Secret taken to the grave

A memorial to Keith Bennett at the top of Wessenden Head Road, just outside Meltham, close to Greenfield Road this morning

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IT is thought callous Moors murderer Ian Brady died without revealing the lonely grave of his last undiscovered child victim.

Despite relentless appeals from Keith Bennett's distraught family for the mass killer to give the location of the child's final resting place, Brady had always remained tight-lipped.

The only slim hope is unless, in some perverted final act, he left a clue to the location of the 12-year-old's body. John Ainley is senior partner in a top flight legal practice in Oldham who represented Keith's mother, Winnie Johnson, until she died five years ago.

He also works closely with Keith's brother, Alan Bennett, who has never given up hope one day he would finally discover his brother's grave on Saddleworth Moor.

Speaking today, Mr Ainley told the Chronicle: "The death of Ian Brady is a missed opportunity to find Keith.

"There was always a glimmer of hope that he would disclose vital information but that has gone. The only hope is that he has passed information to his representatives that will emerge in the days to come.

"I have worked closely with Alan Bennett since the death of his mother Winnie and have always had the impression that he is close to finding the body of his brother Keith.

"He continued with the search and, like his mother, was convinced Ian Brady held the vital clue to Keith's whereabouts.

"But despite more than one letter from me seeking his co-operation, he has not been prepared to help.

"The only hope is he has provided important information to be passed on after his death so the family can at last have closure.

"Sadly, Winnie never had that during her lifetime."

Brady sexually tortured and killed five children and teenagers, between the ages of 10 and 17, together with Myra Hindley in the 1960s.

He died at high-security Ashworth Psychiatric Hospital on Merseyside last night.

His death was confirmed by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Hindley died in prison in 2002 at the age of 60.

Last night, it was not clear what the cause of Brady's death was but he was reported to be receiving palliative care from nurses around the clock.

Two private ambulances were seen leaving the grounds of the hospital on Monday night.

A spokesman for the NHS trust said: "We can confirm a 79-year-old patient in long term care at Ashworth High Security Hospital has died after becoming physically unwell."

Four of Brady and Hindley's victims were buried on Saddleworth Moor.

The remains of 12-year-old Keith Bennett have never been found despite extensive searches as recently as 2014.

Terry Kilbride, the brother of another of the victims, said it was "going to feel good" to see Brady's death in an interview hours earlier.

"Good riddance that he's gone, I don't drink but I will have a pint. And I think that will be the opinion of most people," he said.

Others took to social media to express condolences to Alan Bennett's family. One message said: "Sorry you didn't get the answers and knew where Keith was."

Another said: "My thoughts are with Alan Bennett and his family. So so sorry that you didn't get the location of Keith's body before Brady's death."

The killer was sentenced to life in 1966 after being convicted of the murders of John Kilbride, (12), Lesley Ann Downey (10), and 17-year-old Edward Evans.

He later confessed to the murders of Keith Bennett and Pauline Reade (16) together with Hindley.

He has been held at Ashworth for 32 years after being transferred there in 1985 to be treated for psychopathy.

Brady had been force-fed for many years after going on hunger strike from 1999 ­- though a court hearing in 2013 heard that he regularly ate toast and soup.

The killer had launched a legal bid in 2013 to be transferred out of the prison to a hospital so that he could stop being fed through a tube and be allowed to die if he wished.

He was turned down at the mental health tribunal on the grounds that he was insane.

Brady, who had continued his legal challenges into his final months, was reportedly being given constant care from nurses specialising in terminal cancer, according to a report in a national newspaper yesterday.

When it was rumoured Brady was dying last December, Mr Ainley said: "It is difficult to know, without Ian Brady releasing a qualified medical report, the true prognosis bearing in mind previous stories concerning his poor state of health.

"Keith Bennett's mother, Winnie, always took the view that he was manipulative and only ever interested in himself.

"He seems well enough to apply for another mental health hearing, comment on Brexit and seemingly send out Christmas cards.

"Cynically, this is another attempt to draw attention to himself and elicit some sympathy.

"He certainly would not have had any sympathy from Winnie. She died never having found her son Keith and always believed Brady could provide details that would have identified where his body was buried.

"She wrote to him during her lifetime without obtaining any meaningful information and I have written to him more than once on behalf of her and subsequently for the family seeking a meeting.

"He has not replied even though Winnie was convinced he could have helped to secure a new search of the Moors that would lead to finding Keith.

"Winnie never had closure, only the added distress that Ian Brady never showed any remorse whatsoever for the murder of her son and other children."

Martin Bottomley, head of Greater Manchester Police's Cold Case Review Unit, said: "Following the death of Brady, our thoughts ­- as they have been for over 50 years ­- remain with the families of all of his victims. For decades they have suffered, not only from the unimaginable loss of their loved ones but they have also had to endure years of endless stories, speculation and rumour.

"They have lived with the shadow of Brady hanging over them for so long, and have showed incredible dignity in the face of such adversity.

"I do not want to comment on Brady at all. The thoughts of everyone within Greater Manchester Police are with the families who lost loved ones in the most painful and traumatic way.

"It is especially saddening for the family of Keith Bennett that his killers did not reveal to police the whereabouts of Keith's burial site. A week hardly goes by when we do not receive some information which purports to lead us to Keith but ultimately only two people knew where Keith is.

"I want to stress that our aim, as it always has been, is to find where Keith is buried and give closure to his surviving family members so they can give Keith the proper burial they so desperately want.

"Whilst we are not actively searching Saddleworth Moors, Greater Manchester Police will never close this case. Brady's death does not change that. We will act on credible and actionable information that will help lead us to him."