Ian Brady & Myra HindleyThe Moors Murders

Background InformationIan Brady Myra Hindley

Born to single mother Born in England

Scottish-born in Glasgow Grew up with her grandmother

Never knew father or his identity

Close male friend drowned at 15. As a result, Myra left school and converted to Roman Catholicism (the boy’s religion)

Mother forced to leave him alone for long periods of time

Gave herself over to Ian Brady’s total control

Given up unofficially for adoption

Mother visited regularly until he was 12, never revealed she was his mother

In trouble with the law all his life- served prison time as a teen for burglary and “petty crime”. Prison at 17

Moors Murders was her first offense

The two were boyfriend and girlfriend

Information Cont.

Brady was a lonely, difficult child

Fascinated by Nazis and writings from that time

Had to return to live with his mother and step father Patrick Brady at 16 to avoid a custodial sentence

Met Myra Hindley at a Manchester Firm

Hindley wrote of intense feelings for Brady for a year before he showed any interest in her

Their first date was going to see “The Nuremburg Trials”

He encouraged her to read works by Hitler and others

He convinced her that murder and rape were the “supreme pleasure”

Crimes & SentencesBoth pleaded not guilty for the murders of Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey, and John Kilbride

Both sentenced to life in prison

Brady- guilty of 3 calculated, cold-blooded murders

Hindley- guilty of 2 equally horrible murders, not guilty of the murder of John Kilbride but guilty of being an accessory after knowing Brady killed him. Guilty of

harboring Brady after his murder of Kilbride

Harboring: protecting

Evidence Against Brady & Hindley

A luggage ticket was left in their home, tucked into a prayer book

That ticket led police to look at Manchester Central Station

There, they found two suitcases filled with pornographic and sadistic paraphernalia; nine semi-pornographic photos of Lesley Ann Downey, a tape recording of a girl screaming & crying, the name John Kilbride written in Brady’s notebook and a photo of Hindley on John’s grave at the moors

Hindley hired a car on the day of Kilbride’s disappearance and returned it covered in mudParaphernalia: Gear, stuff

***

The two only escaped the death penalty by a few weeks– an act that abolished it in 1965 (in England) had come into effect only 4 weeks before their arrest

Quote by HindleyMyra Hindley: “He used to threaten me and rape me and whip me and cane me. I would always be covered in bruises and bite marks. He threatened to kill my family. He dominated me completely.”

No nicknames found for the two*

Cultural References

Cultural References Cont.

TV Mini Series- See No Evil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN5Nl03WN2Y

Song: Suffer Little Children by the Smiths

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/smiths/sufferlittlechildren.html

TheoryThe Anomie Theory best describes these two criminals. Since

Brady never knew his father and grew up in adopted families, it can be assumed that he may not have felt loved and cared for. Therefore, he had social problems. He began an obsession with Nazi materials and sadistic things. I believe retreatism best describes him, from the notes we took. He did not want to pursue the goals of success or use means of achieving goals and may have had limited opportunities or inadequacy.

In Myra’s case, I believe rebellion best describes the reason for her actions. She met Ian Brady at a young age, and after she had encountered hard emotional problems. A very close male friend of hers had drowned after she refused to swim with him that day. After that happened, she dropped out of high school, and even converted her religion to the male friend’s. She was not emotionally stable or sane after that incident. I believe that incident led her to rebel against society.