Moors murderer Ian Brady was ‘dead for minutes when heart stopped’

By ROSEMARY FREE
Published on 08/10/2012 00:00

moors murderer Ian Brady was brought back to life by medical staff after his heart stopped following a seizure, it was revealed yesterday.

The incident happened when Glasgow-born Brady was being interviewed by a psychiatrist at Ashworth top security mental hospital in Merseyside.

The 74-year-old collapsed and lost consciousness for several minutes before his heart stopped. Staff then used a defibrillator to resuscitate him – against his written wishes that he should not be saved if he lost consciousness.

Brady’s mental health advocate, Jackie Powell, told a Sunday newspaper: “He should be dead. They should have let him go.”

Powell, who visited Brady a few days after the incident in July, said he was furious when he discovered what had happened after lodging instructions with hospital officials never to resuscitate him.

“He does not recall the seizure and was furious that he had been resuscitated,” she said. “This is the one thing he has always said he does not want.”

Brady was jailed for life in 1966 for murdering three children with girlfriend Myra Hindley, and has been blamed for two other child murders.

He has been campaigning for years for the right to starve himself to death and has been force-fed by tube since 1999. The wishes of Brady were understood to have been ignored because of his mental health status.

At the time of his seizure, Brady was preparing for his appearance at a mental health tribunal. He was planning to argue he was sane in a bid to be transferred to prison where he could not legally be prevented from starving himself to death.

Ms Powell said Brady was answering the questions of a psychiatrist appointed by the mental health tribunal board when he started having small convulsions.

“At first they thought it was hiccups,” she said. “Quickly they grew more severe. Suddenly, he collapsed and went into a full seizure. He lost consciousness for several minutes. Help was called and several doctors and nurses rushed in. His heart stopped. He was dead. That should have been that.”

Following the seizure, Brady is said to have repeated an offer to show police the site of 12-year-old Keith Bennett’s body – his only undiscovered victim – on condition that the Greater Manchester force was not involved.

Keith’s half-brother, Kenny Bennett, 46, said he was happy to hear of Brady’s seizure.

He said: ‘I think it is great what’s happened to him, I really do. I am happy as long as he suffers a bit more. I bet he didn’t like that, so it has made my day. I hope it happens again.’

Meanwhile, the cancelled hearing to decide if Brady is sane could take place early next year. It will be the first time the child murderer has been seen in public since being locked up.