Moors murderer Ian Brady has revealed information about where one of his young victims is buried, British media reported today.
Brady disclosed the whereabouts of 12-year-old Keith Bennett, the only body never found, to a long-term visitor to the psychiatric hospital where he is serving his life sentence.
A woman (49) had been arrested in south Wales on suspicion of preventing the burial of a body without lawful exercise.
Brady and his accomplice Myra Hindley are known as the Moors Murderers for murdering five children between 1963 and 1965. They kidnapped, sexually tortured and murdered the children, whose bodies were buried on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester, England.
Martin Bottomley, head of investigative review of Greater Manchester Police’s major and cold case crime unit, said: “We do not know if this is true or simply a ruse.”
Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Photograph: Evening Standard/Getty Images
Police opened their investigation after Brady’s mental health advocate told a Channel 4 documentary that he gave her a sealed envelope to pass to Winnie Johnson, the mother of his 12-year-old victim Keith Bennett, in the event of his death.
Jackie Powell (49), who was appointed Brady’s mental health advocate in 1999, was detained on suspicion of preventing the burial of a body without lawful exercise.
But detectives examining documents seized from Ms Powell’s home have so far found no evidence to suggest Brady has disclosed the location of Keith’s body. Ms Powell has since been released on bail pending further inquiries.
Mr Bottomley said in a statement: “The Moors murders cast a long and dark shadow over the history of our region, but in 2009 we reluctantly concluded there was no longer any specific information to identify new search areas and the investigation to find Keith entered a dormant stage.
“However, we have always stressed this is a case we will never close. We have been, and always will be, open to pursuing any new lines of inquiry that arise from significant scientific advances or credible and actionable information.
“I want to be explicitly clear about this: Ian Brady has not revealed to police the location of Keith’s body.
“What we are looking at is the possibility, and at this stage it is only a possibility, that he has written a letter to Keith’s mum Winnie Johnson which was not to be opened until after his death," Mr Bottomley said.
What we are looking at is the possibility, and at this stage it is only a possibility, that he has written a letter to Keith’s mum Winnie Johnson which was not to be opened until after his death," Mr Bottomley said.
“We do not know if this is true or simply a ruse but we clearly have a duty to investigate such information on behalf of Keith’s family."
Ms Johnson (78), the mother of the victim kidnapped and killed by Brady and Hindley in 1964, has battled for 47 years to lay her son to rest.
In July, she pleaded with Brady to tell her where her son was buried as she fears she may soon die from cancer.
Brady (74) was jailed for life in 1966 for the murders of three children. Hindley, who died in prison in November 2002, aged 60, was given a life sentence for the murders of two children.
In 1987, the pair admitted killing Keith Bennett and another 16-year-old girl.
Reuters