Britain's Most Wanted

Yesterday's NYT  print obit was the most starling I've ever seen, with two of the largest pictures I've ever seen used in an obit for Ian Brady, a serial killer in Britain, who with his accomplice Myra Hindley, were responsible for an especially grisly series of crimes against children in the early 60s. They were perhaps the most evil pair of people on earth.

Britain's newspaper, The Guardian, of course carried a reporting/obituary blitz on the death of their monster; The Telegraph as well. The Daily Mirror ran a headline that said, "Burn in Hell, Brady."

The side-by-side large photos of Ian Brady and his accomplice Myra Hindley take up so much of a NYT obit page that together they are larger than the story itself. A follow-up story appears in the NYT a day after the obituary detailing the nature of the killings, the apprehension and profiles of the five victims. It is no wonder the obit and news carries across the Atlantic ocean.

As a kid in the 60s I remember going through the FBI's Most Wanted photos at the post office. For the most part, I remember the fugitives to be wanted for armed robberies, banks and armored car heists. The difference with Ian and Myra was that they were unknown to to the police until a family member turned them in after they killed their fifth victim. They were quickly apprehended, making no attempt to flee.

The details of the murders are sickening, and it is no wonder that Brady's demise was as newsworthy as welcome. He was Charles Manson with an exponent. His accomplice Myra had previously passed away, while also serving a prison sentence that never let her see the light of day.

The Times obit page again keeps up to its gold standard. But given the treatment for a notorious killer from across the pond, one does wonder what kind of treatment Charles Manson, Leslie Van Houten and Squeaky Fromme will get.

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