Police dig for Moors murder victim Keith Bennett after 'skull belonging to 12-year-old child' found

30 September 2022, 12:51 | Updated: 30 September 2022, 21:42

Police have begun examining whether Moors murder victim Keith Bennett's remains have been found after a skull was discovered.

The remains, believed to belong to a boy aged about 12, were found on Saddleworth Moor in North West England, not far from where the other victims were buried.

Keith was taken by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley almost 60 years ago and he has never been found.

Greater Manchester Police dispatched forensic experts to take body tissue samples from the moor on Thursday night, after being tipped off by an author, Russell Edwards, who has been writing a book about the boy's murder.

Speaking as the skull was discovered, forensic archaeologist Dawn Keen - who had supervised the "grave cut" remotely - said on Thursday: "I do believe there are human remains there. They [police] have got to look.

"From the photographs, I saw the teeth, I could see the canines, I could see the incisors, I could see the first molar. It is the left side of an upper jaw. There is no way that it is an animal."

Skull found in hunt for Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett

Reports quoted another archaeologist, unnamed, as saying: "It is a human skull. It cannot be anything else."

Mr Edwards, who assembled a team of experts to look at the site, said: "Police are looking at a small bit of material, possibly clothing, found about 3ft underground next to the skull."

Hindley lured the boy, 12, into a van by asking him to help her with some boxes while Brady sat in the back seat. He had left his family home in June 1964 to stay with his grandmother.

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He was taken to Saddleworth Moor and sexually abused before being murdered by Brady.

The depraved pair's victims were buried and only Keith's remains are yet to be located. The young victims were found after searches on moorland, which located the bodies of Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, 12 and Lesley Ann Downey, 10.

Edward Evans was Brady and Hindley's final victim before they were caught.

Brady and Hindley, who were jailed for life and have both since died, never said where Keith was left and his mother Winnie died in 2012 without ever knowing where her son was buried.

She was never able to fulfil her wish of burying him in a Christian funeral.

Their spree, in which they killed five victims, ran between July 1963 and October 1965.

Greater Manchester Police's force review officer Martin Bottomley said: "At around 11.25am on Thursday 29 September 2022, Greater Manchester Police was contacted by the representative of an author who has been researching the murder of Keith Bennett, a victim of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

"Following direct contact with the author, we were informed that he had discovered what he believes are potential human remains in a remote location on the Moors and he agreed to meet with officers yesterday afternoon to elaborate on his find and direct us to a site of interest.

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"The site was assessed late last night and, this morning, specialist officers have begun initial exploration activity. We are in the very early stages of assessing the information which has been brought to our attention but have made the decision to act on it in line with a normal response to a report of this kind.

"It is far too early to be certain whether human remains have been discovered and this is expected to take some time.

"We have always said that GMP would act on any significant information which may lead to the recovery of Keith and reunite him with his family. As such, we have informed his brother of the potential development - he does not wish to be contacted at this time and asks that his privacy is respected."