1. Ian Brady & Myra Hindley
The Moors Murders

2. Background Information
The two were boyfriend and girlfriend
Background Information
Ian Brady
Myra Hindley
Born to single mother
Born in England
Scottish-born in Glasgow
Grew up with her grandmother
Never knew father or his identity
Close male friend drowned at 15. As a result, Myra left school and converted to Roman Catholicism (the boy’s religion)
Mother forced to leave him alone for long periods of time
Gave herself over to Ian Brady’s total control
Given up unofficially for adoption
Mother visited regularly until he was 12, never revealed she was his mother
In trouble with the law all his life- served prison time as a teen for burglary and “petty crime”. Prison at 17
Moors Murders was her first offense

3. Information Cont. Brady was a lonely, difficult child
Fascinated by Nazis and writings from that time
Had to return to live with his mother and step father Patrick Brady at 16 to avoid a custodial sentence
Met Myra Hindley at a Manchester Firm
Hindley wrote of intense feelings for Brady for a year before he showed any interest in her
Their first date was going to see “The Nuremburg Trials”
He encouraged her to read works by Hitler and others
He convinced her that murder and rape were the “supreme pleasure”

4. Harboring: protecting
Crimes & Sentences
Both pleaded not guilty for the murders of Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey, and John Kilbride
Both sentenced to life in prison
Brady- guilty of 3 calculated, cold-blooded murders
Hindley- guilty of 2 equally horrible murders, not guilty of the murder of John Kilbride but guilty of being an accessory after knowing Brady killed him. Guilty of harboring Brady after his murder of Kilbride

5. Evidence Against Brady & Hindley
A luggage ticket was left in their home, tucked into a prayer book
That ticket led police to look at Manchester Central Station
There, they found two suitcases filled with pornographic and sadistic paraphernalia; nine semi-pornographic photos of Lesley Ann Downey, a tape recording of a girl screaming & crying, the name John Kilbride written in Brady’s notebook and a photo of Hindley on John’s grave at the moors
Hindley hired a car on the day of Kilbride’s disappearance and returned it covered in mud
Paraphernalia: Gear, stuff

6. ***
The two only escaped the death penalty by a few weeks– an act that abolished it in 1965 (in England) had come into effect only 4 weeks before their arrest

7. Quote by Hindley
Myra Hindley: “He used to threaten me and rape me and whip me and cane me. I would always be covered in bruises and bite marks. He threatened to kill my family. He dominated me completely.” No nicknames found for the two*

8. Cultural References

9. Cultural References Cont.
TV Mini Series- See No Evil Song: Suffer Little Children by the Smiths html

10. Theory
The Anomie Theory best describes these two criminals. Since Brady never knew his father and grew up in adopted families, it can be assumed that he may not have felt loved and cared for. Therefore, he had social problems. He began an obsession with Nazi materials and sadistic things. I believe retreatism best describes him, from the notes we took. He did not want to pursue the goals of success or use means of achieving goals and may have had limited opportunities or inadequacy. In Myra’s case, I believe rebellion best describes the reason for her actions. She met Ian Brady at a young age, and after she had encountered hard emotional problems. A very close male friend of hers had drowned after she refused to swim with him that day. After that happened, she dropped out of high school, and even converted her religion to the male friend’s. She was not emotionally stable or sane after that incident. I believe that incident led her to rebel against society.