Keith Bennett: New hope for access to Ian Brady's briefcases
Brady, who was jailed in 1966, buried four of his victims in graves on Saddleworth Moor, Greater Manchester, where extensive searches for Keith have taken place. Keith's brother Alan Bennett has previously claimed the suitcases were left with Brady's solicitor Robin Makin, based in Liverpool, who has refused his "personal plea" and police requests to hand them over. Mr Makin did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Ainley said Greater Manchester Police had unsuccessfully applied for a warrant to access the briefcases after Brady's death in May 2017 at Ashworth Hospital, a secure psychiatric unit in Merseyside where he had been detained since 1985.But he said the force had repeatedly come up against legislation preventing them from doing so."I think the police have been informed that there is no such information in the hands of the [solicitors] and consequently we've not been able to so far take it any further," Mr Ainley said. "We thought that police would have additional powers to obtain the documents but so far that legal process hasn't been successful."
However, Mr Ainley said a new BBC documentary on the case, which revealed there were 200 pages missing from an autobiography written by Brady, could help police with a renewed push for access."The latest information that some pages from the autobiography have been passed to this solicitor - that will enable them to, I assume, apply to the court in order that they can have access to them," he said."So we'll be having further discussions with Greater Manchester Police to see just what action they propose to take."
Mr Ainley said while there was no suggestion the missing memoir pages were in the briefcases, the family was "anxious" for anything that could help give them answers. "I don't think they're connected, but the combination of those pages and the contents of the cases, if those are all examined and put together, it might form a picture that is really helpful," he said. "The family are desperate to get closure and find Keith's body."A GMP representative said the force had "always remained committed to finding answers for Keith Bennett's family".They said: "Keith's family is central to any action we take in relation to this case and our thoughts remain with them."The force said it would "carefully consider and respond" to any "credible evidence".
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