‘We need to know what is in Ian Brady’s briefcases’
BROTHER OF VICTIM IN PLEA TO MURDERER’S SOLICITOR
THE brother of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett has pleaded with a solicitor to “show compassion and understanding” and hand over Ian Brady’s two locked briefcases.
Alan Bennett, believes they could contain clues as to the exact spot that Brady and Myra Hindley buried Keith, after abducting and killing him in 1964.
But Brady’s solicitor, Robin Makin, has refused to give the cases to Cold Case Unit officers from GMP.
Just before his death in May 2017, Brady requested the two combination-locked cases be put in secure storage.
It has now emerged officers went to court for a search warrant to open the cases to check them for clues.
But a district judge refused the application, stating there was no prospect of an investigation leading to a prosecution as both killers were dead.
Before the court hearing, Mr Makin had met GMP officers, bringing the locked briefcases with him. But he refused to let police examine Brady’s personal papers.
Keith’s brother, Alan, 62, said: “There is a desperate need to look for anything that may help in the recovery of Keith’s body and there may be something in those cases. We cannot be sure be we need to know for sure – one way or another.
“During my correspondence with Brady many years ago, he stated that he had left instructions in his will for me alone.
“He did not give any further detail but it was at a time when I was searching on the moor and asking him about routes taken, areas of the moor, landmarks etc.
“The refusal by Mr Makin to help any further is a great cause of distress considering that my brother’s body still remains on the moor while all the other victims have been returned to their loved ones for a proper burial.
“Surely anything that could help to bring Keith home has to be made available to the police on behalf of Keith’s family. There seems to be no compassion or thought for Keith or his family in regard to Mr Makin. Nobody I know can comprehend his unwillingness to do all he can to help us.”
Martin Bottomley, Head of GMP’s Cold Case Unit, said: “We will continue to do everything we can to pursue all investigative lines of enquiry to find Keith’s body, while also supporting his family and their efforts to uncover the truth. We will never close this case until we have the answers they so truly deserve.”
Mr Makin, of E Rex Makin & Co Solicitors in Liverpool, declined to comment.