Hindley first met Brady at Millward's Merchandise. She said: 'I'd always been a romantic dreamer falling in love with film stars - I was crazy about James Dean and Elvis - and had read and heard the phrase 'falling head over heels in love' but never thought it would happen to me. But as soon as Ian Brady looked at me and smiled shyly, that's exactly what happened.'
Brady's Indoctrination and First Murder
Hindley said Brady began indoctrinating her, spreading bile about Black people and the Jewish community, and attacking her religion. She said: 'He scorned me for believing all the crap in the Bible, for going to church, Mass, with its mumbo jumbo and incense and confession.'
Hindley described their first sexual encounter as violent, and this violence intensified. She claimed that Brady was regularly raping, beating, and sexually humiliating her. She said Brady introduced her to the idea of killing, giving her a book called Compulsion where a 12-year-old child is abducted and murdered. Chillingly, it has a character called Myra.
She said: 'Then one evening - and he hadn't been drinking - he told me he wanted to do a perfect murder and I was going to help him.'
On July 12, 1963, Hindley left her house in the Gorton area of Manchester in her van with Brady following on his motorbike. 'I saw a young girl walking down the street on her own with nobody else in sight. He flashed his light and I slowly drew up just behind the girl, opened the passenger door and called to her to ask if she could spare a minute. She turned round and to my horror it was Pauline Reade.'
Pauline went to the same church Hindley used to visit and was a friend of her sister’s. Hindley took Pauline to find a glove she said she lost on Saddleworth Moor, 20 miles away. When they arrived, Hindley claims that Brady led Pauline off, raped her, and cut her throat.
She said: 'He led me to her body, which I tried not to look at. I didn't know at the time he was testing me and there was no need for me to be there. He told me to look at her. I'll never be able to forget what I saw. I moved as far away from her as possible... I stood and looked at the dark outline of the rocks against the horizon of the dark sky and three people died that night: Pauline, my soul and God.'
Hindley's Complicity and Lasting Impact
Regarding the murder of Lesley Ann Downey, aged 10, Brady made a tape recording of her pleas before raping and strangling her, showing Hindley’s complicity. She said: 'I'm having a great deal of difficulty with the Lesley Ann Downey thing. I think I'll just have to keep it brief. I just find it hard to believe that I could have been such a cruel, cruel bastard.'
Knupfer concluded: 'Clearly, she was absolutely besotted by this man. I guess like many other women I've met in the course of my career, they do all sorts of things for the love and respect of their partner.'
