Ian Brady, born Ian Duncan Stewart on January 2, 1938, in Glasgow, Scotland, was one of Britain’s most infamous serial killers.
With the help of his accomplice and partner Myra Hindley, he carried out a string of brutal crimes in the 1960s that horrified the nation. Dubbed the “Moors Murderers,” referencing their grim practice of burying victims on Saddleworth Moor, a desolate stretch of wilderness near Manchester in northwest England, their atrocities included the abduction, sexual assault, and killing of five children and teenagers.
Brady’s detached, unrepentant attitude and his attempts to rationalize his crimes with twisted philosophical reasoning cemented his legacy as one of the most disturbing figures in British criminal history.
NAME: Ian Brady (born Ian Duncan Stewart)
ALIAS: The Moors murderer
DOB: January 2, 1938
DIED: May 15, 2017
COUNTRY: Glasgow, Scotland
VICTIMS: 5 (convicted of 3)
ARREST: October 7, 1965
SENTENCE: Life sentence with a minimum of 30 years
PRISON: Ashworth psychiatric hospital, Merseyside.
Where is Ian Brady now?
SENTENCE: Life sentence with a minimum of 30 years
Ian Brady, the notorious Moors Murderer, died on May 15, 2017, at age 79, in a high-security hospital.
His death comes after he spent over 50 years behind bars. The last 31 of those years housed in Ashworth Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility, in Merseyside, UK.
- Nov, 1985 Transferred to a psychiatric hospital
- Jun 28, 2013 Denied a transfer from psychiatric facility to prison
- Feb 18, 2017 Denied another request for transfer from psychiatric facility to prison
- May 15, 2017 Died at the age 79
Nov, 1985 Transferred to a psychiatric hospital
In November 1985, Brady was moved to Ashworth Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility following a diagnosis of psychopathy. He repeatedly expressed a desire to die and claimed to be on a “hunger strike,” though authorities maintained his survival through forced feeding.[1] – It should be noted that Brady later claimed to of faked his Psychopathy in order to secure a move to hospital. A decision he would later come to regret.
Jun 28, 2013 Denied a transfer from psychiatric facility to prison
Brady sought a transfer out of his psychiatric facility to a Scottish prison, where he hoped to avoid force-feeding and “determine the manner and timing of his death.” Brady claimed he had faked his Psychopathy, when asked by a hospital lawyer if he thought he was mentally ill, he responded “Have you heard of Stanislavski? If you knew who Stanislavski is … have you heard of method acting? Does that make it clear to you? I am not psychotic.”
However, his request was denied for his ‘Own health and safety’. Judge Robert Atherton, who chaired the mental health tribunal, said he had a “chronic psychotic illness” and could receive appropriate treatment at Ashworth Hospital. Noting that he would be at “significant risk” in prison due to his “notoriety”. [3] His assertion of a 14-year hunger strike was also contradicted by his own lawyer, who admitted Brady regularly consumed toast and soup. [2] – Here you can read the 105 page Ian Brady – Mental Health Tribunal 24/01/2014 findings.
Feb 18, 2017 Denied another request for transfer from psychiatric facility to prison
Brady was denied another court request to be moved to prison. His legal team argued that he suffered from terminal emphysema and was in the final stages of his illness. [2]
May 15, 2017 Ian Brady Died at the age 79
Ian Brady, the notorious Moors Murderer, died at age 79 in a high-security hospital. [2] Brady, who disclosed a severe lung and chest condition in December 2016, had been under palliative care for cancer at Ashworth psychiatric hospital in Merseyside. Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Ashworth, stated that a 79-year-old male patient passed away after deteriorating health.
Crimes Committed
Between July 1963 and October 1965, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, aka The Moors Murderers, carried out a series of brutal killings, murdering five children and teenagers in the Greater Manchester area. Brady was convicted of three of them: Lesley Ann Downey, John Kilbride, and Edward Evans. In 1985 Brady confessed to the murders of Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett.
Ian Brady’s victims:
Pauline Reade – July 12, 1963
Myra Hindley lured 16-year-old Pauline Reade into her car on the pretext of searching for a lost glove as the girl walked to a dance. Driving to the desolate Saddleworth Moor near Manchester, Hindley was joined by Brady, who arrived separately on his motorcycle. The teenager endured sexual violence before being murdered – her throat slashed twice. Her remains lay hidden on the moor for 24 years until the killers’ eventual confessions led to their discovery in 1987.
While Brady insisted Hindley actively participated in the assault, she maintained she had stayed in the vehicle, only seeing Pauline’s body after Brady returned.
John Kilbride – November 23, 1963
Twelve-year-old John Kilbride disappeared after Hindley approached him at Ashton-under-Lyne market, where the schoolboy had been earning pocket money running errands. Offering him a ride home, she and Brady instead diverted to the moors under the familiar ruse of searching for a missing glove. John vanished that day, his brutalized body – bearing evidence of sexual assault and strangulation – remaining hidden on Saddleworth Moor until its grim discovery in October 1965.
Keith Bennett – June 16, 1964
Twelve-year-old Keith Bennett vanished after Hindley coaxed him into her Mini pick-up truck as he walked to his grandmother’s Longsight home. Following their grim pattern, the trio diverted to the desolate Saddleworth Moor, where Brady later admitted to sexually assaulting and strangling the boy.
Keith became the only victim whose remains were never recovered – a cruel reality his mother Winnie Johnson fought against for decades, begging Brady in vain to disclose the location. Experts believed Brady withheld this final detail as a perverse exercise of control.
The heartbroken Mrs. Johnson passed away in 2012 without the closure of laying her son to rest. A glimmer of hope emerged on September 30, 2022, when an author investigating Keith’s case reported discovering potential human remains to Greater Manchester Police. However, subsequent investigations confirmed these were not Keith’s, leaving Britain’s most infamous unsolved murder mystery unresolved.
Lesley Ann Downey – December 26, 1964
On Boxing Day, Lesley Ann Downey was abducted from a fairground and taken to Brady and Hindley’s seemingly ordinary home. There, the 10-year-old endured unimaginable horrors—bound, stripped, and forced to pose for photographs while her terrified pleas were coldly recorded.
The 16-minute audio tape, played in its entirety during the trial, captured Lesley’s desperate cries: “Don’t undress me, will you?” and “I want to see mummy.” The courtroom fell into stunned silence as the tape revealed the child’s final moments before her murder.
Like their other victims, Lesley was buried on Saddleworth Moor—her young life reduced to another grim marker in the Moors Murders case.
October 6, 1965 Edward Evans
17-year-old Edward Evans, an apprentice engineer, was lured from a Manchester train station to the killers’ home. In a calculated move to recruit Hindley’s brother-in-law David Smith – himself no stranger to police – Brady committed the murder in Smith’s presence.
What followed was a scene of unimaginable brutality: Smith watched in horror as Brady struck Edward with an axe in the living room before strangling him to death. Unlike the secret moorland burials, this killing happened in the stark domesticity of their home. David Smith admitted to assisting with concealing Edward Evans’ body and cleaning the gruesome scene—later describing himself as “scared stiff” and desperate to escape the house unharmed.
Shaken to his core, Smith alerted police, who discovered Edward’s plastic-wrapped body and the bloody hatchet – evidence that would ultimately unravel Brady and Hindley’s reign of terror.
Capture & Investigation
The brutal murder of Edward Evans proved to be Brady and Hindley’s undoing. On October 6, 1965, David Smith – Hindley’s brother-in-law – watched in horror as Brady bludgeoned the 17-year-old to death with an axe. Unable to ignore what he’d witnessed, Smith alerted police the following day, leading officers to Evans’ body at the killers’ home. This grim discovery opened the floodgates to one of Britain’s most shocking criminal investigations.
Upon Brady’s arrest, detectives combed through his disturbing collection of sadistic literature, uncovering chilling evidence—including detailed notes on disposing of Edward Evans’ body on the moors. A notebook also bore the ominous scribble of “John Kilbride,” foreshadowing further horrors.
- Lesley Ann Downey’s remains were recovered on October 10, 1965.
- John Kilbride’s body was found ten days later.
A critical breakthrough came when police traced two suitcases—registered at Manchester Central Station using a left luggage ticket from Brady’s home. Inside, investigators made stomach-churning discoveries: explicit photographs of the bound, terrified Lesley, and the 16-minute audio tape capturing her desperate pleas for mercy.
The killers’ arrest came in 1965, mere months after Parliament abolished the death penalty, ensuring life imprisonment would be their maximum sentence. Throughout their trial, psychologists noted their chilling lack of remorse—a complete absence of empathy for their victims.
Trial & Convictions
At their April 1966 trial in Chester, both Hindley and Brady entered not guilty pleas. The 28-year-old Brady was ultimately convicted and received three life sentences for the murders of Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey, and John Kilbride—sentences to run concurrently. The killers avoided capital punishment only due to the abolition of the death penalty in Britain the previous year.
For nearly two decades, Brady denied any involvement in the disappearances of Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett. It wasn’t until 1985 that he finally admitted to their murders. In a macabre twist, the pair were taken back to Saddleworth Moor in 1986 and 1987 to assist police in locating the remaining victims. These grim expeditions led to the recovery of Pauline Reade’s remains in June 1987—while Keith Bennett’s body has never been found.
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REFERENCES / CITATIONS:
- The New York Times: Ian Brady, Unrepentant Killer of British Children, Dies at 79 – May 16, 2017
- The Guardian: Ian Brady, Moors murderer, dies aged 79 – May 16, 2017
- BBC: Brady jail transfer bid was stopped on safety grounds – January 24, 2014
- Judiciary uk: In the matter of Ian Brady – Mental Health Tribunal 24/01/2014 (PDF)
Books about Ian Brady
The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and its Analysis by the Moors Murderer Ian Brady
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley’s spree of torture, sexual abuse, and murder of children in the 1960s was one of the most appalling series of crimes ever committed in England, and remains almost daily fixated upon by the tabloid press…
Ian Brady: The Untold Story of the Moors Murders
Since May 1966 when Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were sentenced to lifeimprisonment at Chester Assizes the British public has been absorbed andhorrified by the Moors Murders. Ian Brady has often been aptly describedas ‘the most evil man alive…
Face to Face with Evil: Conversations with Ian Brady
Ian Brady is one of the most notorious and reviled serial killers in Britain. With his co-conspirator, Myra Hindley, he perpetrated the Moors Murders in which five children were abducted, assaulted, and murdered…
Evil Relations: The Man Who Bore Witness Against the Moors Murderers
Despite standing as chief prosecution witness in the Moors Murders trial, David Smith was vilified by the public due to the accusations thrown at him by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady about his involvement in their crimes…
The Moors Murderers: The Full Story of Ian Brady & Myra Hindley
A deep dive into the lives and crimes of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley—featuring newly released photos from a collection called “The Tartan Album.”…
TV Shows & Docs feat Ian Brady
Becoming Ian Brady
The Moors Murders shocked Britain in the 1960s. Five children murdered at the hands of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. This series turns the lens on Brady to take a unique look at what made him into arguably the UK’s worst ever serial killer.
TV Mini Series / Documentary | 2023 | 3 episodes
PRIME VIDEO
Crimes That Shook Britain – S6.E5 – Moors Murders
The Moors Murders – An insight into the crimes of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, featuring interviews with the family of Keith Bennett, who are still campaigning to find his body.
TV Series / Documentary | 2006
Fred Dinenage Murder Casebook – S3.E2 – The Moors Murders
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley abducted, assaulted and murdered 5 children in the Manchester area, burying 4 of them on Saddleworth Moor. 50 years later, Fred Dinenage asks who were this young couple whose mug shots have haunted the public for so many years?
TV Series / Documentary | 2011
PRIME VIDEO
YOUTUBE
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MORE ARTICLES ABOUT Ian Brady
A selection of interesting articles about Ian Brady, sourced and curated from around the web:
The Moors Murders: Who were the victims of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley?
Sky News | September 30, 2022
The Moors Murders: A Notorious Couple and Their Young Prey
New York Times | Author: Amisha Padnani | May 17, 2017
Ian Brady, Moors murderer, dies aged 79 –
The Guardian | Author: Alice Ross | May 16, 2017
Ian Brady: The killer who showed no remorse
BBC | May 15, 2017
Moors murders: Ian Brady reveals his life behind bars, claims he faked mental illness to be moved to hospital
ABC Australia | June 26, 2013
