Moor Murderers: Who were Ian Brady and Myra Hindley?

Now news has broken that police have been digging up Saddleworth Moor after a skull was found, which is being investigated if it is part of the remains of murder victim Keith Bennett.

It comes after The Daily Mail reported that a skull believed to be that of a child aged around 12 has been found on Saddleworth Moor.

Keith Bennett is the only victim of the Moors murders never to be found as Ian Brady and Myra Hindley never revealed where he was buried.

Now as new information appears, many who are unaware of the murders are asking who Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were.

A skull has been found on Saddleworth Moor as search for Ian Brady and Myra Hindley's last victim Keith Bennett continues (PA) (Image: Archive)

Who were Ian Brady and Myra Hindley?

Ian Brady was born in Glasgow in January 1938 and as a young child, it's believed he tortured animals.

He attended Shawlands Academy as a teenager where his behaviour worsened and he appeared before a juvenile court twice for housebreaking.

Aged 15 he left education and took a job as a tea boy at a Harland and Wolff shipyard in Gova.

In January 1959 he got a clerical job at Millwards and was described by his colleagues as a quiet, punctual, but a short-tempered young man.

Myra Hindley was born in July 1942 in Crumpsall to an abusive alcoholic father. 

She got her first job as a junior clerk at a local electrical engineering firm.

At 17 she become engaged but called it off after several months when she decided the man was too immature and unable to provide her with the life she wanted.

In January 1961, Hindley joined Millwards as a typist were she met Brady and quickly become infatuated. In December that year, the pair started dating.

Between the years 1963 and 1964, the couple killed and buried their bodies on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester. 

John Kilbride, 12, Keith Bennett, 12, Pauline Reade, 16, Lesley Ann Downey, 10 were all assaulted by the couple before their deaths. 

The pair were known to spend days at the moor, picking and taking photos of each other which later became a key part of the investigation. 

Brady and Hindley lead to their discovery when they killed Edward Evans, a 17-year-old they had met in Manchester city center and lured back to their home at Hattersley, a council estate on the outskirts of Oldham.

Brady murdered the young boy with an axe in the front room of the pair's home whilst David Smith, Myra's brother-in-law was in the room.

Police searching Saddleworth Moor in the 20th Century (PA) (Image: PA)

Smith soon returned home and contacted the police, telling officers of the couple's murders and the buying of bodies. 

The bodies of Lesley Ann Downey and John Kilbride were soon recovered and on April 27 1966 Brady and Hindley went on trial at Chester Assizes. 

They pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

The trial saw recordings of Lesley Ann Downey's last moments revealed whilst the pair tortured her. 

Both Brady and Hindley were convicted of murdering Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans, while Brady was also convicted of the murder of John Kilbride and both received life sentences.

Although they were suspected of killing Keith Bennett and Pauline Reade, their bodies had not been found at the time of the trial.

But in the 1990s a fresh light was given to the investigation which saw the pair admit to their killings and officers return to the moors. 

After months of digging, officers recovered the mummified remains of Pauline Reade.

But Keith Bennett's body has never been found and police have said they have no plans to carry out more searches on Saddleworth Moor.

The notorious killers both died in prison Brady in 2017 and Hindley in 2002.