Ian Brady is dead. The Moors Murderer died at Ashworth Security hospital

Moors Murderer Ian Brady on his way to Chester Assizes Credit: PA

The Moors Murderer Ian Brady has died at Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside at the age of 79.

He was one of the most reviled murderers in British history. His crimes were described as Evil Beyond Belief by the judge at his trial at the Chester Assizes.

He grew up in Glasgow where he was involved in petty crime. But when he moved to the Manchester area he met Myra Hindley. It's said she fell completely under his influence. She helped lure the children to their deaths.

One young boy's body has never been found. He was Keith Bennet. It believed he was buried on Saddleworth Moor. Brady always refused to say where his body was.

The jury in the case heard their tape recording of Lesley Ann Downey being tortured and crying out for her mother. It haunted the families and everyone else involved in the case.

Keith's mother Winnie Johnson after her son had been murdered Credit: PA
Winnie spent years searching and begging Brady to reveal where her young son's body was buried Credit: PA

Their first victim was 16-year-old Pauline Reade, a neighbour of Hindley's who disappeared on her way to a dance in Gorton in 1963. Brady had told Hindley he wanted to "commit his perfect murder") Pauline Reade, was a friend of Hindley's younger sister. They asked her to help them search for an expensive glove she had lost on Saddleworth Moor. Hindley claimed Brady took Reade onto the moor while Hindley waited in the van. After about 30 minutes Brady returned alone, and took Hindley to the spot where Reade lay dying. Her throat had been cut twice with a large knife.

John Kilbride,12 and Lesley-Ann Downey,10. Credit: PA

Later that year the two approached 12-year-old John Kilbride on a cold November evening at a market in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, and offered him a lift home. Again when they reached the moor Brady took the child with him while Hindley waited in the car. Brady sexually assaulted Kilbride and attempted to slit his throat with a six-inch serrated blade before fatally strangling him. Twelve-year-old Keith Bennett vanished on his way to his grandmother's house in Longsight (Manchester) the following summer. Brady went off with Bennett, supposedly looking for a lost glove. Hindley kept watch, and after about 30 minutes or so Brady reappeared, alone and carrying a spade that he had hidden there earlier. When Hindley asked how he had killed Bennett, Brady said that he had sexually assaulted the boy and strangled him.

Later that year on Boxing Day Brady and Hindley visited a fairground in search of another victim, and noticed 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey standing beside one of the rides. They abducted her. Once inside the house Downey was undressed, gagged and forced to pose for photographs before being raped and killed.

The following October Brady met 17-year-old apprentice engineer Edward Evans at what was Manchester Central Station and invited him to his home at 16 Wardle Brook Avenue in Hattersley, Cheshire, where Brady beat him to death with an axe.