A woman who allegedly received a letter from Moors murderer Ian Brady revealing the burial site of one of his victims will not be charged, officials said Monday.
Jackie Powell, Brady’s mental health advocate, was arrested on suspicion of preventing the burial of Brady’s victim Keith Bennett, the CPS said in a statement.
“The only offence that might have been committed by Ms Powell was preventing a lawful and decent burial. It is possible to prosecute a person for preventing a lawful burial through a failure to act, but there must be sufficient evidence to prove that the suspect either prevented the burial or intended to do so when they chose not to act, John Dilworth, Head of the CPS North West Complex Case Unit said.
“After careful consideration, we have decided that Ms Powell should not be charged, as it cannot be established that she knew the contents of the letter referred to, that the letter in question existed or what information it might have contained.”
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and his partner Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965 in and around Greater Manchester.
They both were jailed for life. Hindley died in 2002 and Brady is still serving his sentence.
Their victims were five children: John Kilbride, Lesley Ann Downey, Pauline Reade, Keith Bennett and Edward Evans.
Keith Bennett’s mother Winnie Johnson died last year, the day after the claims about the letter emerged.
Woman faces no charge over Moors murder 'letter'
