I have been fascinated to read several articles today about Myra Hindley, the infamous Moors Murderer…
It has been a welcome relief from the anxiety-inducing Big Brother contestant, Alexandra, whose needless aggression, aggravating way of communicating (she seems to speak in the same way as a child with fingers in ears shouting “Lalalala… I can’t hear anything you’re saying”), her clandestine slating of everyone behind their backs — Hahaha, being a Big Brother contestant this year is anxiety inducing stuff!…
Excuse me digressing, I had to get that off my chest. Onto the Myra Hindley story…
This story has made The Times and The Telegraph.
Basically, Myra Hindley asked to be hypnotised in a bid to help police find the spot where Keith Bennett was murdered on Saddleworth Moor.
A document made public yesterday reveals that both Hindley and Ian Brady made separate requests to be allowed to help Greater Manchester Police in their continuing search for the boy’s body.
It says that Hindley petitioned the “Secretary of State” for permission to be hypnotised in the hope that under hypnosis, she would be able to recall more accurately the area of the moor where Keith was buried.
It states that the request had been supported by her ‘advisors’ including Methodist minister and former prison governor Rev Peter Timms and also by Chief Supt Peter Topping, who was in charge of the inquiry.
The letter, dated November 1987, says Mr Topping had been particularly keen for Brady to pay a second visit to the moor in a further attempt to find Keith’s body.
He emphasised that as far as he was concerned the sole objective of the continuing inquiry into the disappearance of the youngster, was to find his body. That was the only way in his view in which the case could be regarded as closed.
He said that unless all possible avenues were explored, pressure on the police and ultimately on ministers, would be bound to continue and increase.
The letter says that Hindley’s request was in many ways the most difficult. Mr Topping argued that if she responded well to hypnosis, something which would be established quite quickly, it was possible that she would be able to recall in considerable detail the route taken to the scene of Keith Bennett’s murder.
According to her detailed confession, although she did not actually witness the murder or burial, she was very nearby when it took place, acting as a lookout.
It said that hypnosis also had the advantage of being something which could be undertaken within the confines of the prison, without the publicity difficulties inherent with a visit to the moors.
Keith Bennett’s mother Winnie Johnson also requested that Hindley should be allowed to undergo hypnosis in a bid to pinpoint the body, according to the files.
Douglas Hurd refused permission for hypnosis when he was Home Secretary in 1987.
It was eventually given the go-ahead in 1995, but Hindley’s ill-health hampered the plans.
Every day I see how much information the unconscious mind stores in vivid detail throughout the lifetimes of so many of my clients… If it had the tiniest chance of success, to help end the misery of Keith Bennet’s family, then surely it ought to have been allowed sooner, no? Makes for some very interesting and thoughtful reading.
