Ian Brady’s letter: Keith Bennett’s peace, a TV show and what Emma Chalk knows
DID Ian Brady, 74, the Moors murderer, reveal to Jackie Powell, his legal advocate, where he and Myra Hindley buried 12-year-old Keith Bennett, who went missing in June 1964? The pair tortured and murdered five children before burying their bodies on Saddleworth Moor. Powell, is under arrest, suspected of preventing the burial of a body without lawful exercise. Powell told the Channel 4 documentary Ian Brady: Endgames of a Psychopath that Brady had handed her an envelope. She says that Brady told her to give the envelope to Winnie Johnson, Keith Bennett’s mother, who is currently in a hospice. Powell says he never opened it.
Brady is in Ashworth hospital in Maghull, Merseyside, where he has been tube-fed for 12 years. He is sectioned under Mental Health Act following his diagnosis as a psychopath. He refuses to eat. He wants to be sent to a prison to die. If he can appear healthy of mind that has more chance of happening. So. The letter to the heartbroken mother…
The hospital has been searched, so too has Powell’s home in South Wales.
Martin Bottomley, head of investigative review at the Greater Manchester Police, offers:
“We do not know if this is true or simply a ruse.”
The press might not be listening. The Northern Argus thunders:
Notorious Moors murderer Ian Brady has revealed details about where one of his victims, 12-year-old Keith Bennett, is buried, British police believe. Greater Manchester Police said in a statement on Thursday night Brady had recently given details of the location of the body to one of his long-term visitors
He adds:
“The Moors murders cast a long and dark shadow over the history of our region but in 2009 we reluctantly concluded there was no longer any specific information to identify new search areas and the investigation to find Keith entered a dormant stage. However, we have always stressed this is a case we will never close. We have been, and always will be, open to pursuing any new lines of inquiry that arise from significant scientific advances or credible and actionable information. I want to be explicitly clear about this: Ian Brady has not revealed to police the location of Keith’s body. What we are looking at is the possibility, and at this stage it is only a possibility, that he has written a letter to Keith’s mum Winnie Johnson which was not to be opened until after his death. We do not know if this is true or simply a ruse but we clearly have a duty to investigate such information on behalf of Keith’s family. Since Keith was so cruelly taken away all those years ago, our thoughts have always been with his family as they try to come to terms with what happened. All they want is to finally be able to lay Keith to rest. What I would ask is that the media respect their privacy at this time. Winnie herself is very ill and continued speculation about this letter will only cause the family more upset. I would ask that we are allowed to examine all the evidence we have recovered and determine whether or not this letter actually exists.”
Or as the Daily Express puts it:
AT LAST – BRADY TELLS WHERE MOORS VICTIM KEITH, 12, IS BURIED – Ian Brady told secret of where Keith Bennett was buried to visitor
Natalie Chalk has news for Winnie Johnson:
MOORS murderer Ian Brady has finally revealed where his 12-year-old victim Keith Bennett is buried.
Has he? (See police statement above.)
Says Bennett’s lawyer David Kirwan:
“This will be amazing to her in, if I may say so, the twilight of her life. It’s a terrible thing for any parent to lose a child. We all expect to go well before them, and she just needs that closure. She’s not a well woman, so I feel it will be absolutely amazing and so encouraging if she can finally bury her son.”
Winnie Johnson said in 2009:
“I want Keith found before anything happens to me because I want to give him a decent burial.”
And now the letter…
Paddy Wivell produced the Channel 4 documentary:
“I think we probably have to approach it with some sense of caution too. This seems to me like very much part of Brady’s pathology, one of power and control. He is a sadistic psychopath and it would appear that this is some sort of victory dance, a kind of power game, in the fact that he constantly puts conditions on things. The condition that it can only be opened in the event of his death is consistent with this kind of behaviour over the years.”
Channel 4 Documentaries Commissioning Editor and Editor for Cutting Edge, Emma Cooper says:
“No-one can verify the contents of the envelope and therefore what information it does or does not contain but given the enormity of the implications as suggested by Brady’s letter, we felt we had a responsibility to inform the family via their family liaison officer. Winnie’s poor health was foremost in our decision-making and this is why we have decided to bring forward the broadcast of the film and make the existence of the envelope public.”
Emma Chalk can. She knows.
What does Ms Powell do?
A mental health advocate is not the same as a lawyer. Their role, as defined by the Department for Health, is as follows:
A specialist mental health advocate, who helps qualifying patients understand the legal provisions to which they are subject under the Mental Health Act 1983 (the 1983 Act) and the rights and safeguards to which they are entitled, and helps those patients exercise their rights through supporting participation in decision-making.
The Standard has few words on the compassionate Mr Brady:
He has never show any remorse for his crimes or empathy for his victims and psychiatrists have concluded he has an overwhelming need for control, played out repeatedly throughout his life – not least in his constant refusal to reveal the location of Keith Bennett’s remains.
More to follow…
Posted: 17th, August 2012 | In: Reviews Comments (6) | TrackBack | Permalink
