BBC Documentary Unearths Ian Brady Manuscript on Moors Murders

Cold case specialists working with author and filmmaker Duncan Staff have uncovered the first 394 pages of a secret autobiography written by Moors murderer Ian Brady, as featured in the new BBC documentary series The Moors Murders: A Search for Justice. The incomplete manuscript, titled Black Light, details Brady's relationship with Myra Hindley and provides a detailed account of the murder and burial of their first victim, Pauline Reade. The missing final 200 pages are believed to contain Brady's version of the murder and burial of 12-year-old Keith Bennett, whose body has never been found. These missing pages are thought to have been left with Brady's solicitor, Benedict Birnberg, who died in 2023, with any materials subsequently transferred to another solicitor, Robin Makin, who has not commented on the matter and has faced allegations from Keith Bennett's family of withholding documents that could assist in the search for Keith's remains. Brady’s biographer, the late Dr Alan Keightley, who died in 2023, had access to the manuscript and described it as at least 600 pages long; his widow has provided documentary-makers access to his archive containing the incomplete copy. The discovery has renewed hope for justice and further investigation into the unresolved aspects of the Moors Murders.