Moors murderer Ian Brady removed feeding tube five days before his death, inquest hears

Moors murderer Ian Brady removed his feeding tube five days before his death, an inquest has heard.

The 79-year-old, who murdered five children alongside Myra Hindley, had been on intermittent hunger strike since 1999.

He died at Ashworth High Secure Hospital on May 15.

An inquest held on Thursday heard how the serial killer had removed his nasogastric tube five days earlier, and that it was not put back by staff.

Coroner Christopher Sumner said he had to consider whether neglect or self-neglect contributed to Brady's death.

However, he said there was no evidence of either and concluded that the killer, also known as Ian Stewart-Brady, died of natural causes.

Brady weighed 61kg (9 stone) when he died but was not emaciated, the court heard, despite his hunger strikes.

:: Brady: The notorious killer in his own words

Home Office pathologist Brian Rodgers said the cause of death was cor pulmonale, a form of heart failure, secondary to bronchopneumonia and chronic lung disease.

Brady had been on end-of-life care, Dr Rodgers told the court, and was on a number of medications - including oxygen, which was administered through a mask.

His body was in "fairly good condition", Dr Rodgers said, but his lungs were "very severely diseased".

Brady had been a heavy smoker until the smoking ban was introduced.

Recording his conclusion at Bootle Town Hall in Merseyside, Mr Sumner said Brady had received "appropriate medical care throughout his time as a patient at Ashworth Hospital".

Brady and Hindley killed five children between 1963 to 1965, snatching the youngsters off the street before sexually assaulting them and burying many of their bodies on Saddleworth Moor in the south Pennines.

The victims - Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans - were aged between 10 and 17.

More than 50 years later, the body of 12-year-old Keith Bennett has never been found - despite the belief that Brady knew the location and buried him on the Moors, where he buried three others.