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A lot is known about many of the world's most notorious serial killers, but often we overlook the people who knew these murderers on a day-to-day basis and understood them on a level which none of us could ever understand, they are their lovers. Whether a wife, husband, girl/boyfriend or ex', these people give an invaluable insight into the mind of a serial killer.

So, who were these people who dated, got engaged to, married and (hopefully) divorced from some of the world's most infamous serial killers? Which killers were single? And, who were these twisted people who actually married a known serial killer... AFTER they were arrested for murder? As always, this is not a comprehensive list and it will be updated over time. Please note: as gay married has only recently been legalised in the UK/USA, any gay serial killers (who weren't a marriage prior to this change in the law, I've had to put in the single category, as this blog is about being "married" to a serial killer. Don't blame me! Blame politicians and their inability to realise that the times have changed. 

Married (before/during) Murders: 

• Aileen Wuornos - married to 69 year old Lewis Gratz Fell, annulled after nine weeks
• Albert DeSalvo - married to Irmgard Beck in Frankfurt, had two children, one disabled
• Dennis Rader - married to Paula Dietz (1971-2005), had two kids, later divorced

• John Wayne Gacy - a closet homosexual, married to Carole Hoff (1972-1976)

• H H Holmes - bigamously married three times; Clara Lovering (1876-96), Myrta Belknap (1887-96) and Georgiana Yoke (1894-96), until his execution on 7th May 1896
• Albert Fish - paedophile, child rapist & murderer, married to Estella Wilcox (1898-1917) and together had six children: Albert, Anna, Gertrude, Eugene, John and Henry Fish. 
• Janie Lou Gibbs - poisoned her husband Charles Gibbs, their three sons and grandson
• Judy Buenoano - murdered husband James Goodyear and her son Michael, attempted to murder of her fiancé John Gentry and murdered her boyfriend Bobby Joe Morris
• Kristen Gilbert - married to Glenn Gilbert (1988-95) with two sons
• Dorothea Puente - married to soldier Fred McFaul (1945-48), Swede Axel Johanson (1952-66), Roberto Puente (1966-68) and Pedro Montalvo (1976)
• Velma Barfield - married to Thomas Burke (1949-69) until his death and Jennings Barfield (1970-71) until his death, both committed by Velma Barfield
• Gary Ridgway - married three times; Claudia Kraig Barrows (1970-72), Marcia Lorene Brown (1973-81) and Judith Lorraine Lynch (1988-2002), only Lynch was married to Ridgway during his 16 year killing spree 
• Randall Woodfield - married three times, once whilst in prison to Jennifer Lyn Coria 
• Donald Henry Gaskins - married five times, one who was 13 years old, has two children
• John Allen Muhammad - married and divorced twice, once to Mildred Muhammad

• Arthur Shawcross - married four times; to Sarah Chatterton with one son, Linda Neary, Penny Sherbino and had an affair with Clara D. Neal

• Glen Edward Rogers - married Deborah Ann Nix aged 14 years old (1978-83)
• Charles Manson - married and divorced twice to Rosalie Willis (1955-58) and Leona Stevens (1959-63)
• John Reginald Christie - married to Ethel Simpson (1920-52), who he murdered
• John George Haigh - married to Beatrice 'Betty' Hamer (1934), annulled, with one child who was given up for adoption

• Donald Neilson - married to Irene Tate with one daughter Kathryn, jailed as an accessory

• Fred West - married to Catherine “Rena” Costello (1962-71)
• Harold Shipman - married to Primrose Shipman (1966-2004, his death)

• Peter Sutcliffe - married to Sonia Szurma in 1974, separated in 1982, divorced in 1994
• Anthony Hardy - married to Judith Dwight (1972-86) with four kids, all prior to murders

• Colin Ireland - married twice to paraplegic athlete Virginia Zammit (1982-87) and Janet Young (1989-91) but claimed he "pretended to be gay" to lure his homosexual victims in

• Levi Bellfield - unmarried but fathered five children with three women, the final three children with Emma Mills (1995-2004) 

• Raymond Morris - married twice, second wife was called Carol Morris

• George Joseph Smith - married bigamously seven times between 1908 and 1914; Caroline Beatrice Thornhill, Florence Wilson, Edith Peglar, Sarah Freeman, Bessie Munday, Alice Burnham and Alice Reid, two of whom he murdered... to name but a few

• Peter Tobin - married and divorced three times; Margaret Mountney / MacKintosh (1969-71), Sylvia Jefferies (1973-76) and Cathy Wilson (1989-93)

• Steve Wright - married Angela O'Donovan (1978-87) and Diane Cassell/Cole (1987-88)

Married (after) Murders/Crimes

• Richard Ramirez - married in prison to Doreen Lioy, up to his death (1996-2013)
• Ted Bundy - engaged to Diane Edwards known as Stephanie Brooks in 1973, and later married Carole Ann Boone whilst on trial and had a daughter with him
• Arthur Shawcross - Clara D. Neal who he later married whilst in prison for murder
• Henry Lee Lucas  - married Betty Crawford after his conviction for kidnapping three girls
• Charles Manson - engaged in prison to Afton Elaine "Star" Burton, never married
• Myra Hindley - engaged to Ronnie Sinclair on her 17th birthday for six months

Killers Couples

• Ray & Faye Copeland - the killer couple of Missouri (1940-93)

• Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka - "The Ken & Barbie Killers" 
• Ray Fernandez & Martha Beck - "The Lonely Hearts Killers"
• Carol M. Bundy & Doug Clark - "The Sunset Strip Killers"
• Cynthia Coffman & James Gregory Marlow - another killer couple

• David Ray Parker "The ToyBox Killer" & his girlfriend / accomplice Cindy Lee Hendy

• Ian Brady & Myra Hindley - "The Moors Murderers"
• David and Catherine Birnie – “The Moorhouse Murderers”
  
• Fred West & Rose West - "The Gloucester Killers"​

...to name but a few, others are listed in my blogs Killer Couples #1 and part #2

Single / Dated Only: (or unmarried owing to a lack of equal rights for gay couples)

• Dennis NIlsen - single, homosexual, lived with David "Twinkle" Gallichan
• David Berkowitz - single, no wives or known girlfriends

• Edmund Kemper - single, troubled upbringing, unable to maintain a normal relationship, but was briefly engaged to a 16-year-old Turlock High School student
  

• Jeffrey Dahmer - single, a homosexual loner, one brief relationship with a boy at school
• Joel Rifkin - single, with learning difficulties, no known girlfriends
• Ed Gein - single, no girlfriends, his only true love was his mother
• Ted Kaczynski - single, but "dated" Joy Richards whilst in prison (1998-2006)
• Rodney Alcala - dated Beth Kelleher for a few months before his arrest in 1979

• Robert Pickton - habitual user/murderer of prostitutes, he once dated Connie Anderson

• Ronald Dominique - single, homosexual serial killer, no known boyfriends or partners
• Larry Eyler - single, homosexual serial killer, no known boyfriends or partners

• Dean Arnold Corll - a homosexual "relationship" with 12 year old David Brooks

• Lee Boyd Malvo - single, a few girlfriends, once was referred in the press as "Kaitlin"

• Orville Lynn Majors - unmarried, single
• Herbert Mullin - had a steady girlfriend but expressed worries to her that he was gay

• Richard Chase - single, hospitalised, no known girlfriends

• Graham Young - single, no known girlfriends, convicted / hospitalised

• Michael Lupo - homosexual, claimed to have had over 3000 lovers
• Patrick MacKay - single, institutionalised from his early teens
• Robert Maudsley - single, rent-boy / drug-addict, sexually-abused and incarcerated
• Robert Black - single, occasional girlfriends, nothing long-term

• Kenneth Erskine - unknown
• Steven Grieveson - unknown
• Stephen Griffiths - dated Kathy Hancock for 12 months, stalked her for 10 years

• Trevor Hardy - his partner Sheilagh Farrow provided his alibi, which meant he was released from prison, and went on to murder Sharon Mosoph

• Stephen Port - homosexual, numerous former boyfriends but names unknown

• Robert Napper - Single, sexually-abused, unknown of any long-term relationships​

• Beverley Allitt - boyfriend Stephen Biggs, the only real love in her life

If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals 

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

Following previous profiles of infamous murderers and serial killer, such as Dennis Nilsen, John Wayne Gacy, Dr Harold Shipman and Ian Brady, this week's case is Brady's girlfriend and partner-in-crime during the Moor's Murders - Myra Hindley.  As before, the intention of these profiles is not to rake over the same old gory details, but by asking a series of set questions about each serial killer or murderer, the aim is to try to understand who they were as a person and why they did what they did, without absolving them of their heinous crimes. 

Profile #6 - Myra Hindley: Dubbed the "Moors Murderers", Hindley & Brady murdered five young children and teens, who were raped, tortured and buried in shallow graves on Saddleworth Moor in an attempt to pull-off the "perfect murder". Hindley was labelled by the press as "the most evil woman in Britain" and by their trial judge as "two sadistic killers of the utmost depravity". As with my profile on Ian Brady, I've focused on facts, rather than myths or misinformation as perpetuated by the tabloid press or people who claim to have known them. 

​PERSONAL DETAILS

• Birth Name: Myra Hindley (no middle names)
• Date of Birth: 23rd July 1942
• Place of Birth: Crumpsall, Manchester
• Weight: 8 stone (dropped below 7 stone on hunger-strike)
• Height: 5 foot 5 inches (1.65m)
• Hair Colour: Brown (naturally), she changed this to a pink rinse in her late teens, and later dyed it peroxide blonde, but also wore a black wig as part of her disguise when picking up her child victims, or during sex games with her partner Ian Brady
• Eye Colour: Blue
• Nickname: At school, “Square Arse” owing to her 42 inch hips. Brady’s nickname for Hindley was “Kiddo” owing to his fascination for 1950's American films and just as Hindley would refer to Brady as “Neddie” (after Ned Seagoon from the BBC Radio series The Goon Show), Brady often called her “Minnie” after Minnie Bannister from the same series.
• Star Sign: Leo
• Disabilities: None known
• Health Issues: None known
• Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual and later homosexual; Hindley lost her virginity to Brady aged 19 on 1st January 1962 (having promised herself she’d remain a virgin until marriage). Although she was only sexually active with Brady (and Edward Evans at Brady's request), there no homosexuality prior to her incarceration, with the notable exception of Hindley’s account of the sexual assault of Pauline Reade which both Hindley & Brady took part in (again, she claims, at his request), but whilst serving at Holloway Prison, Hindley met prison warder Patricia Cairns and began a three-year lesbian relationship.
• Personality: Toughened-up by her abusive alcoholic father, Bob Hindley taught his daughter how to fight. Aged 8 years old, when Hindley’s cheeks were scratched by a local boy, Bob insisted "Go and punch him because if you don't I'll leather you!", Hindley did as she was told, knocked the boy down with a series of punches and finally but briefly achieved her father’s approval, which she craved. Hindley was regarded as a “tomboy” by her school-friends as well as “tough” and “lacking in compassion” for anyone who got hurt. Later, during her incarceration in Holloway Prison, Governor Dorothy Wing regarded Hindley as “a very disciplined, very controlled person anxious never to transgress prison rules”. 

FAMILY HISTORY

• Parents: Nellie and Bob Hindley.
• Siblings: One younger sister, Maureen.
• Sibling Order: Oldest of two (by four years). Living in poverty, Hindley was forced to share their only bedroom with her parents, but when Hindley’s younger sister Maureen was born, Hindley was sent to live with her grandmother.
• Traumatic Event as a Child: In June 1957, aged 15, Hindley decided not to go swimming with her 13 year old friend Michael Higgins in a disused reservoir, where – although he was a good swimmer – he drowned. Hindley was deeply traumatised by the incident and blamed herself. Upon the viewing of the body (a Catholic tradition), Michael’s mother handed Myra the rosary beads he was holding.
• Divorced or Deceased Parent or Sibling: None, prior to the murders. That said, Bob Hindley (Myra’s abusive father) suffered a stroke in his mid-forties, was confined to a wheelchair, and seizing the opportunity Hindley would abuse her disabled father, getting back at him for all the years of beatings which both she and her mother had suffered at his hands.
• Head injury or Accident as Child: None known, but Hindley was routinely beaten by her alcoholic father so frequent head injuries (which weren’t recorded by a local GP or hospital) is entirely possible.
• Bed-Wetter (as child): Unknown.
• Fire-Starter (as child): None.
• Animal Abuser (as child): None. Far from it. Hindley was absolutely besotted with her pets, especially “Puppet” her the tan-and-white collie. After her arrest and the discovery of photographs of Hindley & “Puppet” in the same location on Saddleworth Moor, Police wondered whether these photos were a macabre memorial on top of the shallow grave of 12 year old victim John Kilbride. In order to date the photos, they needed to determine the age of “Puppet”, so put him under anaesthetic to x-ray his teeth. “Puppet” supposedly died during the procedure and Hindley was inconsolable, later stating “I feel as though my heart's been torn to pieces. I don't think anything could hurt me more than this has”.
• Perversions: Hindley admits to being sexually inexperienced prior to her deflowering by Ian Brady, and following this Hindley engaged (or was forced) into a series of sexual activities at Brady’s request; heterosexual sex, oral sex, anal sex, threesomes (with Edward Evans), use of hard-core pornography, sadomasochism (a series of private photos show Hindley with whip marks on her buttocks) and insertion (Brady would get Hindley to stick a candle up his anus).
• Pets: During her years with Ian Brady, Hindley had two dogs; “Lassie” a ginger/brown collie, who gave birth to a litter of six, once of which Hindley kept, a tan and white collie called “Puppet”.
• Abandoned / Fostered: No, but when Hindley was five years old, her younger sister Maureen was born and – stuck in a tiny house with just one bedroom, that Myra shared with her parents – she was sent to live with her grandmother at Bannock Street. Although this gave Hundley respite from her abusive alcoholic father, it caused a division between Hindley and her family as she felt she’d been abandoned in place of her younger sister.
• Marital Status: Single. Although Hindley was briefly engaged to Ronnie Sinclair in 1958 for six months, and later she’d dreamed that she and Brady would marry, Ian Brady was marriage as pointless.
• Partners: After her engagement to Ronnie Sinclair on her 17th birthday (which lasted just six months) and hr relationship with Ian Brady, Hindley was incarcerated at Holloway Prison (a women’s prison) so her access to men was strictly limited. Although there’s very little evidence of lesbianism (except the abduction and sexual assault by Hindley & Brady of Pauline Reade, which – may – have been to appease Brady’s sexual appetite) prior to Hindley’s incarceration at Holloway Prison, she engaged in passionate homosexual relationships with Nina Wilde (a Dutch criminologist who she met in Durham Prison) and later prison warder Patricia Cairns which lasted for three years. Brady & Hindley corresponded by letter until 1971, when she ended their relationship
• Children:  None. 

WORK

• Jobs: Three jobs; a junior clerk at Lawrence Scott Electrometers in Gorton, then as a junior clerk at Bratby and Hinchliffe (also an engineering firm in Gorton) but was dismissed for absenteeism and finally in January 1961, she joined Millwards as a typist, where she met Ian Brady.
• Training: Trained in shorthand typing.
• Military Service: Not applicable.
• IQ / Education: She attended Peacock Street Primary School (the same school as her first victim – Pauline Read), and having failed her 11-plus, was sent to Ryder Brown Secondary Modern. Although, in 1989, Hindley graduated from the Open University with a degree in Humanities, which she studied for whilst serving at HMP Holloway. 

SOCIAL

• Favourite Food: Very little is known about Hindley’s favourite foods prior to meeting Brady, but her mother always insisted that she had a side portion of chips with every meal as Hindley was a notoriously picky eater (perhaps brought on by being bullied over her wide-hips, with kids giving her the nickname “Square Arse”). Having met Brady, her tastes copied his and they’d often dine on French or Chinese food. During her incarceration at Holloway Prison, Hindley paid (in cigarettes) a Jamaican prisoner to cook her a traditional West Indian meal once a week.
• Favourite Music: Again, very little is known about Myra’s musical tastes prior to Brady, but soon found a shared love of Wagner (Hitler’s favourite), as well as a series of popular songs which Hindley & Brady used as a secret reference to their victims, such as; “Girl Don’t Come” by Sandie Shaw, “It’s All Over Now” by Joan Baez, “Legion’s Last Patrol” by Ken Thorne, “24 From Tulsa” by Gene Pitney and “It’s Over” by Roy Orbison
• Favourite Film: Supposedly it was West Side Story, which she saw with Brady, as well as biblical epic The King of Kings and a dramatization of the Nazi war-crimes trials Judgement at Nuremberg.
• Favourite Book: As a child, Hindley loved anything by Beatrix Potter and Enid Blyton, but her tastes changed to In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, as well as other books favoured by Brady such as Hitler’s Mein Kampf, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment and Meyer Levin's ‘Compulsion’.
• Favourite Drink: White German wine (Hock) when with Brady, rum & coke when not.
• Smoker: Yes. She even had a vending machine at home.
• Hobbies: As a teen, Hindley briefly trained in Judo.
• Religion: Raised as a Catholic in a semi-religious family (Bob was Catholic, Nellie was agnostic), Hindley was baptised as a Catholic on 16th August 1942 and regularly attended Holy Communion. Although with Brady, Hindley renounced her Catholicism, he later claimed to have become a reformed Catholic (in Holloway Prison, when parole was mooted).
• Drugs/Alcohol Abuse: No history of drug-usage, even in prison
• Political Leanings:  Like Brady, although Hindley absorbed a lot of right-wing propaganda, she claimed to be left-wing. 

​MURDER CAREER

• Reason for Murder: Hindley has never given expressed the reasons why she assisted Brady in the murders, but it is believed that having grown-up in a physically abusive household under the fear of her violent alcoholic father (Bob), she always sought his approval but rarely got it (except the day he ordered her to beat up a bully who had scratched her cheeks). In Brady, she found a new father-figure for whom she’d change everything about herself – her hair, clothes, tastes, beliefs and morals – to seek the approval of Ian Brady, even so far as to commit “the perfect murder”
• Method of Killing: Although it is uncertain whether Hindley participated in all of the murders themselves, she certainly acted as a “friendly face” to lure the unsuspecting children into her car/van, with the promise of sweets or money for their help with a simple chore and – following a slight detour to find a missing glove or scarf of “sentimental value” – she used this as a ruse to drive the children to Saddleworth Moor where Brady would be waiting. Brady claimed that Hindley assisted in all aspects of the murders.
• Number of Victims: Five; Pauline Reade (16), John Kilbride (12), Keith Bennett (12), Lesley Ann Downie (10) and Edward Evans (17), although Hindley & Brady were only initially charged with the murders of Edward Evans, John Kilbride and Lesley Ann Downey. Read Ian Brady’s biog for full details.
• Length of Career: As a murderer, 12th July 1963 to 6th October 1965
• Previous Criminal Record: None.
• Preferred Victims: Prior to the murders, Hindley & Brady would go “scouting” for victims, either with Hindley driving the van/car and Brady in the back-street, or Brady following on a motorcycle, and when Brady saw a suitable victim, he would either flash his lights or knock. Each victim was chosen according to Brady’s particular persuasion.
• Preferred Murder Location: Saddleworth Moor and 16 Wardle Brook Avenue in Hattersley (Hindley & Brady’s flat) where Edward Evans and Lesley Ann Downie were both murdered.
• Disposal: All but Edward Evans were buried in a shallow grave on Saddleworth Moor, including Leslie Ann Downie who was murdered at 16 Wardle Brook Avenue, but her body would later be buried.

ARREST/SENTENCE

• Detection: On the evening of 6th October 1965, Hindley & Brady picked up Edward Evans from Manchester Central station and returned to 16 Wardle Brook Avenue for wine and group sex (Brady engaging in oral sex with Edward Evans). Upon the arrival of David Smith, Hindley’s 17 year old brother-in-law, who Brady had developed an unusual friendship with, Edward Evans was attacked with an axe/hatchet. With the first hit missing its mark, the back of Evans’ head, Brady then rained down a dozen blows with the hatchet upon Evans, smothered him with a pillow and strangled him with an electrical flex. Unable to carry Evan’s body to the car, Smith & Brady wrapped in a bundle of sheets in their bedroom, with an agreement to dispose of the bundle the next day. Instead, Smith called the police.
• Arrested: Early on the 7th October 1965, Superintendent Bob Talbot (Cheshire Police) posed as a baker making a delivery to gain entry to the house, upon which Evans’ body was discovered and Brady was arrested (Hindley was not charged as an accessory until 11th October). Brady claimed it had simply been an argument over some “dodgy books” in a suitcase which had got out of hand. Although David Smith said he had no idea where these “books” might be, that Brady “had a thing about railway stations”. In the left luggage office of Manchester Central Station, police discovered Brady’s suitcase; in it were nine pornographic photos of 10 year old Leslie Ann Downie and a 13 minute audio recording on her final moments, screaming and pleading for her “mummy”. In their house Police also found an exercise book with “John Kilbride” written in it and a large collection of photographs taken on Saddleworth Moor.
• Trial: Over 14 days, from 19th April 1966, at Assize Court in Chester Castle, Hindley & Brady were charged with the murders of Edward Evans, Leslie Ann Downie and John Kilbride. They both pleased “not guilty”, but with overwhelming evidence against them including the 13 minute tape recording of the torture of Leslie Ann Downie being played to the court, the jury took just two hours to deliberate and on the 6th May, Hindley & Brady were found guilty. With the death penalty having been abolished just one year earlier, Brady was sentenced to three life sentences and Hindley to two. Mr Justice Atkinson described Brady was "wicked beyond belief" with no reasonable possibility of reform. The case was re-opened in 1985, after Brady confessed to the additional murders of Keith Bennett and Pauline Reade. His confession conveniently coincided with being diagnosed as “criminally insane” and being committed to Ashworth Psychiatric Hospital, which required his removal from solitary confinement and a mainstream prison.
• Prison: Hindley was committed to HMP Holloway (north London, one of the few Category A women’s prisons in the UK), where she’d later become the UK's longest serving female prisoner having been incarcerated for 36 years.
• Sentence Length: Hindley was sentenced to two life sentences plus seven years (with a life sentence being 25 years before parole is considered under UK law), but this was increased to 30 years by Home Secretary Leon Brittan and later to a “whole life tariff” by Home Secretary David Waddington, meaning Hindley had no chance of parole.
• Type of Prisoner: Hindley was regarded as a model prisoner; well behaved, reformed and conscientious - engaging in badminton, tapestry, cookery and pottery as well as taking an Open University degree course in Humanities - to the point where she successfully appealed to have her category A prison status changed to category B, which allowed Governor Dorothy Wing to treat her to walks around Hampstead Heath until a public backlash put an end to this. Hindley attempted one unsuccessful prison-break with the assistance of her lover / prison warder Patricia Cairns and fellow prisoner Maxine Croft (both of whom were jailed for their parts).
• Parole: Not applicable. Hindley died on 15th November 2002 of respiratory failure caused by bronchial pneumonia at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, aged 72. So vehement was the anger at Hindley that even 35 years after the murders, twenty undertakers refused to handle her corpse for cremation. In February 2003, Patricia Cairns – Hindley’s ex-partner – scattered her ashes in Stalybridge County Park, less than ten miles from Saddleworth Moor.
  

If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals. Or use the category folders on the right.  

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, true-crime podcaster, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

If you love true-crime podcasts, subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn

Ever wondered what weight many of the world's most infamous serial killers and murderers were? Probably not. It's certainly not the first fact you'd want to jump to when you think about serial killers. You'd probably expect them to be larger than average so they can overpower their victims, but - having compiled a (non- exhaustive) list below - it appears that very few serial killers are of an abnormally large frame, with many actually being of average/under weight, which helps them to blend in with everyday people and not appear frightening to their next potential victims. This also helps explain why many serial killers chose victims of a stature smaller to themselves, who were also vulnerable, weak and - often - incapacitated by a head-trauma, terror, drink or drugs first. 

​Obviously, it's very difficult to accurately calculate a person's weight, as their body mass fluctuates across their lifetime, so the majority of these weight measurements were taken from prison medicals, executioner's notes, arrest records, police descriptions and other reliable sources, with a few based on their height and then compared to reliable data given about their frame size, age, diet and era. As always, this is not a comprehensive list, and will be updated as-and-when new information comes to light and I can confirm a person's accurate weight. 

Serial Killers by Weight (lightest to heaviest, rounded up/down)

• Kristen Gilbert – 102lbs (46kgs / 7 stone 3lbs) - "The Angel of Death"
• John Reginald Christie– 112lbs (50.8kg / 7 stone 13lbs) -"10 Rillington Place"
• Myra Hindley – 112lbs (50.8kg / 7 stone 13lbs) - "Moor's Murderer"
• Peter Kurten – 113lbs (51kg / 8 stone) - "Vampire of Dusseldorf"
• Henri Desire Landru – 115lbs (52.1kg / 8 stone 2lbs) - "The Ladykiller"
• Peter Manuel – 118lbs (53.5kg / 8 stone 5lbs) - "Beast of Birkenshaw"
• Donald Henry Gaskins – 120/155lbs* (54.6kg / 8 stone 6lbs) - "Pee Wee"
• David Copeland – 124lbs (56.2kg / 8 stone 11lbs) - "London Bomber"
• George Joseph Smith – 125lbs (57kg / 8 stone 13lbs) - "Brides in the Bath"
• Judy Buenoano – 130lbs (58.9kg / 9 stone 3lbs) - "The Black Widow"
• Albert Fish – 130lbs (59kg / 9 stone) 4lbs - "Werewolf of Wysteria"
• Beverley Allitt – 130lbs (59kg / 9.stone 4lbs) - "Angel of Death"
• Ed Gein – 132lbs (60kgs / 9 stone 8lbs) - "Butcher of Plainfield"
• Aileen Wuornos – 137lbs (62kg / 9 stone 10lbs) - read her biog
• Dorothea Puente – 138lbs (62.5kg / 9 stone 12lbs) - read her biog
• Fred West – 138lbs (62.5kg / 9 stone 12lbs) - "Gloucester House of Horrors"
• Henry Lee Lucas – 141lbs (64kgs / 10 stone 1lb) - read his biog
• Peter Sutcliffe – 145lbs (65.5kg / 10 stone 4lbs / 20st later) - "Yorkshire Ripper"
• Herbert Mullin – 148lbs (67.1kg / 10 stone 8lbs) - read his biog
• Herman Webster Mudgett – 148lbs (67.1kg / 10 stone 8lbs) - "Dr H H Holmes"
• John George Haigh – 150lbs (68kg / 10 stone 10lbs) - "Acid Bath Murderer"
• Rodney Alcala – 150lbs (68kg / stone 10lbs) - "The Dating Game Killer"
• Ted Kaczynski – 150lbs (68kg / 10 stone 10lbs) - "Unabomber"
• John Straffen – 155lbs (70kg / 11 stone) - read his biog
• Colin Ireland - 155lbs (70kg / 11 stone) - "The Gay Slayer"
• Gary Ridgway – 155lbs (70.3kg / 11 stone 1lb) - "The Green River Killer"
• Andrei Chikatilo – 156lbs (70.7kg / 11 stone 2lbs) - "The Rostov Ripper"
• Ted Bundy – 160lbs (72kg / 11 stone 5lbs) but lost 35lbs to escape prison
• Glen Edward Rogers – 164lbs (74.3kg / 11 stone 10lbs) - "Casanova Killer"
• Larry Eyler – 164lbs (74.3kg / 11 stone 10lbs) - "The Highway Killer"
• John Allen Muhammad – 165lbs (75kg / 11 stone 11lbs) - "Washington Sniper"
• David Berkowitz - 168lbs (76kg / 11 stone 13lbs) - "Son of Sam"
• Stephen Port – 168lbs (76kg / 11 stone 13lbs) - "The Grindr Killer"
• David Ray Parker – 168lbs (76.2kg / 12 stone) - "The Toybox Killer"
• Paul Bernardo – 168lbs (76.2kg / 12 stone) - "The Schoolgirl Killer"
• Randall Woodfield – 170lbs (77.1kg / 12 stone 2lbs) - "The I-5 Killer"
• Kenneth Bianchi – 172lbs (78kg / 12 stone 4lbs) - "The Hillside Strangler"
• Ian Brady – 176lbs (79.8kg / 12 stone 8lbs) – (fell to 50kg on hunger strike) - biog
• Robert Black – 179lbs (81kg / 12 stone 11lbs) - read his biog
• Albert DeSalvo – 180lbs (81.5kg / 12 stone 11lbs) - "Boston Strangler"
• Jeffrey Dahmer - 180 lb (82 kg / 12 stone 13lbs) - "Milwaukee Cannibal"
• Richard Ramirez – 182lbs (82.5kg / 13 stone) - "Night Stalker"
• Joel Rifkin – 182lbs (82.5kg / 13 stone) - "Joel the Ripper"
• Stephen Griffiths – 185lbs (84kg / 13 stone 3lbs) - "Crossbow Cannibal"
• Dean Arnold Corll - 190lb (86 kg / 13 stone 8lbs) - "Candyman"
• Dennis Rader – 196lbs (88.9kg / 14 stone) - "The BTK Killer"
• Dr Harold Shipman – 208lbs (95kgs/ 15 stone) - "Dr Death"
• Dennis Nilsen- 210lbs (95.2kg / 15 stone) -"The Kindly Killer"
• Anthony Hardy – 225lbs (102kg / 16 stone 1lbs) - read his biog
• John Wayne Gacy - 230lbs (104 kg / 16 stone 5lbs) - "Killer Clown"
• Martha Beck – 230lbs (104kg / 16 stone 5lbs) - "Lonely Hearts Killer"
• Levi Bellfield – 280lbs (127kg / 20 stone) - "The Bus Stop Killer"
• Arthur Shawcross - 300 lb (136kg / 21 stone 6lbs) - "Genesee River Killer"
• Edmund Kemper – 306lbs (138.8kg / 21 stone 12lbs) - "The Co-Ed Killer"

* at their heaviest/lightest

If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at my other articles: such as serial killers and their diets, favourite drinks, height, IQ, star signs, lunar cycles, dates of birth, reasons for killing, music, nicknames, last meals and whether they're alive or dead... to name but a few. ​​

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

Do you love history, story-telling and true-crime podcasts? Are you looking for a series of truly gripping stories to send a shiver down your spine? As of Sunday 1st October, Murder Mile is launching a 30 minute weekly podcast which proves that on every street, in every city and almost in every building, alley or doorway... there is murder. 

As with Murder Mile Walks (my guided walk of Soho's most notorious murder cases) this podcast will focus on murders case within a few streets of each other, and (as I love story-telling) you can expect them to be well researched, skillfully-written and as boldly performed as the walks themselves. And regardless of where in the world you live and where you listen to the podcast, even if you've never been to (or even heard of) Soho, Covent Garden or Fitzrovia, the Murder Mile podcast will be a visceral experience, packed full of amazing details, gripping backstories and authentic sounds / descriptions to ensure that... "you'll feel like you're actually there". 

Murder Mile podcast will be:

• 30 minute weekly true-crime podcast
• Featuring 300+ untold or often forgotten true murders
• All well-written, research and performed by myself
• Research collected from authentic and first-hand sources
• Visceral descriptions and original recordings from the real location
• An accompanying website full of videos, photos, maps and transcripts

I've just finished writing and researching the first two episodes, and already I'm really excited by this project; it's dark, broody, moody, scary and gripping but with the usual splashes of dark humour and mystery that you'd expect from Murder Mile. And best of all, the geniuses behind the soundtracks to The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and Blue Velvet Revisited, the fantastic musical duo Erik Stein & Jon Boux of Cult With No Name have agreed to do the music. 

Stay tuned for more details. 
Michael.x 

One of the odd facts about some of the world's most sadistic serial killers is that many started off in childhood by being cruel to animals; whether by dissecting roadkill, trapping wildlife, or wantonly torturing and killing other people's pets. This inability to show empathy for another living creature, compassion for their actions or even remorse for the pain which they have inflicted is often a small but crucial step into a child's development from a normal human-being, into being a serial killer. 

But this heinous habit isn't consistent across the board, as there are many cases where infamous serial killers and murderers were absolutely besotted by their pets, doted upon them daily and when their beloved pet died, they were absolutely beside themselves, showing more grief and emotion for their animal, than any of their victims. What follows is a handful of those examples (which I will update and add to, as and when). Enjoy. Mx

Sadly, owing to copyright infringement issues, I have had to remove photos of their pets. 

"Bleep" was the faithful, loyal and loving Border Collie cross of London's most notorious serial killer Dennis Nilsen. She was bought as a puppy in a local pet shop on Kilburn High Road by David "Twinkle" Gallachan, who was Nilsen's lover, who he'd met barely a few weeks earlier at The Champion in Bayswater and named "Bleep" as her muted barks as a puppy sounded more like a high-pitched squeak. So was "Bleep" the last victim of serial killer Dennis Nilsen? Yes. Did Nilsen kill "Bleep"? No. Of course he didn't. Nilsen absolutely adored "Bleep" (see them playing in the animation above); he fed her, brushed her, bathed her and the two would take lovely long walks together on Hampstead Heath. Bleep was his best-friend, his closest companion, and - in Nilsen's eyes - the only one who ever truly loved him.

But in 1978, after a few volatile months together, "Twinkle" walked out, causing Nilsen to spiral out of control, and with his rage uncontrollable and fuelled by anger, he killed fifteen young men in just five years. "I wanted to stop sooner", Nilsen said after his arrest, but after he'd murdered his second victim - Kenneth Ockenden - he knew he'd be locked up for life and his main concern was "if I'm put away, what would happen to Bleep?". Unfortunately, Nilsen's concerns were proved right as just three days after he was imprisoned, "Bleep" was put to death by lethal injection. Her only crime? Being a faithful, loyal and loving dog... of a serial killer. ‪

See video footage of Bleep & Dennis together in his home videos here. ​Learn about the time that Nilsen rescued a sparrow and nursed it back to health click here. Or read his full profile. 

MYRA HINDLEY owned a tan & white collie called "Puppet", which she was totally besotted by. Unfortunately, after her arrest as accessory to the brutal murder of 17 year old Edward Evans and the discovery of Brady's suitcase which contained a series of highly disturbing photos and a 13 minute audio of the torture and murder of 10 year old Leslie Ann Downie, Police were alerted to a few different versions of this photo, taken on Saddleworth Moor at different times, and they wondered whether they were a macabre memorial taken on top of the shallow grave of 12 year old victim John Kilbride. Sadly, they were right.

As Hindley refused to cooperate, they needed to find a way to accurately date the photos, and to do that they needed to determine the age of “Puppet”, so they put her under anaesthetic to x-ray his teeth. Unfortunately, “Puppet” died during the procedure and Hindley was inconsolable, later stating “I feel as though my heart's been torn to pieces. I don't think anything could hurt me more than this has”. Oddly, she never showed any remorse for her victims. Read her full biog here. 

IAN BRADY: Lazy biographers often state that Moor's Murderer Ian Brady was an animal abuser, whether torturing cats or drowning dogs, but (as much as this makes for good newspaper copy) it's simply not true. Ian Brady truly loved animals; he had three rabbits; a big grey called Jenny, a big black called Harry and a small Dutch called Smokey, a black & silver German Shepherd called Una and a Cocker Spaniel called Sheila, at whose death the ten year old Brady was inconsolable. Left, is a photo of Brady & "Bruce", who belonged to his birth mother and his step-father. 

Also, in an incident he recounted to DSC Peter Topping of Manchester CID, when Brady was a child growing up in The Gorbals (Glasgow) he saw an injured horse which had slipped on the icy-road, a canvas screen was erected and the horse was "euthanized" with a house-brick. Brady said “it lay there with its massive sides heaving and its breath steaming the frosty air… I can still see the great liquid eyes rolling in terror… they were going to kill the horse. My chest was bursting and I began to cry”. Even if this story is a fabrication, it seems unlikely that he was an animal abuser, especially as Brady reportedly asked for the proceeds of his autobiography – Black Light – to be split between four animal charities. Read Brady's full psychological profile here. 

John Wayne Gacy: As a mentally and physically abused boy, growing up in a loveless home and living in fear of his violent and alcoholic father, young John Wayne Gacy Jnr had one thing in his life which he could be assured of would bring him love and affection - his dogs. He had two during his preteen years; the second of these was a Spaniel called Prince (seen left). As with many of his contemporaries, Gacy wept copiously upon the death of both dogs, and yet showed no emotion for any of his victims. His final words weren't "I'm sorry" but simply "kiss my ass". Read Gacy's full profile here. 

Jeffrey Dahmer: As a young boy, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer adored his dog, a Spaniel cross who he named Frisky, as being a shy, timid and lonely boy, Jeffrey's dog was often his “only friend” according to his father. And yet, Dahmer would happily impale the heads of other dogs he’d found as rock-kill on a stick to scare the neighbours. ​

Ed Gein: Oddly, for a serial-killer, a grave-robber and a necrophile, Ed Gein (dubbed "The Butcher of Plainfield") had no known history of animal cruelty, as hunting, skinning and butchering wildlife was very much a part of his life living in rural Wisconsin. And even though he would watch his father “gut a hog or deer”, stripping its skin, filleting its muscles and gutting its innards (techniques he would use of many of his victims), Ed would late claim that he’d never butchered any large animals as “the sight of blood made me queasy”. That said, it is worth noting that Ed claims to have experienced an ejaculation watching a hog being slaughtered. Read Ed Gein's profile here. 

Harold Shipman: Although Dr Harold Shipman, dubbed "Doctor Death" and one of the world's most prolific serial killers had very few pets (one black poodle and a few rabbits), as a medical student at Leeds School of Medicine, Shipman would regularly complain about the caged dogs that were kept on the roof for medical testing and vivisection, and would often weep at the sight of the poor little dogs being led to their early deaths. Read Dr Shipman's profile here. 

Adolf Hitler: It seems odd that a man with so much hatred, who orchestrated the holocaust and the deaths of six million Jews, could have so much love for his pets, but it's true. Hitler loved his dogs, these included: ​"Fuchsl", a white Fox Terrier who Hitler found as a stray, nurtured and raised during in World War One and was reportedly “distraught” when Fuchsl was lost during a trench bombing. “Prinz”, a German Shepherd who comforted Hitler during his post-World War One war years of poverty, but as Hitler was unable to afford to feed Prinz, Hitler had to re-home her, but she always escaped and returned to her loving master. 

There was also “Muckl” a German Shepherd, "Blonda" (born in 1928), “Blonda” (her daughter born in 1930), “Bella”, another German Shepherd who was brought from a minor official in the Ingolstadt post-office (the nearest town to his countryside retreat dubbed The Wolf’s Lair) in 1942 to keep his other dogs company, and, more famously, there was his beloved “Blondi”.

On 29th April 1945, as the Soviets closed in on Berlin, Hitler decided to take his own life, but fearing that his SS-issued cyanide capsules lacked the necessary potency, he ordered Dr Werner Haase to test them on Blondi who died instantly. After which, Hitler became inconsolable at the death of his beloved dog, and so at Hitler’s request, Hitler's dog-handler Feldwebel Fritz Tornow shot Eva Braun’s two dogs and Blondi’s litter of puppies in the garden of that infamous bunker. ​

UPDATED: Whilst serving his sentence at HMP Full Sutton, Dennis Nilsen kept two budgerigars which he called Hamish and Tweetles. 

If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at my other articles: such as serial killers and their diets, favourite drinks, height, IQ, star signs, lunar cycles, dates of birth, reasons for killing, music, nicknames, last meals and whether they're alive or dead... to name but a few. ​​​

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, podcaster, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

Profile #4 - Ian Brady: Dubbed 'The Moor's Murderer', Ian Brady with his partner Myra Hindley would kidnap, rape, torture and murder five young children, aged between 10 and 17 years old, some of whom were buried in shallow graves in Saddleworth Moor. 

Following on from previous profiles of infamous murderers and serial killers posted here, such as Dennis Nilsen, Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy and Dr Harold Shipman, this week's case is the "Moor's Murderer", Ian Brady. As before, the intention of these profiles is not to rake over the same old gory details (as many blogs do), but by asking a series of standardised questions about each serial killer or murderer, the aim is to try to understand who they were as a person and why they did what they did, without absolving them of their heinous crimes.  

For the sake of clarity, I have split the profile of Ian Brady from his partner Myra Hindley (her profile to appear soon) as Hindley's actions and personality were directly influenced by Brady.

PERSONAL DETAILS

• Birth Name:  Ian Duncan Stewart (later changed to Ian Sloan, then Ian Brady)
• Date of Birth: 2nd January 1938
• Place of Birth: The Gorbals, Glasgow (Scotland)
• Weight: 8 stone (50kg)
• Height: 6 foot 0 inches
• Hair Colour: Brown (later grey)
• Eye Colour: Blue
• Nickname: Brady had various nicknames; “Dracula” by neighbours owing to his love of horror movies, “Mack” (short for Mack the Knife) when he ran with a Moss Side gang and “The Understaker” as during his teenage years he’d walk around the Hattersley Estate in a long trench-coat, although most of these nicknames may have been created by those who knew Brady after his arrest, so there is no way to tell otherwise. As fans of The Goon Show, Hindley often referred to Brady as “Neddie”, after Neddie Seagoon.
• Star Sign: Capricorn
• Disabilities: None known.
• Health Issues: Owing to measles when Brady was a toddler, he was prone to light sensitivity and had to wear tinted prescription glasses (which many people mistook for sunglasses).  
• Sexual Orientation: Supposedly heterosexual, although Brady was a regular at The Rembrandt (formerly the Ogden Arms), one of the oldest gay bars in Manchester which is just off Canal Street, he engaged in oral sex with Edward Evans (as part of a threesome with Myra Hindley), engaged in anal sex with Myra Hindley (often seen as a substitute for gay sex in an era when it was illegal) and who raped and sodomised his young victims (both male and female), and although he identified as heterosexual, that is debatable.
• Personality: After his arrest, Brady was transferred to the Personality Disorder Unit at the Lawrence Ward of Ashworth Psychiatric Prison, having been diagnosed on different occasions with either a narcissistic personality disorder or as a paranoid schizophrenic. Often it’s hard to truly establish what Brady’s personality was like as a child, as those who knew him made their feelings known after the murders, but what is known is that he never felt like he belonged (having been abandoned and fostered) and yet he “never forgave himself for how badly he had treated them (The Sloan’s, his foster family)”. That said, Brady was prone to violent outbursts, enjoyed a sexual sadism and had a sense of grandiosity, being desperate to show how clever he was and how he was smarter than anyone else. 

FAMILY HISTORY

• Parents: Illegitimately born to 28 year old mother was Margaret "Peggy" Stewart and an unknown father who was supposedly a Glasgow journalist who died three months before Brady was born. As a single parent with very little means of support, Margaret was forced to put her infant into foster care, and although they remained in contact, Brady would later live with her (and her partner, an Irish fruit merchant named Patrick Brady) when he was 17, having been placed on probation. Although she was his birth mother, Ian always referred to her as “Peggy”. Note: Brady adopted his step-father’s surname, not out of love or loyalty, but having recently been involved in a spate of burglaries and knife-crimes, Brady felt that a change of name would make it harder for the Police to track him down.
• Siblings: None through his birth mother, but he had four siblings through his foster family Mary & John Sloan (who were Robert, Jean, May and – four years after Ian’s arrival - John), all of whom Brady was very fond of.
• Sibling Order: Although Brady was an only child, within his foster family he was the second youngest, with John being four years younger than him.
• Traumatic Event as a Child: Although Brady was put into foster care at the tender age of six months old, he was too young to remember the incident itself. But growing up in The Sloan’s foster home which Brady openly admits was a kind and loving family, this gave him no reason to become the man he became, and yet he always felt like “a cuckoo in the nest” and stigmatised by society owing to his illegitimacy.
• Divorced or Deceased Parent or Sibling: None, as his birth mother “Peggy”, foster parents John & Mary and his foster siblings (Robert, Jean, May and John) all lived up until and beyond the murders and his incarceration. That said, a dark cloud hung over the Sloan family when their dog (a tan and white cocker spaniel called Sheila) died of distemper aged one. Brady often sites this as the moment he became an atheist (having prayed for Sheila not to die and his prayer not being answered).
• Head injury or Accident as Child: Aged ten, Brady was playing with a balloon in The Sloan’s kitchen when he slipped on some spilled water (as Mary peeled potatoes) and broke his leg. Although there is no reference to a head injury, his leg healed and wouldn’t cause him any pain/injury, this would be the only time (outside of his incarceration) that he would require hospital treatment.
• Bed-Wetter (as child): Unknown.
• Fire-Starter (as child): Although it is often cited that Brady had dabbled with fire - when he tied up his friend John Cameron and lit a few pieces of paper upon him – Brady often claims that this was just harmless role-playing amongst the two imaginative yet bored boys and that John Cameron was not injured. Beyond this, there doesn’t seem to be any recorded incident of arson in Brady's childhood. 
• Animal Abuser (as child): It has often been stated (by lazy biographers) that Brady was an animal abusers, but there’s too much evidence which contradicts this; firstly The Sloan household was always full of pets, all of which Brady loved, cared and wept for when they died. And secondly, in an incident he recounted to DSC Peter Topping of Manchester CID, when as a child growing up in The Gorbals (on the corner of Cumberland Street and Crown Street, Glasgow) he witnessed an injured Clydesdale horse which had slipped on the icy-road, a canvas screen was erected and the horse was despatched with a house-brick. Brady said “it lay there with its massive sides heaving and its breath steaming the frosty air… I can still see the great liquid eyes rolling in terror… They were going to kill the horse. Even I knew it. My chest was bursting and I began to cry”. Even if this story is a fabrication, it seems unlikely (given his history of pets) that he was an animal abuser. Oddly, Brady showed no remorse for his victims, his only real regret (as stated above) was “how badly he had treated them (The Sloan’s, his foster family)” by disappointing them.
• Perversions: Brady has numerous sexual proclivities which were often fuelled by alcohol that Hindley submitted to, these include heterosexual sex, oral sex, anal sex, threesomes (with Edward Evans), gay oral sex (with Edward Evans), use of hard-core pornography, torture, paedophilia, sadomasochism (a series of private photos show Hindley with whip marks on her buttocks) and insertion (Brady would get Hindley to stick a candle up his anus). Many of these are from Myra Hindley’s personal testimony, although as her love for Brady waned over the years, its authenticity could be debatable. As for necrophilia, it has never been established whether Brady’s young victims were raped prior or post-mortem, so any suggestion is possible and debatable.
• Pets: During his childhood in the house of his foster family The Sloan’s, Brady had a series of pets he loved and cared for. He had three rabbits; a big grey called "Jenny", a big black called "Harry" and a small Dutch called "Smokey", a Cocker Spaniel called "Sheila", a black and silver German Shephard called "Una", as well as Peggy & Pat Brady’s dog called “Bruce”, "Lassie" (Myra’s collie) and "Puppet", who was one of the tan-and-white collie puppies born to Lassie. Brady reportedly asked for the proceeds of his autobiography – Black Light – to be split between four animal charities.
• Abandoned / Fostered: Although Brady was fostered, owing to his mother “Peggy” being young, single and broke, he wasn’t abandoned, as (having been adopted by a kind and caring family – The Sloan’s), not only would Brady see his birth mother on a regular basis, but he also went to live with her when he was 17 years old, and adopted his step-father’s surname – Brady, with whom he would also work.
• Marital Status: Unmarried, Brady saw marriage as pointless, and didn’t want to go “walking blindly into the death trap of marriage and respectability. I had other things on my mind”.
• Partners: Apart from Myra Hindley, very little is known about Brady’s other girlfriends. Although it has been stated that he met his first girlfriend when he was eleven years old and dated Evelyn Grant (who he met at Carnwadric School) but the relationship ended when he threatened her with a flick-knife when she attended a dance with another boy; Brady would later profess that marriage was futile and that loving someone meant being “blind to the unforeseen perils of love turned sour”. Possibly as a result of abandonment issues.
• Children:  None. 

​WORK

• Jobs: After leaving school aged 15 with no qualifications, Brady’s first job was as a tea-boy at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Govan (Glasgow), then as a delivery-boy for a local butcher’s (a job he’d claim helped him case homes which were ripe for burglary), a fruit porter at Smithfield Market in Manchester (courtesy of his stepfather Patrick), and following his stint at Strangeways Prison, Latchmere House and Hatfield borstal, Brady drifted between various jobs as a labourer, in a brewery at Boddington’s and finally in January 1959, Brady successfully applied for clerical job at Millwards, a wholesale chemical distribution company in Gorton, where he would meet Myra Hindley.
• Training: Brady didn’t receive any formal training or apprenticeships.
• Military Service: Expected to undertake two-years of National Service, Brady travelled to Sheffield to take a medical examination and passed the medical – A1 – but stated in his interview that after two years in borstal, if he was subjected to a further two years in the Army, he’d walk out. After a psychological evaluation, Brady was not deemed suitable.
• IQ / Education: Although Brady left school with no qualifications, he was deemed to be of higher than normal intellect and was later transferred to Hatfield Borstal for boys of “above average intelligence”, although his exact IQ has never been stated. Educated at Househillwood School primary school, later Carnwadric School and finally at Shawlands Academy, a school for above-average pupils, Brady struggled to fit in having resented the formal structure of school and found new levels of excitement by hanging out with gangs and committing petty crimes. That said, when he was sentenced to two years in Hatfield Borstal, he discovered a latent passion for reading and left “a changed man”. And having acquired two volumes on book-keeping from the local library, he taught himself accountancy, which led to him getting a clerical job at Millwards. 

​SOCIAL

• Favourite Food: In his earlier years, he had simple tastes; fish & chips in a trucker’s café, black pudding & chips after a few drinks, with steak being a specific treat, but as his reading habits evolved so did his desire to be seen as more cultured, so he’d often eat French, German or Oriental cuisine. After his arrest, his diet was strictly limited according to what Ashworth Psychiatric Hospital would provide, but whilst on self-imposed hunger-strike, Brady would sneakily eat toast with butter and packet soup made with boiling water.
• Favourite Music: Although very cultured, loving a wide variety of classical composers like Wagner (as it was Hitler’s favourite) and many mainstream hits, many of these songs would forever be sullied as Hindley & Brady used a specific series of songs which referenced each child they had murdered. These songs include; “Girl Don’t Come” by Sandie Shaw, “It’s All Over Now” by Joan Baez, “Legion’s Last Patrol” by Ken Thorne, “24 Hours From Tulsa” by Gene Pitney and “It’s Over” by Roy Orbison.
• Favourite Film: Predictably Brady would often claim that Bonnie & Clyde was a particular favourite, but in actuality he was an avid fan of Orson Welles, especially The Third Man.
• Favourite Book: During his two-year stint in borstal, Brady became a voracious reader who loved the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (especially ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’), Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment, Adolf Hitler’s own diary Mein Kampf, the works of William Blake, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and often quoted Alfred Tennyson. A favourite book Hindley & Brady shared was Meyer Levin's ‘Compulsion’, a fictionalised version of the Leopold & Lobe case; two well-to-do young boys who planned to the perfect murder by killing their 12 year old friend… and getting away with it.
• Favourite Drink: During his youth, Brady was a beer-drinker (or whatever he could steal), but as his cultural influences changed so did his tastes, preferring German wines (Hock) and drinking Drambuie whiskey.
• Smoker: Yes, in his youth he preferred Camel’s (American) cigarettes, but – again, as his tastes changed – his cigarette of choice was Gauloises (untipped, strong French) cigarettes.
• Hobbies: None known, except reading. As a child Brady loved football but he lost his interest in playing it and as a spectator after he broke his leg during his childhood. Brady had a fascination with audio-recording and photography, including developing prints in his own darkroom, but this was more as a necessity for recording his murders, the contents of which he kept in a suitcase at the left-luggage office at Manchester Central Station.
• Religion: Atheist, Brady saw religion as pointless.
• Drugs/Alcohol Abuse: Although Brady used to drink sometimes to excess (he was once arrested for being drunk & disorderly), Brady had no interest in recreational drugs.
• Political Leanings:  Although he admired Hitler, Brady claimed his interest in the Third Reich was purely aesthetic, not political, that he admired Hitler’s boldness, courage and will, as opposed to his political beliefs. Brady claimed he was left-wing (Socialist). 

​MURDER CAREER

• Reason for Murder: This is impossible to determine as in 1985 Brady was declared criminally insane, “a psychopath”; so either the killings were a side-effect caused by his mental illness, or they were part of an “existential crisis”, as Brady would claim at his 2013 mental health tribunal and in a 2005 letter, as "merely an existential exercise of just over a year, which was concluded in December 1964", having avidly read the works of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Or maybe both? Either way, Brady has never expressed any remorse for any of the killings.
• Method of Killing: With Hindley posing as a lone female, she would lure local children into a rented van with the promise of sweets or money for their help with a simple chore and – following a slight detour to find a missing glove or scarf of “sentimental value” – Hindley used this as a ruse to drive the children to Saddleworth Moor where Brady would be waiting. As Hindley & Brady were the only two witnesses of each murder, their accounts differ; Hindley claims Brady committed the murders alone; sexually assaulting the terrified child, strangling them a piece of string/shoelace or slitting their throats with a short sharp knife, and burying them in a shallow grave. Brady claims that Hindley assisted in all aspects.
• Number of Victims: Five children and teenagers; Pauline Reade (16) who disappeared on 12th July 1963 on her way to a local disco wearing a pretty pink and gold party dress. She wouldn’t be found until 1985, when Hindley & Brady directed Police to her shallow grave. John Kilbride (12) on the 23rd November 1963 (the same day that John F Kennedy was assassinated). Police were only alerted to the location of John Kilbride’s corpse, as Brady had taken a (now infamous) photo of Hindley and her dog Puppet on the very site of his shallow grave. Keith Bennett (12) vanished on 16th June 1964 whilst walking to his grandmother’s house, and although Hindley & Brady both claim he was buried on Saddleworth Moor, his body has never been found. Lesley Ann Downie (10) was murdered on Boxing Day in 1964, having been lured away from a fairground back to Hindley & Brady’s flat, where she was raped, tortured and murdered, all of which was recorded on audio tape and played back at the trial. But Brady was initially only arrested for the murder of Edward Evans (17) on the 6th October 1965, an apprentice engineer who Brady met in a gay bar, accompanied back to Brady’s flay in Hyde, attacked with an axe and strangled with an electrical flex. At their trial, Hindley & Brady were only ever charged with the murders of Edward Evans, John Kilbride and Lesley Ann Downey, the others would be uncovered as Hindley & Brady's relationship deteriorated.
• Length of Career: As a murderer, 12th July 1963 to 6th October 1965
• Previous Criminal Record: In 1951, aged 13, Brady was charged with house-breaking. In 1953, aged 15, Brady was charged with nine counts of burglary. And in 1954, he was charged with nine counts of burglary and one of threatening his girlfriend – Evelyn Grant – with a flick knife, but instead of a custodial sentence he was moved to Manchester to live with his mother. After their arrest, Hindley & Brady claimed they had vandalised the homes of known local child abusers, but there is no record to back-up this story.
• Preferred Victims: Although Hindley & Brady didn’t have a particular physical preference; all of their victims were of various ages between 10 and 17, all were white, three were male and two were female, but all needed to be young, familiar and easily manipulated, as Hindley needed to lure them off the street and into the rented van (or later her Ford Anglia) without anyone noticing.
• Preferred Murder Location: Saddleworth Moor and 16 Wardle Brook Avenue in Hattersley (Hindley & Brady’s flat) where Edward Evans and Lesley Ann Downie were both murdered.
• Disposal: All but Edward Evans were buried in a shallow grave on Saddleworth Moor, including Leslie Ann Downie who was murdered at 16 Wardle Brook Avenue, but her body would later be buried on the moors. 

​ARREST/SENTENCE

• Detection: On the evening of 6th October 1965, Hindley & Brady picked up Edward Evans from Manchester Central station and returned to 16 Wardle Brook Avenue for wine and group sex (Brady engaging in oral sex with Edward Evans). Upon the arrival of David Smith, Hindley’s 17 year old brother-in-law, who Brady had developed an unusual friendship with, Edward Evans was attacked with an axe/hatchet. With the first hit missing its mark, the back of Evans’ head, Brady then rained down a dozen blows with the hatchet upon Evans, smothered him with a pillow and strangled him with an electrical flex. Unable to carry Evan’s body to the car, Smith & Brady wrapped the corpse in a bundle of sheets in their bedroom, with an agreement to dispose of the bundle the next day. Instead, Smith called the police.
• Arrested: Early on the 7th October 1965, Superintendent Bob Talbot (Cheshire Police) posed as a baker making a delivery to gain entry to the house, upon which Evans’ body was discovered and Brady was arrested (Hindley was not charged as an accessory until 11th October). Brady claimed the incident had simply been an argument over some “dodgy books” in a suitcase which had got out of hand. Although David Smith said he had no idea where these “books” might be, he informed the Police that Brady “had a thing about railway stations”. In the left luggage office of Manchester Central Station, police discovered Brady’s suitcase; in it were nine pornographic photos of 10 year old Leslie Ann Downie and a 13 minute audio recording on her final moments alive, screaming and pleading for her “mummy”. In their house Police also found an exercise book with “John Kilbride” written in it and a large collection of photographs taken on Saddleworth Moor.
• Trial: Over 14 days, from 19th April 1966, at Assize Court in Chester Castle, Hindley & Brady were charged with the murders of Edward Evans, Leslie Ann Downie and John Kilbride. They both pleased “not guilty”, but with overwhelming evidence against them including the 13 minute tape recording of the torture of Leslie Ann Downie being played to the court, the jury took just two hours to deliberate and on the 6th May, Hindley & Brady were found guilty. With the death penalty having been abolished just one year earlier, Brady was sentenced to three life sentences and Hindley to two. Mr Justice Atkinson described Brady as "wicked beyond belief" with no reasonable possibility of reform. The case was re-opened in 1985, after Brady confessed to the additional murders of Keith Bennett and Pauline Reade. His confession conveniently coincided with being diagnosed as “criminally insane” and being committed to Ashworth Psychiatric Hospital, which required his removal from solitary confinement in a mainstream prison.
• Prison: Brady was initially transferred to Durham Prison, and spent 19 years in various prisons (including Gartree Prison in Leicestershire) in solitary confinement for his own safety. In November 1985, Brady was diagnosed as a “psychopath” at the high-security Park Lane Hospital, now renamed Ashworth Psychiatric Hospital in Sefton, stating he “never wanted to be released”. During his sentence, he wrote his autobiography ‘The Gates of Janus’, corresponded with Lord Longford and spent his time translating classical texts into Braille. But never once did he ever express any remorse for his victims.
• Sentence Length: Initially three life sentences, but when he was declared “criminally insane” this sentence was converted to being “at her Majesty’s pleasure”, which meant he could be held for an indeterminate period of time.
• Type of Prisoner: Over the course of his incarceration at Ashworth, Brady went on (supposed) hunger-strike in 1999 and 2012 (albeit eating soup and toast, complaning about the conditions at Ashworth. His mood dyring this time was typified in this quote “Myra gets the potentially fatal brain condition, whilst I have to fight simply to die. I have had enough. I want nothing, my objective is to die and release myself from this once and for all. So you see my death strike is rational and pragmatic. I'm only sorry I didn't do it decades ago, and I'm eager to leave this cesspit in a coffin”.
• Parole: None. Brady died of restrictive pulmonary disease in Ashworth Hospital on 15th May 2017 (aged 79). It is uncertain where or when Ian Brady was cremated as many undertakers in Manchester and Glasgow refused to take him. 

If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, podcaster, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.