Alan Bennett, 62, the brother of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett, has slammed a ‘disrespectful’ ghost hunting couple as ‘sordid’ for planning an investigation into Myra Hindley
The brother of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett has slammed a ‘disrespectful’ ghost hunting couple as ‘sordid’ for planning an investigation into Myra Hindley.
Ghost hunting team Project Reveal – Ghosts of Britain announced on Facebook earlier this week that they planned to host an investigation called ‘Myra Hindley Revealed’.
The engaged couple behind the team, Linzi Sheeran and Lee Steer, were bombarded by critics who urged them to cancel the ‘vile’ event.
Alan Bennett, 62, whose brother was abducted and murdered by Hindley and Ian Brady in 1964, spoke out against the couple and branded their investigation a ‘sordid affair’.
However, an unfazed Linzi hit back at critics claiming that while they would not visit the moors, their investigation would ‘make history’ over what would unfold in the ghost hunt.
Mr Bennett, who has spent years trying to find Keith’s grave on Saddleworth Moor, said: ‘I spent hours yesterday and into the early hours of this morning commenting, informing other families of this and received then replying to many messages about this whole sordid affair.
‘I have never made any secret about my views on paranormal investigators/ghost hunters/mediums, and so on.
‘They have never been of any use in the search for Keith or anything else.’
In reply to a comment, Mr Bennett added: ‘Nobody from Keith’s family know about this.
‘Unfortunately, these people and these sorts of groups are all too familiar with deceit and lies without any compassion for the victims or their families.
Ghost hunting team Project Reveal – Ghosts of Britain announced on Facebook earlier this week that they planned to host an investigation called ‘Myra Hindley Revealed’. The engaged couple behind the team, Linzi Sheeran and Lee Steer, were bombarded by critics who urged them to cancel the ‘vile’ event
‘They also attract other very uncaring groups of charlatans.’
Paranormal investigator, Darren Lawless, 41, also hit out at the ‘disgusting’ duo, urging them not to ‘open old wounds’.
Mr Lawless, from Hackney, East London, said: ‘It’s downright disgusting.
‘They just seem like they’ve crossed a barrier and they don’t care. They’ve overstepped the mark and have no respect anymore for what they do.
‘In regards to Myra Hindley, the only way they’re going to do the ghost hunt is if they go to a location that’s based on her – somewhere near where something happened.
Keith Bennett was abducted and murdered aged 12 by Hindley and Ian Brady in 1964, before his body was buried on Saddleworth Moor
‘I think they’ll be trying to contact Myra herself. And if they go to the moors, I don’t know what to say.
‘I’m saying to them, please don’t do this. It’s opening old wounds. [The families] just want the victims to rest in peace.
‘I think it’s really disrespectful and dangerous – when you’re starting to look into serial killers and their families are still around.
‘Out of respect for the victims you shouldn’t do things like that.
‘What’s next? How far are they going to push it?’
Large numbers of Linzi and Lee’s followers also criticised their plans and expressed their ‘outrage’ online.
Karen Orledge said: ‘Would you be excited if it was a child in your family that was murdered?’
Paranormal fan Laura Goff said: ‘I don’t ever get involved in paranormal politics, negativity and bandwagons… but this is disgusting and as a community, we should be outraged.’
Ghost hunter Dan Litchfield said: ‘Such a sensitive subject and an ongoing legal case.
‘Whether they are looking at contacting the victims or the murderers themselves it’s really not a good thing to do.’
Project Reveal have removed their social media posts advertising the event following the torrent of negative reaction.
However, the duo appear unfazed and claim to be pressing on with the investigation, which they will reveal on Tuesday.
Linzi Sheeran and Lee Steer announced on Facebook their investigation into Myra Hindley
A spokesperson for Project Reveal – Ghosts of Britain, said: ‘As we have stated many many times, we were contacted by a family member of one of the victims.
‘We cannot disclose her name yet but we have already filmed with said person who says exactly why she chose us to do this for her.
‘Also what she feels is happening to her family including her children.
‘So after much contemplating she messaged us.
‘I thought maybe it was a hoax at first but after speaking with the lady both myself and Jenny had lengthy discussions with her.
‘We knew she is who she says she is and needs help.
‘As we are getting accused of trying to contact the children we would like to state never ever would we do this.
‘No mention of the children [and] their names, only the one victim [whose] family we are working with will be said.
Depraved killer Brady (left), died in May 2017 aged 79 from cancer and emphysema in Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside. As well as Keith Bennett, he killed four other children with lover Myra Hindley (right), but never revealed where he dumped the body of 12-year-old Keith
‘There are no plans to go [and] investigate the moors or any other site to do with the children.
‘The person who contacted us is one of the victim’s family members, so has she not the right to try to rid whatever is haunting her and her children?
‘As we said we will never [investigate] the moors or try to find the poor child still up there, but as Lee has said this will be making history because of what is to unfold with our investigation.
‘We understand people are automatically presuming we are trying to find the child still up there but we are not and would not have done this.
Mr Bennett (right), has spent decades trying to find Keith’s grave on Saddleworth Moor
‘People from other paranormal groups are saying it’s a publicly stunt – we can assure you it is not.
‘We do not need any publicity from this or anything we do as we have the UK’s largest following on Facebook.
‘People are claiming it’s all a money scam but again it’s all ridiculous speculation.
‘But as we have many times said, people need to watch what unfolds on Tuesday before casting judgement.
‘Also, [for] people referring to the comments being deleted from the page, Lee decided to delete the post from our page due to people becoming very aggressive and abusive towards us which is understandable.
‘Also we banned people for being abusive towards us and other members of our group.
‘We have been inundated with support from people who know [that] what we are doing is nothing as people are portraying.’
The method of Keith’s killing has never been made clear.
The schoolboy’s mother, Winnie Johnson, died in 2012 after battling cancer and she fought tirelessly for decades to find her son and provide a Christian burial.
Depraved killer Brady died in May 2017 aged 79 from cancer and emphysema in Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside.
He killed four other children with lover Myra Hindley in the 1960s, but never revealed where he dumped the body of 12-year-old Keith.
Last month, Mr Bennett had revealed that Hindley sobbed and hugged him when he visited her in jail in 1998.
She apologised for the ‘trouble she had caused’ and for being ‘such a coward’.