The Moors murderer mocked police and withheld the briefcases that may hold clues to Keith Bennett’s burial
Ian Brady, the infamous Moors murderer, left behind locked briefcases believed to contain personal papers that could shed light on the burial place of 12-year-old Keith Bennett. But despite years of pleading from police and the victim’s family, the contents remain hidden.
Brady died in 2017 at Ashworth Hospital, a secure psychiatric unit in Merseyside, after more than three decades in detention. Before his death, he handed the locked briefcases to his solicitor, instructing that they must not be opened until after his passing.
When police applied for access the following day, a district judge refused. The court ruled there was no prospect of further prosecutions in connection with Keith’s disappearance, and therefore no grounds to open the cases.
Brady’s refusal to cooperate had long frustrated detectives and the Bennett family. Author Duncan Staff, who wrote Lost Boy, revealed that when Professor Malcolm McCulloch questioned Brady about Keith’s remains, the killer coldly replied: “I know. You don’t know. You want to know. And I’m not going to tell you.”
Embed from Getty ImagesBrady and his partner Myra Hindley were convicted in the 1960s for the murders of five children. Four of their victims were buried on Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester. While three bodies were recovered during the original investigations, Keith Bennett’s has never been found despite repeated and extensive searches.
Keith’s mother, Winnie Johnson, made desperate appeals during her lifetime to discover her son’s resting place. She died in 2012, aged 83, without the closure she craved. Her family’s attempts have since been carried on by her surviving son, Alan.
Alan Bennett has repeatedly appealed for access to the briefcases, which he believes remain in the possession of Brady’s solicitor Robin Makin in Liverpool. Both Makin and police have rejected his pleas, insisting there is no information within them that would assist in locating Keith’s remains.
John Ainley, the solicitor representing the Bennett family, has expressed renewed hope. He said that new material had recently come to light, including pages from Brady’s unpublished autobiography which are thought to have been passed to his lawyer.
“We’ll be having further discussions with Greater Manchester Police to see just what action they propose to take,” Ainley said. “I don’t think they’re connected, but the combination of those pages and the contents of the cases, if those are all examined and put together, it might form a picture that is really helpful. The family are desperate to get closure and find Keith’s body.”
A change in the law in 2022 was intended to make it easier for police to obtain evidence that could help locate human remains. But Ainley said that, in this case, it did not give Greater Manchester Police the additional powers they needed to access Brady’s belongings.
Police said they remain committed to helping the Bennett family. In a statement, Greater Manchester Police confirmed: “The force has always remained committed to finding answers for Keith Bennett’s family.”
For now, the locked briefcases remain untouched. They are symbols not only of Brady’s enduring cruelty but also of the unanswered questions that continue to haunt the family of Keith Bennett more than half a century after his disappearance.