Brady funeral secrecy as lawyers battle over where to scatter ashes
LAWYERS for Ian Brady are fighting a move to stop his ashes being scattered on the moors where he and Myra Hindley buried their victims.
Two councils whose area covers Saddleworth Moor are understood to have gone to the High Court to block what is feared to be the serial child killer’s last wish.
An order was made at the unpublicised hearing banning the media from reporting details of Brady’s funeral until a week after it has taken place.
Oldham and Tameside councils went to the court as a pre- emptive step in case it is stated in Brady’s will that his ashes should be scattered on the moors.
Lawyers for the councils made their arguments earlier this week. The defendants were Brady’s solicitor, Robin Makin, who was represented at the hearing, and a second party which cannot be identified. Judgement is expected to be given tomorrow.
Following Brady’s death at maximum security Ashworth hospital in May aged 79, a coroner refused to release the body unless he was given an assurance the ashes would not be scattered on the moors. This week’s proceedings further raise the prospect that this is something the killer stipulated in his will.
While the hearing took place in public, it is thought no reporters were present.
The case caused consternation among relatives of the five children killed by Brady and Hindley in the 1960s at the prospect of either his funeral or the scattering of his ashes taking place in the area.
Alan Bennett, whose brother Keith is the only Moors Murders victim whose body has never been found, said: ‘ The further away from Saddleworth Moor that his body is disposed of, the better.
‘ Certainly the ashes should under no circumstances be scattered on Saddleworth Moor, as directed by the coroner.’
A source with knowledge of the case said: ‘It’s not that the councils know this is likely to happen, it’s just a move that’s been made out of respect for the victims’ families. They want to achieve that surety on behalf of their residents.’
Brady’s solicitor did not respond to requests for a comment yesterday. The councils said they would not comment until after the judgement. Mr Makin has consistently refused to reveal the killer’s funeral wishes, saying they would emerge in ‘ due course’. The bulk of Saddleworth Moor falls within the metropolitan borough of Oldham, while adjoining moorland lies within the neighbouring Tameside council area. Several families of the victims of Brady and Hindley live in Tameside.
Following Brady’s death, Tameside council contacted local funeral directors to say they should have no involvement in organising a ceremony for the killer or in disposing of his remains in any way.
Any request to scatter his ashes in the area would also be rejected, it added. In the meantime, his body has been left in a mortuary at a secret location.
Brady and Hindley were jailed for life in 1966 for torturing and murdering John Kilbride, 12, tenyear-old Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans, 17.
They went on to admit the murders of Pauline Reade, 16, and Keith Bennett, 12.
With the exception of Edward Evans, all were buried on Saddleworth Moor.
Hindley died in November 2002 and her ashes were later scattered in Stalybridge Country Park in Tameside, just a short drive from the moors.