Brady's letter to mother over her son's body: Police quiz Moors Murderer confidante 'on details of where Keith Bennett is buried'

• Twisted killer may finally have disclosed where 12-year-old's body is hidden
• 49-year-old woman arrested in South Wales for preventing burial of a body
• Keith Bennett's mother, Winnie Johnson, has not yet been given the letter
• But detectives believe it has been passed to one of Brady's hospital visitors
• Brady and Myra Hindley buried victims on Saddleworth Moor, near Oldham
• Keith is the only one of the five victims whose body has never been found

Moors Murderer Ian Brady may finally have revealed where he buried the body of one of his child victims, detectives believe.
He has written a letter to the mother of Keith Bennett, whose body has not been found since he vanished aged 12 in 1964.
Although the letter has not yet been given to Keith’s mother, Greater Manchester Police said its officers think it has been passed on to one of his long-term visitors at his psychiatric hospital.

Moors murderer Ian Brady is said to have revealed details of the location of Keith Bennett's body. The 12-year-old was killed by Brady in 1964. His body has never been found

Last night, they said in a statement that a 49-year-old woman had been arrested in South Wales on suspicion of preventing the lawful burial of a body and said searches were ongoing.

A police spokesman said: ‘On July 30, 2012, Greater Manchester Police received information that led officers to believe that Ian Brady had recently given details of the location of Keith Bennett’s body to one of his long-term visitors.

 

‘Officers in the cold case unit made inquiries to the accuracy of this report and have since had extensive contact with Ashworth Hospital [where Brady is held] and Keith’s close family.
‘As a result, warrants obtained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act were executed at Ashworth Hospital and a private address in South Wales today.

Desperate: Keith's mother Winnie Johnson (pictured) has made repeated calls in vain for Brady to reveal the location of her son's grave

‘A 49-year-old woman has been arrested
in South Wales on suspicion of preventing
the burial of a body without lawful exercise
and remains in police custody for questioning.
'Searches of both locations are ongoing.’
Brady is serving life in a high-security prison for the abduction and murder of five children and teenagers nearly 50 years ago.
Keith Bennett is the only victim whose body has never been found.
Brady and his partner, Myra Hindley, lured the youngsters to their deaths, with victims enduring horrific torture before being buried on Saddleworth Moor, near Oldham.
The twisted killer has always refused to reveal the exact location of Keith’s remains.
Keith’s mother Winnie Johnson, who is battling cancer in a hospice, has made repeated calls
in vain for Brady to reveal the location of his grave.
Last December Mrs Johnson said she wanted to hear from Brady face-to-face where her son was buried.
She wrote to him, pleading: ‘If you have it in your heart to tell me where Keith is, it would end the trouble I have had for 47 years.
'I would like him found and buried before anything happens to me.’
When he failed to respond, she said: ‘He’s just playing games. I can’t get over it.'
Now Jackie Powell, who was appointed the murderer's legal advocate under the Mental Health Act in 1999, said Brady gave her a sealed envelope to pass on to Mrs Johnson in the event of his death.
She told the Daily Mirror: 'I received a letter and a sealed envelope which said on the front 'to be opened in the event of my death.
'He says he doesn't wish to take his secrets to the grave and within the sealed envelope is a letter to Winnie Johnson. Within that is the means of her possibly being able to rest.'

Hunt: Police officers search Saddleworth Moor for the bodies of the children killed by Ian Brady and his girlfriend Myra Hindley

Trying everything: Mrs Johnson with her other sons David (left), Joe (second left) and psychic Teresa Walsh in an attempt to find Keith's body in 1996

Brady’s first victim was Pauline Reade, 16, who disappeared on her way to a disco on July 12, 1963. John Kilbride, 12, was snatched in November the same year.
Keith Bennett was snatched on June 16, 1964, after he left home to visit his grandmother; Lesley Ann Downey, 10, was lured away from a funfair on Boxing Day 1964; and Edward Evans, 17, was killed in October 1965.

Brady was given a life sentence at Chester Assizes in 1966 for the murders of John, Lesley Ann and Edward.
Hindley was convicted of killing Lesley Ann and Edward and shielding Brady after John’s murder, and jailed for life.
In 1987, the pair finally admitted killing Keith and Pauline. Both were taken back to Saddleworth Moor in 1987 to help police find the remains of the missing victims but only Pauline’s body was found.
Brady has spent the last 25 years at the high-security Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside. Hindley died in jail in November 2002, aged 60.
Mrs Johnson has made repeated calls for Brady to reveal the location of his grave.

Last December, she said she wanted to hear face-to-face from Brady where her son was buried.

Killer: Brady's partner Myra Hindley was responsible for the murders of five youngsters in the 1960s

And in July she renewed her plea, saying in a letter to the killer that her dying wish was to know where Keith's body was.
Brady, 74, was due to go before a mental health tribunal in July, but it was delayed after he suffered a seizure.
The tribunal was to consider his application to be transferred to a Scottish prison and be allowed to die. He has been tube-fed since refusing food 12 years ago.
But last month Mrs Johnson's solicitor said she would not be attending the hearing as it would be 'too traumatic' for her.
John Ainley, senior partner at North Ainley Halliwell, said that Mrs Johnson was in hospital and not well enough to attend.
He said: 'In any event, it would be too traumatic for her to have any involvement in a hearing that deals with Ian Brady.
'Winnie has made it perfectly clear over the years that she considers Ian Brady should remain in a mental hospital for the remainder of his natural life and not be transferred to a prison either in England or Scotland.
'Presumably, the intention would be to go on hunger strike with a view to ending his own life. She does not consider this should be his prerogative.'
Mr Ainley said his client still wanted answers from Brady.
He said: 'She has only one question to ask Ian Brady, that is 'Where is my son Keith?'
'She is convinced that he could, if he wished, provide this information.
'Her one and only desire is to give her son a proper family burial during her lifetime. Nothing short of that will ever give her peace of mind.'
The solicitor said Mrs Johnson was 'not in the best of health' and that she was not well enough to deal with the pressures - including the media interest - surrounding the tribunal, which was due to be held in public.
On Wednesday The Sun reported that Mrs Johnson was being cared for in a hospice.
The newspaper quoted her son Alan Bennett as saying: 'Winnie is going in to a hospice for about two weeks.
'She can be closely monitored and get the correct form of pain relief that is needed for when she returns home.'
A new documentary by Paddy Wivell to be shown on Monday on Channel 4 at 9pm, titled Ian Brady: End Games Of A Psychopath, claims Brady may have deceived doctors into believing his extreme psychotic symptoms in order to be transferred from prison to Ashworth hospital.

HORRORS THAT SHOCKED THE NATION: A TIMELINE OF MOORS MURDERS

July 12, 1963 - Pauline Reade, 16, disappears on her way to a disco.
Nov 23, 1963 - John Kilbride, 12, is snatched by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, sexually assaulted and murdered.
June 16, 1964 - Keith Bennett is snatched after he leaves home to visit his grandmother.
December 26, 1964 - Lesley Ann Downey, 10, is lured away from a funfair and killed.
October 6, 1965 - Brady kills Edward Evans, 17.
May 6, 1966 - Brady given life at Chester Assizes in 1966 for the murders of John, Lesley Ann and Edward.
Hindley was convicted of killing Lesley Ann and Edward and shielding Brady after John's murder, and also jailed for life.
1985 - Brady is moved to the Ashworth psychiatric hospital in Merseyside.
1987 - The pair finally admit killing Keith and Pauline and are taken back to Saddleworth Moor to help police find the remains of the missing victims. Only Pauline's body is found.
September 1999 - Brady goes on hunger strike after complaining about being forcibly removed from his room at the hospital to a new ward because of security concerns sparked by a patient on his old ward. He has been fed by a tube ever since.
November 15, 2002 - Hindley dies in jail aged 60.
September 13, 2009 - Brady begins campaign to be moved to a Scottish prison so he will be allowed to die.
March 27, 2010 - A privately-funded search for Keith Bennett's grave begins. His mother, Winnie Johnson, 76, said she hopes to find her son and bury him before she and Brady die.
July 3, 2012 - Brady suffers a seizure and spends several nights in hospital. A mental health tribunal that would look at his application to be transferred to Scotland is delayed as a result.