Myra Hindley: Shocking crimes of Moors murderer explained, when did she die - and relationship with Rose West

Serial killer nurse Lucy Letby has been sentenced to a whole-life order for the murder of seven babies.

Previously called a whole-life tariff, a whole-life order is the most severe sentence that can be passed in UK law. It ensures that the person will spend the rest of their lives in prison and they will never be eligible for parole.

Letby is the fourth woman in the UK to have received such a sentence, with Moors murderer Myra Hindley being the first ever woman to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Between July 1963 and October 1965 Hindley and Ian Brady murdered five children and teenagers before burying them on Saddleworth Moor in the north-west of England.

Their horrific crimes shocked the nation. So, who was Myra Hindley, what was she convicted of and when did she die? Here’s what happened to one of Britain’s most prolific child killers.

Who was Myra Hindley?

Hindley was a convicted serial killer who along with Ian Brady murdered five children between July 1963 and October 1965. Known as “the most hated woman in Britain”, she was born on 23 July 1942, in Crumpsall, Manchester, to Bob and Nellie Hindley.

When she was four- years-old she was sent to live with her grandmother who she stayed with throughout her childhood. According to Crime and Investigation, as a teenager Hindley worked as a babysitter before joining Millwards Merchandising as a secretary when she was 18 years old, where she first met Brady.

The pair would go on to commit horrific crimes, luring five children and teenagers to their deaths before burying them on Saddleworth Moor. Their victims included: Pauline Reade, 16, who disappeared on her way to a disco on July 12 1963; John Kilbride, 12, who was snatched in November 1963; Lesley Ann Downey, 10, who was lured away from a funfair on Boxing Day 1964; and Edward Evans, 17, who was axed to death in October 1965.

How long was Myra Hindley sentenced?

Hindley was caught in 1965 and sentenced in May 1966 to two concurrent life sentences, and seven years for harbouring Brady who she had known had murdered Kilbride. It wasn’t until 1987 that she admitted her involvement in all five murders. In 1990 her sentence became a whole-life tariff, meaning she would never be eligible for parole.

What happened to Myra Hindley’s brother in law?

Hindley’s brother-in-law David Smith was a key witness for the prosecution against Hindley and Brady, however despite testifying against them he was hounded due to his connection to the infamous Moors murderers.

Smith first met Hindley and Brady when he was dating Hindley’s sister Maureen. At just 17 years old he was a witness to Brady murdering Edward Evans, he managed to escape and immediately told his wife what had happened who then alerted the police.

His testimoney led to the arrest and conviction of the pair, however Hindley pointed the finger at Smith as Brady’s accomplice. Despite his innocence he was vilified and tormented. In 1969 he was jailed for three years after attacking someone at a pub. Maureen left him soon after and their three children were placed in foster care.

Smith would eventually relocate to Galway in Ireland, where he remarried. In 2011 he wrote the book Evil Relations, along with Carol Anne Lee. He passed away from cancer in 2012 at the age of 64.

When and how did Myra Hindley die?

Hindley died in November 2002, aged 60, after suffering respiratory failure following a heart attack. A heavy smoker, she had been diagnosed with angina in 1999 and hospitalised after suffering a brain aneurysm.

Hours before her death she handed over private documents which accused Brady of drugging, raping and beating her. She claimed that he had coerced her into the murder of their first victim Pauline Reade by threatening her if she backed out. The documents had formed part of an appeal in an attempt to reduce her life sentence.

What were Myra Hindley’s last words?

Hindley’s last words were reportedly about her mother Nellie. According to the Mirror, Father Michael Teader spent more than 20 hours with the convicted killer after she had been given the last rites. He said: “The last conversation she had before she died concerned her mother. She just expressed concern for her mother - but I will not say exactly what she said.”

Were Myra Hindley and Rose West lovers in prison?

Hindley and convicted serial killer Rose West were reportedly lovers after they met in HM Prison Durham. Their alleged friendship and romantic relationship was revealed in the ITV documentary Rose West and Myra Hindley: Their Untold Story With Trevor McDonald which was broadcast in 2020.

West who was convicted of murdering at least ten women and girls including her own 16-year-old daughter with husband Fred received a whole-life order in 1995.

Reported by the Manchester Evening News, West’s ex-lawyer Leo Goatley, who represented her in her 1995 trial revealed the romance in his book, Understanding Fred & Rose West. Goatley said: “Rose’s first paramour was the Moors murderer, Myra Hindley, who happened to be on the hospital wing at HMP Durham at the same time in 1995 and early 1996.”

He continued: “Hindley was there because she had ‘fallen over’ in the exercise yard of F Wing. It was prison policy that a new inmate who was a lifer would first be assessed on the prison wing.”

Their relationship quickly soured with Hindley reportedly ending things after six weeks. Reported by the Daily Mail, fellow inmate Linda Calvey, dubbed the “Black Widow” killer over her involvement in the death of her lover, Ronnie Cook revealed she had talked to Hindley.

Calvey said: “They became really, really close for about six weeks, and as quick as it started, it just ended. It stopped and they just weren’t even speaking to each other.

“I spoke to Myra, and I said it was really weird that you were really close with Rose and then you suddenly parted, and she said ‘yeah, well I thought about it and I thought she killed her own children, do I want to mix with someone like that.’”