Scatter my ashes over Moors with my victims
Brother of murdered girl blasts beast as coroner bans sick send-off
IAN Brady wanted his ashes scattered where his victims were buried, it is claimed.
The brother of one said: “It is the final act of an evil man.”
TWISTED Ian Brady wanted a gangland-style funeral so he could go out in a blaze of notoriety not seen since the Kray twins died.
And in a final insult to his victims’ families, the child killer demanded his ashes be buried on the moors where he and Myra Hindley dumped their bodies.
But the deluded monster will be cremated in secret with a handful of officials in attendance and his remains disposed of near Ashworth security hospital where he died on Monday.
It was also revealed police made one last desperate bid to get Brady to tell them on his deathbed where he buried 12-year-old Keith Bennett, the only Moors Murders victim never found.
Speaking after opening an inquest at Southport into the killer’s death at the age of 79, coroner Christopher Sumner said: “I wanted to have assurance that when he is cremated his ashes will not be scattered on Saddleworth Moor. I think it would be offensive.”
Terry West, 66, whose sister Lesley Ann Downey was killed by Brady and Hindley, said: “It is the final act of a twisted, evil man. For the coroner to order this ban must mean Brady stipulated his ashes should be scattered on Saddleworth Moor. It is a sick, final twist to cause his victims’ families the greatest upset from beyond the grave.”
Brady is said to have planned his funeral years ago after he went on hunger strike at Ashworth on Merseyside and demanded to be moved to a prison so he could die. He wrote to some of the hardest gangsters in Manchester and Liverpool asking them to provide muscle at the service as well as a guard of honour. The demand came in a letter to pen pal and former criminal Cody Lachey. A source revealed: “He thought thousands of people will turn up the funeral. That might be true if the public was made aware of the arrangements but he’ll be cremated in secret.
“If ghouls knew where his remains were disposed of it could lead to the area become a magnet for sickos.”
Detectives visited Brady on Monday after it became clear his death was imminent and begged him to tell them where Keith was buried after his death in 1964 to end his family’s torment.
Their lawyer John Ainley said: “The police spoke to me in the course of the evening, and they were trying to have access to his papers.
“That’s difficult without consent from his solicitors and a court order. “They were trying, I think, to implore Brady at this very late stage to pass on any information or documents to them so they could carry out a meaningful search of the moors.
“The death is a missed opportunity to find Keith. There was always a glimmer of hope that he would disclose vital
It is the final act of a twisted, evil man to cause his victims’ families the greatest upset TERRY WEST BROTHER OF MURDERED LESLEY ANN DOWNEY
information but that has gone. The only hope is that he has passed information to his representatives that will emerge in the days to come.
“I would hope the remains can be found but unfortunately I have not got any information that is going to assist them. I would be very surprised if he really had anything that was useful.
“He did go to the moors a long time ago and I suspect if there had been information for him that he could have provided he would have provided it then.” But another lawyer who interviewed Brady twice insisted the serial killer did know where Keith’s body is. David Kirwan, who acted for the victim’s mum Winnie Johnson, said: “He dropped hints. I asked him specifically, ‘Do you know where the body is if you went back to the moors?’ He said sarcastically, ‘When I did go back in 1987 I took the police almost over his grave and they didn’t know, they bungled it.’ That was a bizarre thing to say and it convinced me that he did know.” Keith’s mother, Winnie Johnson, died in 2012 after fighting tirelessly for decades to find her son. A heartbreaking video has emerged of her begging Brady to reveal where he buried the boy, a week before her death. Fighting back tears, she said: “I want him found before anything happens to me.
“I want Brady to know that I’ve got cancer and if he has any decency or respect for himself and me, he will tell me where Keith is.”
Martin Bottomley, head of the Greater Manchester Police Cold Case Review Unit, vowed never to stop the hunt. He said: “Our aim is to find where Keith is buried and give closure to his surviving family members.”
Keith’s brother Alan, also pledged to keep up the search. Brady, who killed five children with Hindley, died from heart and lung problems. Speaking of his death, Mr Ainley said: “It was, I suppose, quite a moving sort of situation.”
But Chief Insp Ian Hanson of GMP’S Police Federation insisted there should be no sympathy for the killer.
He said: “He takes his place in hell and he can rot there and as far as I am concerned. Ashworth Hospital can leave him out for the bin men.”
MOORS murderer Ian Brady’s refusal to tell police where he buried Keith Bennett underlined what an evil monster he remained, right up to his last breath.
The 12-year-old’s body may never be found now, lost on Saddleworth Moor and denied a respectful internment.
We believe the coroner is right not to release the despicable killer’s remains until he is assured they will not be scattered at the spot where Brady committed some of his vile deeds.
That a savage killer was kept alive so long by the state is witness to the compassion of a civilised country when he and accomplice, Myra Hindley, showed none to their victims.
The world is a better place without them.