The unthinkable murders committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley have yet again come into focus as police are digging the Moors in search of murder victim Keith Bennett, following the discovery of a skull that appears to match his description.
The young boy was snatched 58 years ago by the notorious killers and his body has never been found, causing untold pain for his family. However, fresh evidence has come to light as a skull believed to be of a child aged around 12 was found on Saddleworth Moor, prompting detectives to dig around the area.
Keith Bennett is the only victim of the Moors murders who has never been found as his heartless killers refused to disclose the location of his body. The latest development could help police crack the case that has been left unresolved for six decades.
While Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are two of the most notorious murderers in British criminal history, they share a twisted and gruesome history with Rose West - a serial killer who carried out a murdering spree with her husband in the Nineties.
Moors murderer Hindley was convicted of killing five children and being involved in sexually assaulting four of her victims along with her boyfriend, Ian Brady, in the 1960s, while Rose and her husband Fred West committed horrific crimes at their home in Cromwell Street, dubbed the house of horrors.
West was jailed for life for 10 murders in 1995 and shortly after her conviction was locked up at HMP Durham - the same prison child killer Hindley was in.
The two women are said to have quickly become close and one fellow prisoner has insisted they were more than just friends.
Linda Calvey, who served 18 years in jail, has said since she was released that "their relationship definitely looked romantic".
Prisoner relationships are allowed but sex is against the rules because the premises are regarded as public places.
Calvey – dubbed the Black Widow for blasting gangster lover Ronnie Cook to death with a shotgun in 1990 – said: "I remember a prison officer told me, 'I would love to know what the gruesome twosome are up to'.
"Then he said, 'Actually, on second thoughts I wouldn’t. They were thick as thieves."
The 72-year-old said the prison had a policy of letting inmates socialise on the female wing.
She added: "The governor was quite liberal and let us out between 8am and 9pm if we didn’t have work."
And she claims the long "unlocked" hours left plenty of time for two of Britain’s most notorious women to get to know each other.
However, when their relationship was over it was sudden and there was no turning back, claims Calvey.
She said the pair "just stopped talking" and behaved as if they didn't know each other.
Calvey explained: "It was really weird. Something happened and then that was that, and it was like they never knew each other.
"As fast as it happened, it ended. There was talk that because Rose was more famous than Myra it had put her nose out of joint."
West's former solicitor, Leo Goatley, claims she told him she was involved with Hindley on one of his visits.
He alleges West was impressed by Hindley's thirst for knowledge. The serial killer had studied with the Open University and West was said to be "impressed by Hindley's knowledge and ability".
Mr Goatley represented West for 12 years and published a book, Understanding Fred and Rose West in which he revealed the relationship between the two women.
He 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 an early 1996."
However, Mr Goatley claims their relationship didn't last long with West saying Hindley could be "very manipulative".
He told the Daily Mail: "When I visited a few months later, Rose's opinion of Hindley had changed dramatically. She was saying, 'You have to watch Hindley, mind.
"She is very manipulative. You don't realise it, but she gets you doing stuff for her. Oh, she's clever, all right. She's flippin' dangerous, that one. She ain't going to take me for a c*** again.' And so heralded the end of the romance."
The solicitor is also certain that West is guilty of the 10 murders she has always insisted she had no part in.
They claimed she had moved to Devon for work but when Fred was arrested on suspicion of raping his own daughter and Rosemary for child cruelty, the investigation into what had happened to Heather was re-opened.
The case against Fred and Rose collapsed but all their children were taken into care and when police searched the home for Heather in 1994, they made the terrible discovery of human remains.
Fred committed suicide while he was awaiting trial on January 1, 1995.
Do you have a story to share? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at ellie.fry@reachplc.com
