Coroner acts to stop Moors Murderer Ian Brady's ashes being scattered on Saddleworth Moor
Ian Brady's body will not be released until assurances have been given that his ashes will not be scattered on Saddleworth Moor, where four of his victims were found.
Brady, 79, who tortured and murdered five children along with his girlfriend Myra Hindley, died on 15 May 2017.
All but 12-year-old Keith Bennett's body were found on the moor - and his mother Winnie Johnson died never knowing what happened to her son.
Despite repeated pleas to reveal the location of Keith's final resting place, it seems Brady took that secret to the grave.
Opening an inquest into Brady's death, senior coroner for Sefton Christopher Sumner said the killer died from corpul monale (heart failure) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He said he had received a request to release Brady's body but wanted assurances before he did so.
"I would like an assurance before I do so that first of all the person who asked to take over responsibility for that funeral has a funeral director willing to deal with the funeral, and that he has a crematorium willing and able to cremate Mr Stewart-Brady's body.
"Emotions are high, they are bound to be, not so much in this area, but in the Manchester area.
"I also wanted to have assurance that when Mr Stewart-Brady is cremated his ashes will not be scattered on Saddleworth Moor. I think that's a right and proper moral judgment to make.
"I think it would be offensive if Mr Stewart-Brady's ashes were scattered on Saddleworth Moor."
The court heard the serial killer had been treated by a palliative care team for the past two weeks because of his deteriorating health.
Mr Howard-Murphy said his feeding tube was removed on May 11.
The hearing was told Brady did not wish to be resuscitated if he suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 6.02pm on Monday.
Mr Howard-Murphy said Brady "retained capacity throughout".
He said: "There are no relatives of Ian Stewart-Brady known to the court."
His body was identified by Ashworth site manager Michelle Anderton
Terry Kilbride, whose brother John was one of Brady's victims, previously told ITV News he had appealed to Brady to finally reveal the location of Keith Bennett's body.
He said the killer had "taunted every one of the families" with his knowledge.
But he hoped Brady would finally give Keith Bennett's family closure with a full confession.
"What good is going to do taking it with him? He’s not going to get any satisfaction any more out of manipulating the family," he added.
Police believe Brady did know the exact location but never gave it up.