Moors murderer Ian Brady has died on Merseyside at the age of 79.
Brady had been serving the remainder of a life sentence at Ashworth Hospital since being found guilty in 1966 of the torture and killing of five children.
Since 1985, the mass murderer was incarcerated at the high-security facility in Maghull during which time he had attempted to stage a hunger strike.
Prison staff force-fed Brady, who sentenced to life alongside his former lover Myra Hindley, throughout despite numerous legal attempts – all of which failed.
He had been receiving compassionate care as his health deterioriated on Monday.
Ashworth’s operators Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust announced that a 79-year-old, understood to be the Glasgow native, had died at its premises.
A statement read: “We can confirm a 79-year-old patient in long term care at Ashworth High Secure Hospital had died after becoming physically unwell.”
Four of Brady’s child victims were buried on Saddleworth Moor in the Pennines but the body of Keith Bennett, the fifth, was never found.