Missing pages from Moors murderer Ian Brady's autobiography could contain crucial information about where his final victim is buried, a new BBC documentary claims. The last 200 pages of Brady's manuscript may hold his account of 12-year-old Keith Bennett's murder and burial in 1964.
Keith's body remains the only one of Brady and Myra Hindley's five victims never recovered from the Pennine Moors above Manchester. The Glasgow-born serial killer shocked the nation in the 1960s as he abducted, tortured and murdered children alongside Hindley, who died in prison in 2002.
Missing manuscript pages revealed
The missing section of Brady's autobiography is believed to have been deposited with his solicitor, Robin Makin, after Brady's death in 2017 aged 79. Mr Makin has previously stated he did not believe Brady possessed any information that could lead to discovering Keith Bennett's body.
Between 1963 and 1965, Brady and Hindley killed five children in what became known as the Moors Murders. Pauline Reade, 16, disappeared on her way to a disco on July 12 1963, whilst John Kilbride, 12, was snatched in November the same year.
Victims' tragic timeline
Keith Bennett was taken on June 16 1964 after leaving home to visit his grandmother. Lesley Ann Downey, 10, was lured away from a funfair on Boxing Day 1964, and Edward Evans, 17, was killed in October 1965.
In 1966, Brady received a life sentence at Chester Assizes for murdering John, Lesley Ann and Edward. Hindley was convicted of killing Lesley Ann and Edward and shielding Brady after John's murder, also receiving life imprisonment.
Search efforts continue
In 1987, the pair finally admitted killing Keith and Pauline and were taken back to Saddleworth Moor to help police find the missing victims' remains. However, only Pauline's body was discovered during these searches.
Theologian Dr Alan Keightley published a book about Brady based on extensive interviews at Ashworth Special Hospital, where the killer was held. Following Keightley's death in 2023, his widow Joan has provided documentary-makers with access to his extensive archive.
Incomplete manuscript discovered
The archive includes an incomplete copy of a typed manuscript titled Black Light, which Brady appears to have written. Keightley noted in his book that Brady claimed Black Light was at least 600 pages long, but the archived copy stops abruptly at page 394, shortly before John Kilbride's murder.
The documentary makers believe the missing pages could contain information about Keith Bennett's burial location. Keightley wrote that Brady once asked him to deliver a "double sealed parcel", assumed to contain the autobiography, to a London solicitor.
Family's enduring pain
This package eventually reached Mr Makin's Liverpool law firm. According to the BBC, Mr Makin has not responded to requests for comment about the documentary's claims.
Winnie Johnson, Keith Bennett's mother, died in 2012 aged 78 without fulfilling her lifelong wish to give her son a Christian burial. Greater Manchester Police maintain they will never close Keith Bennett's case and will act on any "credible and actionable" information.
Their last search in 2022, prompted by claims from a member of the public researching the murders, found nothing. The Moors Murders: A Search for Justice airs on BBC Two at 9pm, with both episodes available on BBC iPlayer now.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
