The Moors Murders Begin

Pauline Reade

On this day in 1963, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley abducted and murdered 16-year-old Pauline Reade, who was on her way to a dance in Gorton, England. This would mark the beginning of a two-year crime spree that has come to be known as "The Moors Murders". In addition to Reade, Brady and Hindley took the lives of 12-year-old John Kilbride, 12-year-old Keith Bennett, 10-year-old Leslie Ann Downey, and 17-year-old Edward Evans. Evans was murdered in front of Hindley's 17-year-old brother-in-law, David Smith. Many believe that the couple was trying to recruit Smith to help them with future murders but Smith ended up calling the police, leading them to search Brady's apartment where the found photographs audiotapes documenting the torture of Leslie Ann Downey. They also found photos of Brady and Hindley in Saddleworth Moor which led to the discovery of John Kilbride's remains.

Myra Hindley had first met Ian Brady, a self-proclaimed Nazi who had an obsession with sadistic sex, in 1961 and quickly became infatuated. Brady began taking pornographic photos of Hindley and sold them to the public. On the night of Pauline Reade's abduction, Brady told Hindley that he wanted to commit "the perfect murder". Hindley agreed to drive around in her van with Brady following on his motorcycle. When Brady spotted Reade he signaled to Hindley with his motorcycle headlight that Reade was the victim that he wanted.

Although the couple was sentenced to life in prison in 1966 for the murders of Downey and Evans, the full extent of their crimes would not be known until 1985. That year, after maintaining his innocence, Brady confessed to a journalist that he had murdered Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett. In 1987, Myra Hindley made a formal confession and that year Pauline Reade's remains were finally recovered. Brady confessed to several more murders before passing away in 2017 but police have never been able to prove the validity of those confessions. Hindley passed away in 2002.

Related Reading:

Moors Murders: Pauline Reade's remains kept by police

The Moors Murders: The victims of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley
Ian Brady on they committed the meticulously planned first murder




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