Ian Brady

7th October 1965 proved the turning point for the police, when Myra Hindley’s 17-year-old brother-in-law, David Smith, arrived at Hyde Police station with a horrific tale of violence. Knowing Brady through the family connection, Smith was initially beguiled by Brady’s unorthodox and violent politics, but this changed when he arrived at Hindley and Brady’s home, on the evening of 6th October, to witness Brady killing 17-year-old Edward Evans with an axe. After Evans was finally throttled with a length of electrical flex, Hindley and Brady joked about the mess, and also told Smith of other victims buried on the Moors. Concealing his horror for fear of meeting a similar fate, Smith assisted them with the clean up, before returning home to tell his wife and alert the police.

Convinced by Smith’s tale, police and reinforcements arrived at Brady’s home, found the body of Evans in an upstairs bedroom, and arrested Brady immediately. Brady claimed that there had been an argument between himself, Evans and Smith that had got out of hand, denying that Hindley had anything to do with the murder. She remained at liberty until four days later, when police found a document in her car describing in detail how she and Brady had planned to carry out the murder.

The investigation would probably have gone no further than the death of Evans, if Smith had not mentioned Brady’s claim that other bodies were buried on Saddleworth Moor. Already familiar with the various unexplained disappearances, police were able to pinpoint the area favoured by Brady and Hindley, and began digging for the bodies of the children who had gone missing in the area over the previous two years.

The naked body of Lesley Ann Downey was found on 10th October 1965, followed eleven days later by the body of John Kilbride.

Despite discovering the two bodies, the police had only circumstantial evidence against the pair. Fortunately, a more thorough search of their home led to the discovery of a left luggage ticket, which led in turn to a locker at Manchester Central Station. There, police found sadistic gadgets and pornography, including photographs of Lesley Ann, bound and gagged in Hindley’s bedroom. A tape recording was also found, on which the little girl could be heard crying and begging for her life, as well as the voices of Brady and Hindley. Her mother, Ann Downey, was forced to identify the voice on the tape as that of her daughter.

Even with the mounting evidence against them, Brady and Hindley denied murdering Lesley Ann, trying again to implicate David Smith.  They claimed that Lesley Ann had left their home unharmed, and that Smith must have murdered her later.

The evidence linking Brady and Hindley with John Kilbride’s murder was not as strong, but proved sufficient to charge them, with the result that they were charged with the murders of Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey, and John Kilbride. Having not been able to find the bodies of the other two victims, despite exhaustive searches, no charges could be brought.