The guilt was overwhelming. She blamed herself for not being there to save him. In an attempt to find spiritual redemption, she turned toward Roman Catholicism and received her first Holy Communion in 1958. However, this religious phase was short-lived. As she transitioned into her teenage years, she began to display a “dark streak.” She took up judo lessons and became known for a terrifyingly stubborn grip; she simply refused to let go of her opponents, even after the match was over.
The Meeting with Ian Brady: A “Fatal Attraction”
In late 1959, while interviewing for a typist job at a chemical firm, Myra met Ian Brady. The connection was instantaneous and, in her own words, a “fatal attraction.” Brady was a nihilist who worshipped the writings of the Marquis de Sade and was obsessed with the concept of the “perfect murder.”
Brady began a systematic process of grooming and brainwashing Hindley. He mocked her Catholic faith, beat her, and humiliated her, while simultaneously feeding her a diet of extremist philosophy and Nazi ideology. They began to view themselves as “supermen,” intellectually and culturally superior to the working-class people around them. Brady famously told her, “I want to commit the perfect murder,” and Myra became his most devoted disciple.
The Moors Murders: A Reign of Terror
The murders began on July 12, 1963. The methodology was cold and calculated. Hindley would drive a van, acting as the “lure” because children and teenagers trusted a woman more than a lone man.
Their victims included:
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Pauline Reade (16): Lured with a story about a lost glove. Brady murdered her on Saddleworth Moor while Hindley waited in the van.
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John Kilbride (12): Abducted from a market and murdered on the moors.
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Keith Bennett (12): Abducted while on his way to his grandmother’s house. His body has never been found, despite decades of searching.
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Lesley Ann Downey (10): Lured to Hindley’s home. The pair recorded the child’s screams and pleas for mercy on a tape recorder—evidence that would later haunt the courtroom.
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Edward Evans (17): Brutally killed with a hatchet in Hindley’s living room.
The Arrest and the “Peroxide” Legacy
The killing spree ended only when Hindley’s brother-in-law, David Smith, witnessed the murder of Edward Evans. Horrified, Smith went to the police. Officers, disguised as delivery men, raided the home on Wardle Brook Avenue and found the evidence of a lifetime of depravity.
The 1966 trial was a national sensation. Hindley’s mugshot—featuring her defiant stare and bleached peroxide-blonde hair—became the definitive face of evil in the United Kingdom. She was dubbed “the most evil woman in Britain.” Despite her later claims that she was a victim of Brady’s influence, the evidence showed she was an active and willing participant in the sexual assaults and murders.
Final Years and Death
Hindley was sentenced to life in prison. She spent the next 36 years attempting to appeal her sentence, claiming she had reformed and found God again. However, the public’s hatred remained so strong that no Home Secretary would risk releasing her.
Myra Hindley died in prison in 2002, at the age of 60, from bronchial pneumonia. Ian Brady died 15 years later in a psychiatric hospital. To this day, the image of Myra Hindley remains a symbol of the ultimate betrayal of the “maternal” or “feminine” instinct, and the mystery of Keith Bennett’s final resting place continues to haunt the British moors.