News about Myra Hindley

Lucy Letby's new barrister has said there is 'absolutely' a strong case for her innocence, ahead of a new attempt to appeal the serial killer nurse's convictions. Lawyer Mark McDonald has claimed fresh medical evidence as well as expert opinion has unearthed 'flaws', which undermined the prosecution of the ex-neo natal nurse.  Letby is currently serving 15 whole life sentence, with no prospect of parole, after being convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, following two separate trials.

Professor Jeremy Coid interviewed some of Britain's most warped criminals during his long career but it was at Ashworth High Security Psychiatric Hospital in Merseyside in 2003 that he met his most chilling patient.

In the early hours of August 13, 1964, Peter Allen was frantically pacing his cell at Walton Prison, in Liverpool. Every so often, the 21-year-old would break down in tears or howl in distress as the clock ticked down to 8am. On the hour, the key turned in the lock of his cell door and executioner Robert Leslie Stewart led the 6ft 2in condemned man to the scaffold and positioned him over a trapdoor, before placing a white hood over his head. As Stewart slipped a noose around his neck, Allen muttered just one word: 'Jesus.' The hangman pulled the lever, Allen dropped through the hatch and the rope did the rest. The entire process took less than ten seconds. At the very same time, a similar scene was being played out 31 miles away in Strangeways Prison, Manchester, where Allen's friend Gwynne Owen Evans, 24, was being held. Like Allen, Evans tearfully protested his innocence to the end. The crime for which the pair had been convicted was the murder of John West, a van driver for a laundry firm.

Thirty-one years ago I was the junior prison officer at HMP Holloway, given the job of processing the arrival of a new inmate whose notoriety preceded her. Her name was Beverley Allitt, a 24-year-old former nurse now labouring under a far grimmer label: the Angel of Death. A child-killer, she had been sentenced to 13 concurrent terms of life imprisonment after being found guilty of the murder of four babies and the attempted murder of 11 others. Driven into the jail amid a riot of photographers' flashbulbs, Allitt looked like a rabbit in the headlights by the time she arrived at my desk escorted by two prison officers. When I read out her convictions - you have to ensure that any arriving prisoner understands what is happening to them - her responses were given in a voice so quiet that I had to ask her to speak up. I remember being struck by how ordinary this serial killer looked, standing there in her prison-issued clothing.

A prison officer has been arrested on suspicion of having an 'inappropriate relationship' with an inmate at a jail known for its celebrity prisoners. The officer who is believed to be a mother aged in her 40s is now believed to have been suspended from her job at Highpoint Prison in Stradishall near Haverhill, Suffolk (pictured). The Category C jail has had a number of famous prisoners in the past such as racing legend Lester Piggott, and singers George Michael and Boy George. Other well-known former inmates have included shotgun farmer Tony Martin who killed a teenage burglar and Amy Winehouse 's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil. Moors murderer Myra Hindley was also held at the jail at the time of her death in 2002, when part of it was a women's prison.

Over the years, as I've been into jails and met former inmates, I've learned how minor the crimes most often committed by women are. They've led to short sentences but have had a devastating effect on the woman's life - and, if she's a mother, those of her children.

Over ten years ago, the news of a woman stabbing three men to death in a ten-day crime spree rocked the nation. Joanna Dennehy, 41, stabbed lover Kevin Lee and housemates Lukasz Slaboszewski and John Chapman, dumping each body in ditches in Cambridgeshire in March 2013. After the killings, Dennehy and accomplice Gary Stretch, 58, drove to Hereford where she repeatedly stabbed two other men - Robin Bereza and John Rogers - at random, with the pair surviving the attack. In 2014, Dennehy was handed a whole-life prison term - the third given to a total of four women in British history, including Rose West, Myra Hindley and serial child killer Lucy Letby - for carrying out the attacks to gratify her 'sadistic love for blood.' As The Killing Spree: Hunting Joanne Dennehy airs on Channel 5 at 10pm tonight, the documentary offers a chilling insight into the life and crimes of the former Home Counties schoolgirl. But, who is Joanna Dennehy, who were her victims and where she is now? Read on to find out.

As two 12-year-old boys are convicted of stabbing innocent bystander Shawn Seesahai, 19, through the heart in a park in Wolverhampton, inevitably there are searching questions as to how two children - the youngest since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were found guilty of killing two-year-old James Bulger in 1993 - could have committed such a vicious and senseless crime. Both children had a history of violent and anti-social behaviour. One was obsessed with knives and machetes, posing in a balaclava with a weapon down his trousers in classic 'roadman' style just hours before the murder. He captioned the photo, which he sent to his girlfriend and his co-defendant, 'Prison Freestyle': a reference to a track by the rapper SJ (real name Jayden O'Neill-Crichlow), who, to use the vernacular, spits bars from behind bars, as he is serving time at HM's pleasure. Just 17 at the time, O'Neill-Crichlow was offered a £150,000 record deal while he was awaiting trial. In a world where a conviction for murder and life imprisonment is no impediment to a lucrative music career, you can see how an impressionable 12-year-old might conclude, as he told the jury, that owning a machete was 'cool'.

The UK's longest-serving female prisoner who has been behind bars for 37 years could finally be freed this year. Maria Pearson, now 68, stabbed her ex-boyfriend's new partner Janet Newton to death in 1986 and the following year was jailed for life for the murder. She was 31 at the time. Pearson, from Hartlepool, has now spent a year more in prison than notorious Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, who died in November 2002 after 36-years in jail. The mother-of-three plunged a sheaf knife 17 times into building society worker Janet after stalking her in the street in Hartlepool.

Terry West, 73, who was married with two adult children, is thought to have died earlier this week. Lesley Ann was just ten years old when he was approached by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley at a funfair on Boxing Day 1964. The pair then took her before subjecting her to sickening abuse and torture, which they caught on tape. They buried her body in a shallow grave on Saddleworth Moor, then murdering her and burying her body in a shallow grave. Terry West, Lesley Ann's older brother, was haunted by the agony his sister suffered in her final hours, and he talked about how he blamed himself.

I knew who was under the black balaclava because he took it off, showed me his face, and groped when he pulled the trigger on my lover. BANG! Got the rifle, grabbing my boyfriend Ron's arm. His sleeve was soaked in blood. 'This one's for Mickey Calvey!' Danny yelled before unleashing the bullet that killed Ron Ron.

Experts told the Mail that the trust between Scarlett Jenkinson (left) and Eddie Ratcliffe (right) had a strong influence in sharing their darkest fantasies on social media. David Wilson, a Birmingham City University professor of criminal justice and a former prison governor who worked in special units for some of Britain's most notorious serial murderers, believes that plotting the murder carried out their scheme to murder Brianna Ghey (inset), who was killed within weeks of the pair identifying her as a victim. 'Brianna's murder went from an imagined dream to a reality in a matter of a breath,' says Professor Wilson.' Jenkinson's friendship with Ratcliffe was a classic folie à deux, which essentially means a shared madness or delusion that is not uncommon in couples who die, according to him. Jenkinson and Ratcliffe were not boyfriend and girlfriend, and unlike some notorious British murder couples, like Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley (bottom) and Rose and Fred West, the female - Jenkinson, was the more 'dominant' one in the union.

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderers, were never expected to be caught. They were omnipotent after cold-heartedly killing four young people in Manchester and burying them each in peat graves on Saddleworth Moor. When I spoke to Brady in prison 30 years ago, I asked if they had been concerned about the possibility of living into middle age or even beyond. They told me that they were discussing a long-term initiative to convert a farmhouse.

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the infamous Moors Murderers, experimented with pornography, portraying themselves as the anonymous stars of a series of dirty photos before embarking on their murder spree. Brady brought his photographic equipment along to Myra's house and waited for her grandmother to go to bed early in their marriage. Then and Myra were stripped naked, wearing only white hoods with eye slits to mask their identities.

Myra Hindley (left, in her prison cell) looks back on me. She hasn't stopped singing. I keep looking, unable to believe my eyes. I'm feeling a rush of pure rage. 'You f***in' bitch!How can you sing when you've murdered innocent children?' My arm lifts forward as I try to stop myself from slapping her face. Right and inset, Linda Calvey, Britain's most notorious female armed robber

Hedges, 27, was sentenced to life for the murder of her 18-month-old son Alfie Phillips, who died of a'myriad of bruises', broken ribs, arms, and leg, as well as signs of cocaine and alcohol in his body. The pair are being detained in Bronzefield Prison in Surrey and have access to an en-suite shower, a laptop, a phone, and a television. Letby also has round-the-clock cover.

In a Channel 4 docuseries, one of Britain's most popular couples will have their brutal crimes against children revisited. The first episode of Moors Murders: The Witness is scheduled to air on Channel 4 at 11.05 p.m. tonight, and it will concentrate on the heinous crimes of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Hindley and Brady's atrocities in the 1960s have left their collective memory for their sadistic cruelty and murder of five children before burying their bodies in Saddleworth Moor, North West England. Hindley's brother-in-law David Smith alerted the police after the murder of their fifth and final victim, 17-year-old Edward Evans, in 1965. Brady never showed any remorse for his heinous crimes, while Hindley maintained she had been beaten and drugged by her partner into becoming a cold-blooded killer - here we look at who they were and how they died

In a Channel 4 docuseries tonight, one of Britain's most common crimes of violence and murder will be revisited. The first episode of Moors Murders: The Witness will air on Channel 4 at 11.05 p.m. tonight and will examine Myra Hindley and Ian Brady's heinous crimes. Hindley and Brady's horrific atrocities in the 1960s have been imprinted on the public's consciousness for their tragic cruelty and murder of five children, before burying their bodies in Saddleworth Moor, North West England. The Witness will retell the tragic tale through eyewitness accounts, while a deep look at Hindley and Brady's prison letters will reveal the couple's intended next victims for the first time. As the episodes provide fresh perspectives while unearthing further details from the case, we explore who the couple's young victims were and whether each of the five have been found since their murders six decades ago

A key witness was pulled into making a shocking admission midway through Monique Olivier's three-week trial (right) - one of the most tragic and enthralling France has seen. If Olivier had not confessed to helping her husband (left) rape and murder British student Joanna Parrish (inset), and two other victims, her lawyer pressed the senior police officer, could he have produced any evidence strong enough to convict her? Frederic Berardet, a five-year investigator, reminisced on the facts, eased the epaulets of his flawless blue uniform and began to prevaricate. However, his inquirest ordered a one-word answer. As all eyes in the packed courtroom focused on him, the Dijon missing persons bureau chief screamed in anger.'No,' she answered equitably.'

TER HITCHENS: The UN is generally seen as an enemy in Israel, and evidence shows that the UN sees the same way about Israel as it does the Jewish state. The United Nations General Assembly is particularly known for walloping Jerusalem over hostile resolutions. The Assembly once passed number 3379, the most controversial of which claimed that Zionism, the movement that promotes the establishment of a Jewish state, was itself nationalism. Really?

Stuart Lubbock (pictured right), 31, was discovered dead with serious internal injuries in Strike It Lucky star Barrymore's (pictured right) pool in Roydon, Essex, on March 31, 2001, after a party with just seven people in attendance. Dr. Michael Heath's postmortem revealed how Stuart drowned, but that tests revealed later that he had marks on his face indicating potential asphyxiation. This could have resulted from an arm bandaged him during a potential sexual attack. The bungled postmortem revealed by Stuart's brother Kevin (pictured inset) 55, who said: 'Dr Heath should have been struck off years ago.' Rather, his slap-dash decisions resulted in several incorrect decisions at inquests, including Stuart's.'

Officials have reported that child serial killer nurse Lucy Letby has officially applied to contest her sentencing at the Court of Appeal. The 33-year-old, who was sentenced to a whole life term for killing seven babies and assaulting six others, is set to begin her attempts to reveal herself at a court hearing later this month. One father, whose baby Letby tried to murder, told the Mail: "I'm disgusted and angry that Letby is appealing.' If we haven't been through enough, we can't be in a situation to be able to.' We're trying to recover our lives, and now this is a joke of a system. I'm not sure if she's appealing on the grounds she can appeal - there were no supporting factors in the lawsuit.' Letby's request comes after a scientist argued that the prosecution against her was based on "unreliable expert opinion" and "a poor grasp" of science.

An investigation has revealed Emily Morris and another unidentified mother are urging police to look into Lucy Letby (pictured) further, afraid that she may have killed their children. Both their children died shortly after they arrived with the Countess of Chester Hospital, and the heartbroken families say they'don't believe [they've] had justice." These latest allegations came just days after Letby was sentenced to 14 whole life terms for seven infants and six others.

LIZ HULL: I've been through some challenging situations in my career, including the Hillsborough Inquests, the Manchester Arena Bomb Inquiry, and the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones. To do this job, you need a thick skin, and among my closest friends, I'm known for having no concern for fools or armchair trolls. But I did phoned one of my closest friends last week and said I was feeling 'a little woobbly.' Many of us in court knew Letby was a serial murderer by this time, but the media blackout had made the trial of the remaining, imminent verdicts almost unbearable. I've been to almost every day of the trial, seated just a few feet away from the woman accused of some of the worst crimes in modern times.