Moors murderer writes to young victim's mother

Published on Wednesday 22 February 2006 00:06

THE Moors murderer Ian Brady wrote to the mother of one of his victims, complaining about his treatment by "corrupt" staff at the high-security hospital where he is held.

Winnie Johnson, 72, from Manchester, was shocked to receive a two-page letter from the notorious killer "out of the blue". Her son, Keith Bennett, was murdered by Brady and his lover, Myra Hindley, 41 years ago.

In the letter, which was dated 21 December, 2005, and addressed to "Dear Mrs Bennett", Glasgow-born Brady, 68, claimed that he was being kept alive by force-feeding for "political purposes" and that he is "perfectly rational". He is detained at Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside.

Keith Bennett is presumed to have been buried on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester, but no trace of his remains has ever been found.

There is no response in the letter to Ms Johnson's repeated appeals to Brady to reveal the whereabouts of her son's burial place, nor is there an apology for the murder of the 12-year-old.

Ms Johnson said: "It nearly killed me when I saw who the letter was from." She added: "He knows a lot more than what he is saying. He's admitted he can take police to within 20 yards of where he buried Keith, so that man's not insane, and they just ignored him."

Brady has been on hunger strike since October 1999.

In 2004 he lost a legal battle to prove that he was sane, which would have meant him being returned to a normal prison, where he would not be forcibly kept alive.