Bullets belonging to Moors Murderer Ian Brady found claims private investigator

The bullets were allegedly used to kill 12-year-old victim Keith Bennett.

A private investigator claims to have discovered bullets he alleges were used by Moors Murderer Ian Brady to kill 12-year-old victim Keith Bennett.

The body of Bennett, who disappeared in June 1964, has never been discovered, making it impossible to verify the claims. In 1985, Brady and his accomplice, Myra Hindley, admitted killing him but did not say precisely where he was buried.

Darren Rae has been investigating Bennett's case for 16 years and recently discovered two bullet casings, which he claims match a Smith and Wesson revolver which belonged to Brady and Hindley.

"My two shell casings have been professionally verified and dated, to around 1963-65 and sold in the North West of England," Rae told the Mirror.

"The bullets were .38 calibre which would only match the Smith and Wesson. I've seen documented evidence from Brady and Hindley in the 1960s and 1980s where they talk about wanting 'more time' with the next victim, and that was Keith."

Rae said Brady owned a number of guns and had "sick fantasies" about wanting to shoot someone. Because of this, they took Bennett to a more remote location than their other victims, the investigator claimed.

The bullet casings were found by Rae on Saddleworth Moor in the South Pennines.

"I have no doubt that Brady shot Keith," Rae told the newspaper. For years, it has been believed that Bennett was stabbed or strangled, like the four other victims of Brady and Hindley.

Among the numerous sources Rae has interviewed, he has corresponded with Brady himself, who spoke about his guns. Brady told him he owned rifles, shotguns, revolvers and an "automatic". The rifle ammunition was purchased from "army sources", Brady said.

Since 1963, Brady and Hindley killed four other victims besides Bennett: Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, Edward Evans, 17. The pair were jailed for life in 1965. Hindley died in 2002, while Brady remains incarcerated in Ashworth psychiatric hospital.

Bennett's mother, Winnie Johnson, died in 2012 without ever knowing where the remains of her son were.