Latest news with #MoorsMurderer
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Scottish Sun
I spent decade looking into twisted mind of Moors Murderer Ian Brady…reason he kept victim's body hidden made me sick
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) OF ALL the serial killers and mass murderers who have blighted Britain's history, Ian Brady is considered by many to be the most evil. Even fellow serial killer the Yorkshire Ripper was horrified at the way he tortured and murdered children before callously dumping their bodies - crimes so twisted that bosses at Broadmoor refused to accept him as a patient. 16 Ian Brady is considered to be one of Britain's most twisted killers Credit: PA:Press Association 16 Brady and his partner Myra Hindley tortured and murdered children in the early 60s Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 16 Top amateur criminologist Alfie James exchanged letters with Brady for a decade Credit: Mercury Press Most people would recoil at the idea of delving into the dark recesses of the Moors Murderer's mind - but that's exactly what Britain's top amateur criminologist Alfie James did, for a decade. He swapped scores of letters with Brady as he tried to work out the motivation for his unspeakable crimes, just as he has done with a string of other murderers on both sides of the Atlantic. And he gained a unique insight into what made one of Britain's most notorious ever serial killers tick. Speaking exclusively to The Sun as part of our Meeting a Monster series, Alfie said: 'He was very self-centred and had this over-inflated sense of his own superiority. 'He thought he was more intelligent than everyone, and he never took responsibility for anything. 'He was always trying to shift the blame onto others and could never accept that what he had done was wrong.' Brady and his lover Myra Hindley sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered five children in Manchester in the 1960s in a series of crimes which shocked Britain. At their trial in 1966 a horrific tape recording they had made of one of their victims screaming and begging for mercy was played. The couple's relationship had been crucial to the crimes, and Brady was convinced they would remain close even after they were convicted and jailed for life. But Alfie revealed how Brady became furious at what he saw as Hindley's lack of 'loyalty' over her attempts to secure parole and also when she struck up a relationship with a female prison warder. Moors Murders viewers rage 'my blood is boiling' as CGI brings evil Ian Brady and Myra Hindley 'back from the dead' 16 Brady and Hindley burried the bodies of their victims in the moors surrounding Manchester Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 16 Brady became furious when Hindley attempted to secure parole Credit: Getty - Contributor Bizarrely, he claimed he could have freed her from prison after just 15 years and was so angry with her he refused to use her name in letters he sent Alfie, instead referring to her as 'M'. In one letter he said of her: 'Now, of course, I couldn't care less. All sense of obligation departed when she began lying against me to secure parole. Had she remained loyal, I could have had her out in 15 years.' Alfie said: 'He never explained how he was going to secure her freedom, and in reality he never would have been able to, of course. 'But that was typical of him. He thought he was so intelligent that he could secure her release. It was another one of his superior boasts. 'He did like to reminisce about his earlier life with her, though. He used to talk about going on motorbike trips with her, riding over Shap in Cumbria on the Great North Road, heading from Manchester to Glasgow where he was from. 'He said, 'We would sit on a wall and have a couple of drinks, something to eat. I would discard a bottle and it would smash on the ground. That bottle will still be there now and will be for hundreds of years as a reminder that we once walked here.' Brady was very self-centred and had this over-inflated sense of his own superiority. He thought he was more intelligent than everyone, and he never took responsibility for anything Alfie James 'It was like ghost talk, about things linked to him that would be around long after he was gone. 'He would describe how they would get to Glasgow as morning was breaking with the streets all quiet. He liked that. 'And whenever he was travelling around he liked visiting churches, not for any religious experience, he liked the smell of them. 'As he was telling me these things I couldn't help but think about the things he had done and thought, 'You of all people should not be in a church.' 'Meeting Hindley was obviously crucial to their crimes but he even passed off any sort of responsibility for that, blaming it on 'circumstances' that led him to have to get a job at the chemical distribution company where she later got taken on as a typist. 'If circumstances had not led him to get that job he would never have met her and the murders would not have happened, he said. 'As if he didn't have any free will. I would think - you say you are so clever, then why couldn't you stop it happening?' 'Sick in the head' 16 Even serial killer Peter Sutcliffe despised Brady, branding him 'sick in the head' Credit: Getty 16 Brady was considered by Broadmoor bosses to be too evil to be let in as a patient Credit: Alamy Alfie and Brady swapped around 150 letters over the years they were writing to each other, part of an incredible library of true crime material that factory worker Alfie, 49, has built up. It includes a trove of letters and other material acquired over nearly 20 years from Peter Sutcliffe, which he turned into the definitive biography of the killer, I'm The Yorkshire Ripper, written with Sun reporter Robin Perrie. It was during those conversations that Sutcliffe disclosed to Alife just how much he despised Brady. Sutcliffe said: 'Ian Brady seems to actually enjoy people's suffering, but then that's the trademark of a psychopath. 'He had an air of… like he thought he was… like a snob, like very important. 'He's just a psychopath, an idiot, full of himself and he's shallow, very shallow and stupid, he's not intelligent really in the real sense of the word. Thinks he's the bee's knees. He's sick in the head.' Sutcliffe wasn't the only one who thought Brady was beyond help. Dr Pat McGrath, one of the medical experts who gave evidence at the Yorkshire Ripper's trial, was the medical superintendent at Broadmoor when the authorities considered transferring Brady there after he was diagnosed as a psychopath in 1985. He's just a psychopath, an idiot, full of himself and he's shallow, very shallow and stupid, he's not intelligent really in the real sense of the word. Thinks he's the bee's knees. He's sick in the head Peter Sutcliffe But Dr McGrath refused to accept him, saying he was one of only two people he had met who he thought were evil, not sick, and therefore could not be treated. Instead he was sent to top security Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside, which is where he was when he and Alfie started corresponding. Those held at places such as Ashworth and Broadmoor are treated as patients, not prisoners, and have more freedom than criminals held in jails. Alfie saw that first-hand thanks to the content of the letters Brady sent him. He said: 'He poured out all of his hatred for the system on these pages of the letters he sent me. He said of the staff, 'I don't speak to any of the maggots'. 'I was amazed at the things he said about the staff. The letters were checked as they all had a little slip of paper confirming that the postal monitor had read them. 'But they never crossed anything out. They let all his hatred spill out from beyond the hospital walls, which I was surprised at. 'There were things crossed out in some of Sutcliffe's letters, so the post monitors seemed stricter in Broadmoor than Ashworth.' Missing remains 16 Keith Bennett was murdered by the pair when he was just 12 - but his body was never found Credit: EPA 16 Keith's mother Winifred kept up the search for his remains until her death in 2012 Credit: Alamy 16 Brady was let out of prison in the late 1980s to pinpoint where he'd buried those he'd killed Credit: Mirrorpix 16 Further searches for the body of Keith Bennett were undertaken in 2022 Credit: PA Alfie repeatedly quizzed Brady over the enduring mystery at the heart of the Moors Murders case – the location of Keith Bennett's body. Brady and Hindley killed the 12-year-old in 1964 and buried his body on Saddleworth Moor, but despite repeated searches the police have never found him. The pair were even taken back to the moor on a number of occasions but were unable to pinpoint the spot. Brady later told Alfie he would never help the police to look again – for fear that others would take the credit. Alife said: 'I asked him again and again. He said, 'It's history. I'll never repeat my offer to help.' 'He blamed the police for messing up the searches when he did go to the moor. So the fact that Keith's family couldn't have a proper funeral wasn't his fault, it was 'the police's fault'. Brady blamed the police for messing up the searches when he did go to the moor. So the fact that Keith's family couldn't have a proper funeral wasn't his fault, it was 'the police's fault' Alfie James 'It was another example of him refusing to accept responsibility. 'A few years later I asked him again, and this time he said he would be willing to help. 'But then he changed his mind, saying they messed it up and would be squabbling about who's going to get the publicity over it, who would get the glory if Keith was found.' In one letter Brady wrote: 'Politicians, police and this penal warehouse spent their only effort on squabbling for the most PR for themselves. I won't repeat the offer.' Dodged questions In the early years of their relationship, Alfie keenly anticipated receiving one of Brady's letters, looking forward to fresh insights into his motivation for the crimes. Alfie said: 'He was a good letter writer. He was intelligent, his punctuation was always spot on and he had a good memory for detail. 'His letters would be front and back, sometimes four pages, with really small writing, so there was a lot of detail. But he often dodged questions. 'Serial killers sometimes start out by hurting animals, and I had read about him throwing a cat off a roof, so I asked him about it. 'But instead of saying whether he had or had not done it, and if he had why, he ranted about the Royal Family killing animals by going shooting. Again, avoiding responsibility for his own actions.' The letters were also becoming hate-filled rants. He branded support for missing Madeleine McCann as "hypocritical hype" and accused people of 'whining' about the 7/7 attacks which killed 52 people in London in 2005. It was all me, me, me - which I guess speaks volumes about how the mind of a serial killer works Alfie James He also branded the UK as 'the a***hole of Europe." The letters became so bitter – and so boring – that Alife eventually called time on their relationship a few years before Brady died in Ashworth in 2017, aged 79. He said: 'The letters were getting more and more repetitive and were all about the hardship he claimed he was suffering because Ashworth wouldn't let him starve himself to death. 'There was not a single word of remorse for his victims or their families. 'It was all me, me, me - which I guess speaks volumes about how the mind of a serial killer works.' 'I'm The Yorkshire Ripper' by Robin Perrie and Alfie James is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and as an ebook. Buy it on Amazon now. 16 Brady's letters reveal a man who is egotistical and self-obsessed Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 16 The killer ended up at Ashworth high-security hospital in Merseyside Credit: Alamy 16 Brady branded support for missing Madeleine McCann 'hypocritical hype' Credit: PA 16 Brady passed away in 2017 after becoming unwell Credit: Mirrorpix
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
I spent decade looking into twisted mind of Moors Murderer Ian Brady…reason he kept victim's body hidden made me sick
OF ALL the serial killers and mass murderers who have blighted Britain's history, Ian Brady is considered by many to be the most evil. Even fellow serial killer the Yorkshire Ripper was horrified at the way he tortured and murdered children before callously dumping their bodies - crimes so twisted that bosses at 16 Ian Brady is considered to be one of Britain's most twisted killers Credit: PA:Press Association 16 Brady and his partner Myra Hindley tortured and murdered children in the early 60s Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 16 Top amateur criminologist Alfie James exchanged letters with Brady for a decade Credit: Mercury Press Most people would recoil at the idea of delving into the dark recesses of the Moors Murderer's mind - but that's exactly what Britain's top amateur criminologist Alfie James did, for a decade. He swapped scores of letters with Brady as he tried to work out the motivation for his unspeakable crimes, just as he has done with a string of other murderers on both sides of the Atlantic. And he gained a unique insight into what made one of Britain's most notorious ever serial killers tick. Speaking exclusively to The Sun as part of our Meeting a Monster series, Alfie said: 'He was very self-centred and had this over-inflated sense of his own superiority. 'He thought he was more intelligent than everyone, and he never took responsibility for anything. 'He was always trying to shift the blame onto others and could never accept that what he had done was wrong.' Brady and his lover Myra Hindley sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered five children in Manchester in the 1960s in a series of crimes which shocked Britain. At their trial in 1966 a horrific tape recording they had made of one of their victims screaming and begging for mercy was played. The couple's relationship had been crucial to the crimes, and Brady was convinced they would remain close even after they were convicted and jailed for life. But Alfie revealed how Brady became furious at what he saw as Hindley's lack of 'loyalty' over her attempts to secure parole and also when she struck up a Moors Murders viewers rage 'my blood is boiling' as CGI brings evil Ian Brady and Myra Hindley 'back from the dead' 16 Brady and Hindley burried the bodies of their victims in the moors surrounding Manchester Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 16 Brady became furious when Hindley attempted to secure parole Credit: Getty - Contributor Bizarrely, he claimed he could have freed her from prison after just 15 years and was so angry with her he refused to use her name in letters he sent Alfie, instead referring to her as 'M'. In one letter he said of her: 'Now, of course, I couldn't care less. All sense of obligation departed when she began lying against me to secure parole. Had she remained loyal, I could have had her out in 15 years.' Alfie said: 'He never explained how he was going to secure her freedom, and in reality he never would have been able to, of course. 'But that was typical of him. He thought he was so intelligent that he could secure her release. It was another one of his superior boasts. 'He did like to reminisce about his earlier life with her, though. He used to talk about going on motorbike trips with her, riding over Shap in Cumbria on the Great North Road, heading from Manchester to Glasgow where he was from. 'He said, 'We would sit on a wall and have a couple of drinks, something to eat. I would discard a bottle and it would smash on the ground. That bottle will still be there now and will be for hundreds of years as a reminder that we once walked here.' Brady was very self-centred and had this over-inflated sense of his own superiority. He thought he was more intelligent than everyone, and he never took responsibility for anything Alfie James 'It was like ghost talk, about things linked to him that would be around long after he was gone. 'He would describe how they would get to Glasgow as morning was breaking with the streets all quiet. He liked that. 'And whenever he was travelling around he liked visiting churches, not for any religious experience, he liked the smell of them. 'As he was telling me these things I couldn't help but think about the things he had done and thought, 'You of all people should not be in a church.' 'Meeting Hindley was obviously crucial to their crimes but he even passed off any sort of responsibility for that, blaming it on 'circumstances' that led him to have to get a job at the chemical distribution company where she later got taken on as a typist. 'If circumstances had not led him to get that job he would never have met her and the murders would not have happened, he said. 'As if he didn't have any free will. I would think - you say you are so clever, then why couldn't you stop it happening?' 'Sick in the head' 16 Even serial killer Peter Sutcliffe despised Brady, branding him 'sick in the head' Credit: Getty 16 Brady was considered by Broadmoor bosses to be too evil to be let in as a patient Credit: Alamy Alfie and Brady swapped around 150 letters over the years they were writing to each other, part of an incredible library of true crime material that factory worker Alfie, 49, has built up. It includes a trove of letters and other material acquired over nearly 20 years from It was during those conversations that Sutcliffe disclosed to Alife just how much he despised Brady. Sutcliffe said: 'Ian Brady seems to actually enjoy people's suffering, but then that's the trademark of a psychopath. 'He had an air of… like he thought he was… like a snob, like very important. 'He's just a psychopath, an idiot, full of himself and he's shallow, very shallow and stupid, he's not intelligent really in the real sense of the word. Thinks he's the bee's knees. He's sick in the head.' Sutcliffe wasn't the only one who thought Brady was beyond help. Dr Pat McGrath, one of the medical experts who gave evidence at the Yorkshire Ripper's trial, was the medical superintendent at Broadmoor when the authorities considered transferring Brady there after he was diagnosed as a psychopath in 1985. He's just a psychopath, an idiot, full of himself and he's shallow, very shallow and stupid, he's not intelligent really in the real sense of the word. Thinks he's the bee's knees. He's sick in the head Peter Sutcliffe But Dr McGrath refused to accept him, saying he was one of only two people he had met who he thought were evil, not sick, and therefore could not be treated. Instead he was sent to top security Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside, which is where he was when he and Alfie started corresponding. Those held at places such as Ashworth and Broadmoor are treated as patients, not prisoners, and have more freedom than criminals held in jails. Alfie saw that first-hand thanks to the content of the letters Brady sent him. He said: 'He poured out all of his hatred for the system on these pages of the letters he sent me. He said of the staff, 'I don't speak to any of the maggots'. 'I was amazed at the things he said about the staff. The letters were checked as they all had a little slip of paper confirming that the postal monitor had read them. 'But they never crossed anything out. They let all his hatred spill out from beyond the hospital walls, which I was surprised at. 'There were things crossed out in some of Sutcliffe's letters, so the post monitors seemed stricter in Broadmoor than Ashworth.' Missing remains 16 Keith Bennett was murdered by the pair when he was just 12 - but his body was never found Credit: EPA 16 Keith's mother Winifred kept up the search for his remains until her death in 2012 Credit: Alamy 16 Brady was let out of prison in the late 1980s to pinpoint where he'd buried those he'd killed Credit: Mirrorpix 16 Further searches for the body of Keith Bennett were undertaken in 2022 Credit: PA Alfie repeatedly quizzed Brady over the enduring mystery at the heart of the Moors Murders case – the location of Brady and Hindley killed the 12-year-old in 1964 and buried his body on Saddleworth Moor, but despite repeated searches the police have never found him. The pair were even taken back to the moor on a number of occasions but were unable to pinpoint the spot. Brady later told Alfie he would never help the police to look again – for fear that others would take the credit. Alife said: 'I asked him again and again. He said, 'It's history. I'll never repeat my offer to help.' 'He blamed the police for messing up the searches when he did go to the moor. So the fact that Keith's family couldn't have a proper funeral wasn't his fault, it was 'the police's fault'. Brady blamed the police for messing up the searches when he did go to the moor. So the fact that Keith's family couldn't have a proper funeral wasn't his fault, it was 'the police's fault' Alfie James 'It was another example of him refusing to accept responsibility. 'A few years later I asked him again, and this time he said he would be willing to help. 'But then he changed his mind, saying they messed it up and would be squabbling about who's going to get the publicity over it, who would get the glory if Keith was found.' In one letter Brady wrote: 'Politicians, police and this penal warehouse spent their only effort on squabbling for the most PR for themselves. I won't repeat the offer.' Dodged questions In the early years of their relationship, Alfie keenly anticipated receiving one of Brady's letters, looking forward to fresh insights into his motivation for the crimes. Alfie said: 'He was a good letter writer. He was intelligent, his punctuation was always spot on and he had a good memory for detail. 'His letters would be front and back, sometimes four pages, with really small writing, so there was a lot of detail. But he often dodged questions. 'Serial killers sometimes start out by hurting animals, and I had read about him throwing a cat off a roof, so I asked him about it. 'But instead of saying whether he had or had not done it, and if he had why, he ranted about the Royal Family killing animals by going shooting. Again, avoiding responsibility for his own actions.' The letters were also becoming hate-filled rants. He branded support for missing Madeleine McCann as "hypocritical hype" and accused people of 'whining' about the 7/7 attacks which killed 52 people in London in 2005. It was all me, me, me - which I guess speaks volumes about how the mind of a serial killer works Alfie James He also branded the UK as 'the a***hole of Europe." The letters became so bitter – and so boring – that Alife eventually called time on their relationship a few years before Brady died in Ashworth in 2017, aged 79. He said: 'The letters were getting more and more repetitive and were all about the hardship he claimed he was suffering because Ashworth wouldn't let him starve himself to death. 'There was not a single word of remorse for his victims or their families. 'It was all me, me, me - which I guess speaks volumes about how the mind of a serial killer works.' 'I'm The Yorkshire Ripper' by Robin Perrie and Alfie James is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and as an ebook. Buy it on 16 Brady's letters reveal a man who is egotistical and self-obsessed Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 16 The killer ended up at Ashworth high-security hospital in Merseyside Credit: Alamy 16 Brady branded support for missing Madeleine McCann 'hypocritical hype' Credit: PA 16 Brady passed away in 2017 after becoming unwell Credit: Mirrorpix 16 Police search areas of the moors for Brady and Hindley's victims Credit: Alamy
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
I spent decade looking into twisted mind of Moors Murderer Ian Brady…reason he kept victim's body hidden made me sick
OF ALL the serial killers and mass murderers who have blighted Britain's history, Ian Brady is considered by many to be the most evil. Even fellow serial killer the Yorkshire Ripper was horrified at the way he tortured and murdered children before callously dumping their bodies - crimes so twisted that bosses at Broadmoor refused to accept him as a patient. 16 16 Most people would recoil at the idea of delving into the dark recesses of the Moors Murderer 's mind - but that's exactly what Britain's top amateur criminologist Alfie James did, for a decade. He swapped scores of letters with Brady as he tried to work out the motivation for his unspeakable crimes, just as he has done with a string of other murderers on both sides of the Atlantic. And he gained a unique insight into what made one of Britain's most notorious ever serial killers tick. Speaking exclusively to The Sun as part of our Meeting a Monster series, Alfie said: 'He was very self-centred and had this over-inflated sense of his own superiority. 'He thought he was more intelligent than everyone, and he never took responsibility for anything. 'He was always trying to shift the blame onto others and could never accept that what he had done was wrong.' Brady and his lover Myra Hindley sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered five children in Manchester in the 1960s in a series of crimes which shocked Britain. At their trial in 1966 a horrific tape recording they had made of one of their victims screaming and begging for mercy was played. The couple's relationship had been crucial to the crimes, and Brady was convinced they would remain close even after they were convicted and jailed for life. But Alfie revealed how Brady became furious at what he saw as Hindley's lack of 'loyalty' over her attempts to secure parole and also when she struck up a relationship with a female prison warder. Moors Murders viewers rage 'my blood is boiling' as CGI brings evil Ian Brady and Myra Hindley 'back from the dead' 16 Bizarrely, he claimed he could have freed her from prison after just 15 years and was so angry with her he refused to use her name in letters he sent Alfie, instead referring to her as 'M'. In one letter he said of her: 'Now, of course, I couldn't care less. All sense of obligation departed when she began lying against me to secure parole. Had she remained loyal, I could have had her out in 15 years.' Alfie said: 'He never explained how he was going to secure her freedom, and in reality he never would have been able to, of course. 'But that was typical of him. He thought he was so intelligent that he could secure her release. It was another one of his superior boasts. 'He did like to reminisce about his earlier life with her, though. He used to talk about going on motorbike trips with her, riding over Shap in Cumbria on the Great North Road, heading from Manchester to Glasgow where he was from. 'He said, 'We would sit on a wall and have a couple of drinks, something to eat. I would discard a bottle and it would smash on the ground. That bottle will still be there now and will be for hundreds of years as a reminder that we once walked here.' 'It was like ghost talk, about things linked to him that would be around long after he was gone. 'He would describe how they would get to Glasgow as morning was breaking with the streets all quiet. He liked that. 'And whenever he was travelling around he liked visiting churches, not for any religious experience, he liked the smell of them. 'As he was telling me these things I couldn't help but think about the things he had done and thought, 'You of all people should not be in a church.' 'Meeting Hindley was obviously crucial to their crimes but he even passed off any sort of responsibility for that, blaming it on 'circumstances' that led him to have to get a job at the chemical distribution company where she later got taken on as a typist. 'If circumstances had not led him to get that job he would never have met her and the murders would not have happened, he said. 'As if he didn't have any free will. I would think - you say you are so clever, then why couldn't you stop it happening?' 'Sick in the head' 16 Alfie and Brady swapped around 150 letters over the years they were writing to each other, part of an incredible library of true crime material that factory worker Alfie, 49, has built up. It includes a trove of letters and other material acquired over nearly 20 years from Peter Sutcliffe, which he turned into the definitive biography of the killer, I'm The Yorkshire Ripper, written with Sun reporter Robin Perrie. It was during those conversations that Sutcliffe disclosed to Alife just how much he despised Brady. Sutcliffe said: 'Ian Brady seems to actually enjoy people's suffering, but then that's the trademark of a psychopath. 'He had an air of… like he thought he was… like a snob, like very important. 'He's just a psychopath, an idiot, full of himself and he's shallow, very shallow and stupid, he's not intelligent really in the real sense of the word. Thinks he's the bee's knees. He's sick in the head.' Sutcliffe wasn't the only one who thought Brady was beyond help. Dr Pat McGrath, one of the medical experts who gave evidence at the Yorkshire Ripper's trial, was the medical superintendent at Broadmoor when the authorities considered transferring Brady there after he was diagnosed as a psychopath in 1985. But Dr McGrath refused to accept him, saying he was one of only two people he had met who he thought were evil, not sick, and therefore could not be treated. Instead he was sent to top security Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside, which is where he was when he and Alfie started corresponding. Those held at places such as Ashworth and Broadmoor are treated as patients, not prisoners, and have more freedom than criminals held in jails. Alfie saw that first-hand thanks to the content of the letters Brady sent him. He said: 'He poured out all of his hatred for the system on these pages of the letters he sent me. He said of the staff, 'I don't speak to any of the maggots'. 'I was amazed at the things he said about the staff. The letters were checked as they all had a little slip of paper confirming that the postal monitor had read them. 'But they never crossed anything out. They let all his hatred spill out from beyond the hospital walls, which I was surprised at. 'There were things crossed out in some of Sutcliffe's letters, so the post monitors seemed stricter in Broadmoor than Ashworth.' Missing remains 16 16 16 Alfie repeatedly quizzed Brady over the enduring mystery at the heart of the Moors Murders case – the location of Keith Bennett's body. Brady and Hindley killed the 12-year-old in 1964 and buried his body on Saddleworth Moor, but despite repeated searches the police have never found him. The pair were even taken back to the moor on a number of occasions but were unable to pinpoint the spot. Brady later told Alfie he would never help the police to look again – for fear that others would take the credit. Alife said: 'I asked him again and again. He said, 'It's history. I'll never repeat my offer to help.' 'He blamed the police for messing up the searches when he did go to the moor. So the fact that Keith's family couldn't have a proper funeral wasn't his fault, it was 'the police's fault'. Brady blamed the police for messing up the searches when he did go to the moor. So the fact that Keith's family couldn't have a proper funeral wasn't his fault, it was 'the police's fault' Alfie James 'It was another example of him refusing to accept responsibility. 'A few years later I asked him again, and this time he said he would be willing to help. 'But then he changed his mind, saying they messed it up and would be squabbling about who's going to get the publicity over it, who would get the glory if Keith was found.' In one letter Brady wrote: 'Politicians, police and this penal warehouse spent their only effort on squabbling for the most PR for themselves. I won't repeat the offer.' Dodged questions In the early years of their relationship, Alfie keenly anticipated receiving one of Brady's letters, looking forward to fresh insights into his motivation for the crimes. Alfie said: 'He was a good letter writer. He was intelligent, his punctuation was always spot on and he had a good memory for detail. 'His letters would be front and back, sometimes four pages, with really small writing, so there was a lot of detail. But he often dodged questions. 'Serial killers sometimes start out by hurting animals, and I had read about him throwing a cat off a roof, so I asked him about it. 'But instead of saying whether he had or had not done it, and if he had why, he ranted about the Royal Family killing animals by going shooting. Again, avoiding responsibility for his own actions.' The letters were also becoming hate-filled rants. He branded support for missing Madeleine McCann as "hypocritical hype" and accused people of 'whining' about the 7/7 attacks which killed 52 people in London in 2005. He also branded the UK as 'the a***hole of Europe." The letters became so bitter – and so boring – that Alife eventually called time on their relationship a few years before Brady died in Ashworth in 2017, aged 79. He said: 'The letters were getting more and more repetitive and were all about the hardship he claimed he was suffering because Ashworth wouldn't let him starve himself to death. 'There was not a single word of remorse for his victims or their families. 'It was all me, me, me - which I guess speaks volumes about how the mind of a serial killer works.' 'I'm The Yorkshire Ripper' by Robin Perrie and Alfie James is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and as an ebook. Buy it on Amazon now. 16 16
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Rose West's astonishing prison letter reveals the truth about her lesbian fling with Myra Hindley
Rose West has spoken for the first time to finally address her rumoured affair with fellow notorious serial killer Myra Hindley, MailOnline can reveal. The Cromwell Street killer and the Moors Murderer were the two most notorious female prisoners in Britain when they met in Durham Prison in the mid 1990s. It's long been believed they quickly developed a sexual relationship which lasted for some weeks before splitting bitterly. So established is the story that it was even turned into a film, 2020's 'Rose West and Myra Hindley - the Untold Story' which was fronted by former newsreader Trevor McDonald. Producers used the catchline: 'The extraordinary story of how the two most notorious women in British crime became friends and lovers.' But now West has finally addressed what happened for the first time - to insist that her fling with Hindley never really happened. She even blasted: 'I had nothing to do with her.' West is thought to receive thousands of letters a year in prison but was moved to reply to one from a young criminology student apparently because he specifically asked about her time as Hindley's lover. The young academic, who we are not naming at his request, has shared the letter he received from West with MailOnline. In it West, 71, insists at length that she had no relationship with the infamous Moors murderer before launching into a sarcastic rant against the student for believing stories in the media. She writes: 'I don't care if you don't believe me – after all what the press and media says MUST be true. 'How can it not be!! All that money they rake in – all that power. WOW! They are the leading experts in law, politics, peoples (sic) lives, peoples (sic) deaths. 'There is NOTHING that they cannot tell you about any subject you choose. Who would DARE to contradict them!!?!! 'Obviously NOT you. You have soaked this stuff up like a sponge – and you've done (like millions of others) almost unconsciously. You don't even have the gumption to ask me if it's true!! Don't be a sucker.' Unable to restrain her anger, she continued: 'Tell you what – take my advise (sic) – get something a lot more wholesome, productive and worthwhile to be interested in, and leave these awefull (sic) crimes to those who are charged with trying to understand them. 'Oh, and don't bother sending any more letters – I will only have them put through the shredder like I did your first one.' West signed off her angry denial calling herself 'Jennifer (aka – Rose West).' West was writing from HMP New Hall in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where she is now housed and was using the name Jennifer Jones, which she reportedly adopted after changing her name by deed poll in 2020. The student who received the letter said he had first decided to write to her in jail last November because he had always been intrigued about women who murder children. He said: 'I asked her what Myra Hindley was like in person, what her relationship with her was like, and how her demeanour was. Pictured: Ten women and young girls who were murdered by Fred and Rose West between 1967 and 1987 'I got no reply from my first letter, so I wrote to her again, and also asked whether she thought her husband Fred might have been homosexual as all his victims were girls or women. 'I was quite surprised to get a reply from her, and I was quite shocked by how angry and venomous she came across in her letter. 'It is clear that she wants to distance herself from Myra Hindley. Her words become increasingly angry in her letter. I guess she was upset about me suggesting Fred might have been gay. 'At the end she is scribbling to get her words out and you can sense she is almost foaming at the mouth.' Hindley, who died in 2002, had been convicted in 1996 of killing five children and being involved in sexually assaulting four of her victims along with her boyfriend, Ian Brady in and around Manchester in the 1960s in crimes which shocked Britain. West was given ten life sentences in 1995 for killing ten young women including her own daughter Heather and step-daughter Charmaine after her husband Fred committed suicide before he could be prosecuted for the same. West, according to recent reports, is increasingly frail and now spends most of her time alone. She was reported to often eat tomato soup for breakfast while alone in her cell, before spending her days knitting and watching her favourite nature documentaries. Claims of a relationship also prompted an angry response from Hindley, who made a complaint to the the then Press watchdog, alleging she was the victim of smears and lies. The BBC published a leaked copy of her complaint and the case made headlines. But Hindley's claims of the story being inaccurate were dismissed. One of the sources for the story was West's own former solicitor. Leo Goatley revealed in a book in 2019, published ahead of the 25th anniversary of her convictions, that his former client and Hindley had a short-lived affair on the female wing of the jail where guards encouraged 'open association'. The pair are said to have met while West was in remand at the prison before her trial. She later returned there after being convicted. Mr Goatley based his book Understanding Fred & Rose West on 12 years of letters, interviews and visits to her in prison. Mr Goatley featured in the Trevor McDonald documentary, stating that former prostitute West had told him she preferred the 'softness and sensuality of being with women rather than the roughness of men'. He claimed that she had a number of lesbian relationships in prison and had admitted that she only ever enjoyed sex with women. Mr Goatley said in the programme: 'I believe Myra Hindley and Rose West were lovers. Rose West said to me that she 'wanted to see how it goes, yeah me and Myra get on well.' He said that West had told him that he found Hindley to be intelligent and was seemingly impressed by her studying with the Open University. Dr Goatley added: 'I think Rose West was in awe of her. Myra Hindley stood out as being special.' Hindley was convicted in 1966, along with her partner Ian Brady, of the murders of Lesley-Ann Downey, ten, and Edward Evans, 17, and jailed for life. She later confessed to the killing of Keith Bennett, 12, and Pauline Reade, 16, and burying their bodies on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester. Hindley was moved from Durham Prison to medium security Highpoint Prison near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1998 after 31 years behind bars. She died aged 60 from respiratory failure in West Suffolk Hospital in 2002 while still being a prisoner and never achieving her dream of being freed. Former armed robber turned author Linda Calvey, 77, who became known as the Black Widow while spending more than 18 years in jail for the murder of her lover, recalled in the Trevor McDonald documentary how she also got to know Hindley in Durham Prison, and once slapped her in the face. Talking about West and Hindley's friendship, she described how the pair would chat over breakfast and tea. She added: 'It was really weird. They suddenly became best friends. They were with each other all the time… 'They both murdered children and they both tortured people. Their crimes were very similar… Everyone went 'God, what a weird combination. These two, they became thick as thieves… 'They used to go into each other's cells, and they became really, really close. I think the majority of the wing all thought there was an affair of sorts going on between them.' But Calvey also recalled how the pair split up after being close for between a month and six weeks. She said: 'As quick as they became really, really close, they parted. It stopped and they were not even speaking to each other… 'I spoke to Myra and I said, 'It was really weird that you were really close to Rose, and then you suddenly parted, and she said, 'Yeah, well I thought about it, and I thought she killed her own children. Did I really want to mix with someone like that?' 'I said, 'Well you killed children', and she said, 'Well, they weren't mine. They were other people's'. She said it matter-of-factly, as if it didn't matter. But then that was Myra. Myra didn't have remorse about anything.' The crimes of West and her evil builder husband are featured in a new hit Netflix docuseries called Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. The couple killed most of their victims in their home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, which became known as the House of Horrors after police unearthed nine sets of human remains at the property. Despite continuing to claim her innocence, the then Home Secretary Jack Straw, who had to set a minimum sentence for her, ruled she should spend the rest of her life in jail.
