 |
Harold Shipman
Harold Shipman
Saturday 30 Aug 1.00PM
This deadly doctor was responsible for the worst murder spree in British history, killing upwards of 260 people.
This deadly doctor was responsible for the worst murder spree in British history, killing upwards of 260 people.
Born the middle child into a working class family on 14th June 1946, Harold Frederick Shipman, known as “Fred”, was the favourite child of his domineering mother, Vera. She instilled in him an early sense of superiority that tainted most of his later relationships, leaving him an isolated adolescent with few friends.
When his mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he willingly oversaw her care as she declined, fascinated by the positive effect that the administration of morphine had on her suffering, until she succumbed to the disease on 21st June 1963. Devastated by her death, he was determined to go to medical school, and he was admitted to Leeds University medical school for training two years later, having failed his entrance exams first time, before serving his hospital internship.
He was fascinated by the positive effect that the administration of morphine had on her suffering.
Still a loner, he met his wife-to-be Primrose at the age of 19, and they were married when she was 17, and five months pregnant with their first child.
By 1974 he was a father of two and had joined a medical practice in Todmorden, Yorkshire, where he initially thrived as a family practitioner, before allegedly becoming addicted to the painkiller Pethidine. He forged prescriptions for large amounts of the drug, and he was forced to leave the practice when caught by his medical colleagues in 1975, at which time he entered a drug rehab programme. In the subsequent inquiry he received a small fine and a conviction for forgery.
A couple of years later he was accepted onto the staff at Donneybrook Medical Centre in Hyde, where he ingratiated himself as a hardworking doctor, who enjoyed the trust of patients and colleagues alike, although he had a reputation for arrogance amongst junior staff. He remained on staff there for almost two decades, and his behaviour incurred only minor interest from other healthcare professionals.
The local undertaker noticed that Dr. Shipman’s patients seemed to be dying at an unusually high rate, and exhibited similar poses in death: most were fully clothed, and usually sitting up or reclining on a settee. He was concerned enough to approach Shipman about this directly, who reassured him that there was nothing to be concerned about. Later, another medical colleague, Dr. Susan Booth, also found the similarity disturbing, and the local coroner’s office were alerted, who in turn contacted the police.
A covert investigation followed, but Shipman was cleared, as it appeared that his records were in order. The inquiry failed to contact the General Medical Council, or check criminal records, which would have yielded evidence of Shipman’s previous record. Later, a more thorough investigation revealed that Shipman altered the medical records of his patients to corroborate their causes of death.
Kathleen Grundy, an active, wealthy 81-year-old widow, was found dead in her home on 24th June 1998, following an earlier visit by Shipman.
Hiding behind his status as a caring, family doctor, it is almost impossible to establish exactly when Shipman began killing his patients, or indeed exactly how many died at his hands, and his denial of all charges did nothing to assist the authorities. Indeed, his killing spree was only brought to an end thanks to the determination of Angela Woodruff, the daughter of one of his victims, who refused to accept the explanations given for her mother’s death.
Kathleen Grundy, an active, wealthy 81-year-old widow, was found dead in her home on 24th June 1998, following an earlier visit by Shipman. Woodruff was advised by Shipman that an autopsy was not required, and Kathleen Grundy was buried in accordance with her daughter’s wishes.
Woodruff was a solicitor, and had always handled her mother’s affairs, so it was with some surprise that she discovered that another will existed, leaving the bulk of her mother’s estate to Dr. Shipman. Woodruff was convinced the document was a forgery, and that Shipman had murdered her mother, forging the will to benefit from her death. She alerted the local police, where Detective Superintendent Bernard Postles quickly came to the same conclusion on examination of the evidence.
Kathleen Grundy’s body was exhumed, and a post-mortem revealed that she had died of a morphine overdose, administered within three hours of her death, precisely within the timeframe of Shipman’s visit to her. Shipman’s home was raided, yielding medical records, an odd collection of jewellery, and an old typewriter which proved to be the instrument upon which Grundy’s forged will had been produced.
>>>
It was immediately apparent to the police, from the medical records seized, that the case would extend further than the single death in question, and priority was given to those deaths it would be most productive to investigate, namely victims who had not been cremated, and who had died following a home visit by Shipman, which were given priority.
Shipman had urged families to cremate their relatives in a large number of cases, stressing that no further investigation of their deaths was necessary, even in instances where these relatives had died of causes previously unknown to the families. In situations where they did raise questions, Shipman would provide computerised medical notes that corroborated his cause of death pronouncements.
Police later established that Shipman would, in most cases, alter these medical notes directly after killing the patient, to ensure that his account matched the historical records. What Shipman had failed to grasp was that each alteration of the records would be time stamped by the computer, enabling police to ascertain exactly which records had been altered.
Following extensive investigations, which included numerous exhumations and autopsies, the police charged Shipman with 15 individual counts of murder on 7th September 1998, as well as one count of forgery.
The fact that a doctor had killed 15 patients sent a shudder through the medical community, but this was to prove insignificant in light of further investigations that delved more deeply into his patient case list history.
A clinical audit conducted by Professor Richard Baker, of the University of Leicester, examined the number and pattern of deaths in Harold Shipman's practice and compared them with those of other practitioners. It found that rates of death amongst his elderly patients were significantly higher, clustered at certain times of day and that Shipman was in attendance in a disproportionately high number of cases. The audit goes on to estimate that he may have been responsible for the deaths of at least 236 patients over a 24-year period.
Whatever the exact number, the sheer scale of his murderous activities meant that Shipman was catapulted from British patient killer to the most prolific known serial killer in the world.
Separately, an inquiry commission chaired by High Court Judge, Dame Janet Smith, examined the records of 500 patients who died whilst in Shipman’s care, and the 2,000-page report concluded that it was likely that he had murdered at least 218 of his patients, although this number was offered by Dame Janet as an estimation, rather than a precise calculation, as certain cases presented insufficient evidence to allow for certainty.
The commission further speculated that Shipman might have been “addicted to killing”, and was critical of police investigation procedures, claiming that the lack of experience of the investigating officers resulted in missed opportunities to bring Shipman to justice earlier.
He may in fact have taken his first victim within months of obtaining his licence to practice medicine, 67-year-old Margaret Thompson, who died in March 1971 whilst recovering from a stroke, but deaths prior to 1975 were never officially proven.
Whatever the exact number, the sheer scale of his murderous activities meant that Shipman was catapulted from British patient killer to the most prolific known serial killer in the world. He remained at Durham Prison throughout these investigations, maintaining his innocence, and was staunchly defended by his wife Primrose and family. He was moved to Wakefield Prison in June 2003, which made visits from his family easier.
On 13th January 2004, Shipman was discovered at 6 a.m. hanging in his prison cell at Wakefield, having used bed sheets tied to the window bars of his cell.
There remains some mystery about the whereabouts of his remains, with some claiming that his body is still in a Sheffield Morgue, while others believe that his family have custody of his body, believing that he may have been murdered in his cell, and wishing to delay his interment pending further tests.
Born
14th June 1946
Victims
1975
17th March: Eva Lyons, 70, of Keswick Close, Todmorden
1978
7th August: Sarah Hannah Marsland, 86, of Ashton House, Victoria Street, Hyde.
30th August: Mary Ellen Jordan, 73, of Godley Hill Road, Hyde.
7th December: Harold Bramwell , 73, of Bryce Street, Hyde.
20th December: Annie Campbell, 88, of Rydal Avenue, Hyde.
1979
10th August: Alice Maude Gorton, 76, of Leigh Fold, Newton, Hyde.
28th November: Jack Leslie Shelmerdine, 77, of Hyde.
1981
18th April: May Slater, 84, of Hough Lane, Hyde.
26th August: Elizabeth Ashworth, 81, of Peel Street, Hyde.
1983
4th January: Percy Ward, 90, of Hollins Avenue, Hyde.
28th June: Moira Ashton Fox, 77, of Chartist House, Mount Street, Hyde.
1984
7th January: Dorothy Tucker, 51, of Armadale Road, Dukinfield.
8th February: Gladys Roberts, 78, of Shaw Hall Avenue, Hyde.
15th April: Joseph Bardsley, 83, of Hough Lane, Newton, Hyde.
24th April: Winifred Arrowsmith, 70, of Chartist House, Hyde.
21st September: Mary Winterbottom, 76, of Grange Road South, Hyde.
27th November: Ada Ashworth, 87, of Spring Avenue, Hyde.
17th December: Joseph Vincent Everall, 80, of Commercial Street, Hyde.
18th December: Edith Wibberley, 76, of Cheetham Fold Road, Hyde.
24th December: Eileen Theresa Cox, 72, of Hunters Court, Dukinfield.
1985
2nd January: Peter Lewis, 41, of Briardene, Denton.
1st February: May Brookes, 74, of Cross Street, Hyde.
4th February: Ellen Higson, 84, of Marler Road, Hyde.
15th February: Margaret Ann Conway, 69, of Mary Street, Dukinfield.
22nd February: Kathleen McDonald, 73, of Carter Place, Hyde.
26th June: Thomas Moult, 70, of Thorpe Hall Grove, Hyde.
26th June: Mildred Robinson, 84, of Mona Street, Hyde.
23rd August: Frances Elizabeth Turner, 85, of Peveril Terrace, Hyde.
17th December: Selina Mackenzie, 77, of Perrin Street, Hyde.
20th December: Vera Bramwell, 79, of Rufford Avenue, Hyde.
31st December: Fred Kellett, 79, of Knott Lane, Gee Cross, Hyde.
1986
7th January: Deborah Middleton, 81, of 4 Manor Road, Hyde.
23rd April: Dorothy Fletcher, 74, of Charnley House, Albert Road, Hyde.
6th June: Thomas Fowden, 81, of Mona Street, Hyde.
15th September: Mona Ashton White, 63, of Thorpe Hall Grove, Newton, Hyde.
7th October: Mary Tomlin, 73, of Thorpe Hall Grove, Hyde.
17th November: Beatrice Toft, 59, of Marler Road, Hyde.
16th December: Lily Broadbent, 75, of Welbeck Road, Hyde.
23rd December: James Wood, 82, of Rydal Avenue, Hyde.
1987
30th March: Frank Halliday, 76, of Saxon Avenue, Dukinfield.
1st April: Albert Cheetham, 85, of Brooks Avenue, Hyde.
16th April: Alice Thomas, 83, of Sidley Place, Hyde.
8th May: Jane Frances Rostron, 78, of Hamel Street, Hyde.
14th September: Nancy Anne Brassington, 71, of Laburnum Avenue, Hyde.
11th December: Margaret Townsend, 80, of Busheyfield Close, Newton, Hyde.
29th December: Nellie Bardsley, 69, of Rufford Avenue, Hyde.
30th December: Elizabeth Ann Rogers, 74, of Chartist House, Mount Street, Hyde.
>>>
1988
5th January: Elizabeth Fletcher, 90, of St John's Drive, Godley, Hyde.
15th January: Alice Mary Jones, 83, of Garden Street, Hyde
9th February: Dorothea Hill Renwick, 90, of Dowson Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
15th February: Ann Cooper, 93, of Old Road, Hyde.
15th February: Jane Jones, 83, of Leigh Fold, Hyde
16th February: Lavinia Robinson, 84, of Chartist House, Mount Street, Hyde
18th September: Rose Ann Adshead, 80, of Lawton Street, Hyde.
20th October: Alice Prestwich, 69, of Ogden Court, Frank Street, Hyde.
6th November: Walter Tingle, 85, of Walker Close, Hyde.
17th December: Harry Stafford, 87, of Rock Street, Gee Cross, Hyde.
19th December: Ethel Bennett, 80, of Cunliffe Street, Hyde.
1989
31st January: Wilfred Chappell, 80, of Newton Hall Road, Hyde.
8th March: Mary Emma Hamer, 81, of Grange Road South, Hyde.
12th May: Beatrice Helen Clee, 78, of King Edward Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
5th June: Josephine Hall, 69, of Garden Street, Newton, Hyde.
6th July: Hilda Fitton, 75, of Burkitt Street, Hyde.
14th August: Marion Carradice , 80, of Kensington Street, Hyde.
22nd September: Elsie Harrop, 82, of Frank Street, Hyde.
26th September: Elizabeth Mary Burke, 82, of Carter Place, Hyde.
15th October: Sarah Jane Williamson, 82, of Thorsby Avenue, Hyde.
16th October: John Charlton, 81, of Ogden Court, Frank Street, Hyde.
18th October: George Edgar Vizor, 67, of Thorpe Hall Grove, Hyde.
6th November: Joseph Frank Wilcockson, 85, of Dow Street, Hyde.
1990
18th September: Dorothy Rowarth, 56, of Farm Lane, Hyde.
30th December: Mary Rose Dudley, 69, of The Woodlands, Werneth Road, Hyde.
1992
7th October: Monica Rene Sparkes, 72, of Rock Gardens, Gee Cross, Hyde.
1993
24th February: Hilda Mary Couzens, 92, of Knott Lane, Hyde.
24th February: Olive Heginbotham, 86, of Fawley Avenue, Hyde.
22nd March: Amy Whitehead, 82, of Haughton Green Road, Denton.
8th April: Mary Emma Andrew, 86, of Mona Street, Hyde.
17th April: Sarah Ashworth, 74, of Bowlacre Road, Hyde.
27th April: Marjorie Parker, 74, of Werneth Avenue, Gee Cross, Hyde.
2nd May: Nellie Mullen, 77, of Lanegate, Hyde.
4th May: Edna May Llewellyn, 68, of Carter Place, Hyde.
12th May: Emily Morgan, 84, of Mansfield Road, Hyde.
13th May: Violet May Bird, 60, of Hyde.
22nd July: Jose Kathleen Diana Richards, 74, of Meadowfield Court, Hyde.
16th August: Edith Calverley, 77, of Mansfield Road, Hyde.
16th December: Joseph Leigh, 78, of King George Road, Hyde.
22nd December: Eileen Robinson, 54, of Marlborough Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
31st December: Charles Edward Brocklehurst, 90, of Park Avenue, Hyde.
1994
4th January: Joan Milray Harding, 82, of Hyde.
13th January: Christine Hancock, 53, of Thistley Fields, Gee Cross, Hyde.
9th February: Elsie Platt, 73, of Stockport Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
17th May: Mary Alice Smith, 84, of Chartist House, Hyde.
25th May: Ronnie Devenport, 57, of Chartist House, Hyde.
15th June: Cicely Sharples, 87, of Swindells Street, Newton, Hyde.
17th June: Alice Christine Kitchen, 70, of Kirkstone Road, Hyde.
27th July: Maria Thornton, 78, of Stockport Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
25th November: Henrietta Walker, 87, of Orchard Street, Hyde.
30th November: Elizabeth Ellen Mellor, 75, of Sidley Place, Hyde.
29th December: John Bennett Molesdale, 81, of Old Road, Newton, Hyde.
>>>
1995
9th January: Alice Kennedy, 88, of Ogden Court, Frank Street, Hyde.
1st March: Lucy Virgin, 70, of Carter Place, Newton, Hyde.
7th March: Netta Ashcroft, 71, of Meadowfield Court, Flowery Field, Hyde.
7th March: Lily Bardsley, 88, of Ashton Road, Hyde.
13th March: Marie Antoinette Fernley, 53, of Darwin Street, Hyde.
21st March: John Crompton, 82, of Gloucester Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
26th March: Frank Crompton, 86, of Knott Lane, Hyde.
31st March: Vera Brocklehurst, 70, of Queensway, Dukinfield.
10th April: Angela Philomena Tierney, 71, of Commercial Street, Hyde.
13th April: Edith Scott, 85, of Dowson Road, Hyde
14th April: Clara Hackney, 84, of Booth Street, Hyde.
21st April: Renate Eldtraude Overton, 47, of Hyde.
4th May: Kate Maud Sellors, 75, of Ashton House, Victoria Street, Hyde.
2nd June: Clifford Barnes Heapey, 85, of Hyde Nursing Home, Hyde.
13th June: Bertha Moss, 68, of Newton Hall Court, Hyde.
17th June: Brenda Ashworth, 63, of Meadowfield Court, Hyde.
29th June: Ernest Rudol, 82, of Forrest Road, Haughton Green, Denton.
12th July: Ada Matley Hilton, 88, of St John's Drive, Godley, Hyde.
31st July: Irene Aitken, 65, of Burkitt Street, Hyde.
29th August: Arthur Henderson Stopford, 82, of Rydal Avenue, Hyde.
14th September: Geoffrey Bogle, 72, of Lord Derby Road, Hyde.
26th September: Dora Elizabeth Ashton, 87, of 34 Mona Street, Hyde.
24th October: Muriel Margaret Ward, 87, of Ogden Court, Frank Street, Hyde.
8th November: Edith Brock, 74, of Carter Place, Hyde.
22nd November: Charles Henry Barlow, 88, of Dowson Road, Hyde.
25th November: Konrad Peter Ovcar-Robinson, 43, of Hyde.
14th December: Elizabeth Teresa Sigley, 67, of Stockport Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
14th December: Kenneth Wharmby Woodhead, 75, of Sawyer Brow, Hyde.
1996
2nd January: Hilda Mary Hibbert, 81, of Joel Lane, Gee Cross, Hyde.
11th January: Erla Copeland, 79, of Grosvenor Crescent, Hyde.
21st February: Jane Elizabeth Shelmerdine, 80, of Napier Street, Gee Cross, Hyde.
27th February: John Sheard Greenhalgh, 88, of Cheetham Fold Road, Hyde.
12th March: Minnie Doris Irene Galpin, 71, of Meadowfield Court, Hyde.
18th April: Marjorie Hope Waller, 79, of Kew Avenue, Hyde.
24th April: John Stone, 77, of Dukinfield Road, Hyde.
7th May: Elsie Godfrey, 85, of Chartist House, Hyde.
13th May: Edith Brady, 72. Ruled unlawful killing at inquiry.
29th May: Valerie Cuthbert, 54, of Daisy Bank, Gee Cross, Hyde.
30th May: Lilian Cullen, 77, of Foxholes Road, Hyde.
6th June: Renee Lacey, 63, of Windsor Road, Hyde.
10th June: Leah Fogg, 82, of Haughton Green Road, Denton.
17th June: Gladys Saunders, 82, of Ogden Court, Hyde.
25th June: Nellie Bennett, 86, of Ravensfield, Gorse Hall Road, Dukinfield.
25th June: Margaret Mary Vickers, 81, of Bennett Street, Hyde.
2nd July: Tom Balfour Russell, 77, of 18 Harrison Street, Gee Cross, Hyde.
11th July: Irene Turner, 67, of St Pauls Hill Road, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
16th July: Carrie Leigh, 81, of Joel Lane, Gee Cross, Hyde.
19th July: Marion Elizabeth Higham, 84, of Joel Lane, Gee Cross, Hyde.
24th July: Elsie Hannible, 85, of Rydal Avenue, Hyde.
29th July: Elsie Barker, 84, of Green Street, Hyde.
30th August: Sidney Arthur Smith, 76, of Garden Street, Newton, Hyde.
12th September: Dorothy Mary Andrew, 85, of Sheffield Road, Godley, Hyde.
20th September: Anne Lilian Ralphs, 75, of Baron Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
23rd October: Millicent Garside, 76, of St John's Drive, Godley, Hyde.
20th November: Irene Heathcote, 76, of Coronation Avenue, Hyde.
23rd November: Samuel Mills, 89, of Ogden Court, Hyde.
4th December: Thomas Cheetham, 78, of Garden Street, Newton, Hyde.
17th December: Kenneth Ernest Smith, 73, of Garden Street, Newton, Hyde.
1997
2nd January: Eileen Daphne Crompton, 75, of Charnley House, Albert Road, Hyde.
3rd January: David Alan Harrison, 47, of Talbot Road, Hyde.
8th January: Elsie Lorna Dean, 69, of Wood Street, Hyde.
20th January: Irene Brooder, 76, of St Johns Drive, Godley, Hyde.
27th January: Charlotte Bennison, 89, of Rowbotham Street, Gee Cross, Hyde.
3rd February: Charles Henry Killan, 90, of Bagshaw Street, Newton, Hyde.
4th February: Betty Royston, 70, of Ogden Court, Hyde.
23rd February: Joyce Woodhead, 74, of Sawyer Brow, Newton, Hyde.
28th February: Lizzie Adams,77, of Coronation Avenue, Hyde. Shipman conviced of her murder in January 2000.
22nd March: Rose Garlick, 76, of Taylor Gardens, Hyde.
27th March: May Lowe, 84, of Allen Avenue, Hyde.
21st April: Mary Coutts, 80, of Marler Road, Hyde.
25th April: Elsie Cheetham, 76, of Garden Street, Hyde.
25th April: Jean Lilley, 58, of Jackson Street, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
2nd May: Lena Norah Slater, 68, of Newton Hall Court, Hyde.
12th May: Ethel May Kellet, 74, of Bankfield, Newton, Hyde.
21st May: Doris Earls, 79, of Brabyns Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
29th May: Ivy Lomas, 63, of Thornley Street, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
24th June: Vera Whittingslow, 69, of Dowson Road, Hyde.
7th July: Maureen Lamonnier Jackson, 51, of Mottram Road, Hyde.
14th July: Muriel Grimshaw, 76, of Berkley Crescent, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
25th July: John Louden Livesey, 69, of Dowson Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
28th July: Lily Newby Taylor, 86, of Brabyns Road, Hyde.
10th August: Dorothy Doretta Hopkins, 72, of Darwin Street, Hyde.
1st September: Nancy Jackson, 81, of Gower Court, King Edward Road, Hyde.
22nd September: Mavis Mary Pickup, 79, of Spring Avenue, Gee Cross, Hyde.
26th September: Bessie Swann, 79, of Brooks Avenue, Gee Cross, Hyde.
29th September: Enid Otter, 77, of Waverley Road, Hyde.
10th November: Florence Lewis, 79, of Mansfield Road, Hyde.
14th November: Mary Walls, 78, of Werneth Avenue, Gee Cross, Hyde.
21st November: Elizabeth Mary Baddeley, 83, of Rowan Court, Stockport Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
24th November: Marie Quinn, 67, of Paul Street, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
8th December: Elizabeth Battersby, 70, of Norbury Avenue, Hyde.
9th December: Laura Kathleen Wagstaff, 81, of Rock Gardens, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
10th December: Bianka Pomfret, 49, of Fountain Street, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
18th December: Alice Black, 73, of Plain Pitt Street, Hyde.
24th December: James Joseph King, 83, of Ogden Court, Hyde.
>>>
1998
22nd January: Mabel Shawcross, 79, of Stockport Road, Hyde.
26th January: Norah Nuttall, 64, of Baron Road, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
2nd February: Cissie Davies, 73, of Lodge Lane, Newton, Hyde.
9th February: Pamela Marguerite Hillier, 68, of Stalybridge Road, Mottram. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
13th February: Laura Frances Linn, 83, of Acorn Avenue, Gee Cross, Hyde.
15th February: Irene Berry, 74, Rufford Avenue, Hyde.
18th February: Maureen Alice Ward, 57, of Ogden Court, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
27th February: Joan Edwina Dean, 75, of Joel Lane, Gee Cross, Hyde.
4th March: Harold Eddleston, 77, of Rufford Avenue, Hyde.
6th March: Margaret Anne Waldron, 65, of Woodend Lane, Gee Cross, Hyde.
7th March: Irene Chapman, 74, of Clarendon Road, Hyde.
13th March: Dorothy Long, 84, of Woodfield Avenue, Hyde.
17th March: Lily Higgins, 83, of Stockport Road, Gee Cross, Hyde.
20th March: Ada Warburton, 77, of Grange Road North, Hyde.
24th March: Martha Marley, 88, of Mona Street, Hyde.
11th May: Winifred Mellor, 73, of Coronation Avenue, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
12th June: Joan May Melia, 73, of Commercial Street, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
24th June: Kathleen Grundy, 81, of Joel Lane, Hyde. Shipman convicted of her murder in January 2000.
Arrested
7th September 1998
Trial
5th October 1999
Convicted
31st January 2000
Died
13th January 2004
Shipman’s trial commenced in Preston Crown Court on 5th October 1999. Attempts by his defence council to have Shipman tried in three separate phases, i.e. cases with physical evidence, cases without and the Grundy case (where the forgery differentiated it from other cases), as well as to have damning evidence relating to Shipman’s fraudulent accumulation of morphine and other drugs, were thrown out, and the trial proceeded on the sixteen charges included in the indictment.
The prosecution asserted that Shipman had killed the fifteen patients because he enjoyed exercising control over life and death, and dismissed any claims that he had been acting compassionately, as none of his victims were suffering a terminal illness.
Angela Woodruff, Kathleen Grundy’s daughter, appeared as first witness. Her forthright manner, and account of her unremitting determination to get to the truth impressed the jury, and attempts by Shipman’s defence to undermine her were largely unsuccessful.
Next up, the government pathologist led the court through the gruesome post mortem findings, where morphine toxicity was the cause of death in most instances.
Thereafter, fingerprint analysis of the forged will showed that Kathleen Grundy had never handled the will, and her signature was dismissed by a handwriting expert as a crude forgery.
A police computer analyst then testified how Shipman had altered his computer records to create symptoms that his dead patients never had, in most cases within hours of their deaths.
As the trial progressed onto other victims and the accounts of their relatives, the pattern of Shipman’s behaviour became much clearer. A lack of compassion, disregard for the wishes of attending relatives, and reluctance to attempt to revive patients were bad enough, but another fraud also came to light: he would pretend to call the emergency services in the presence of relatives, then cancel the call out when the patient was discovered to be dead. Telephone records showed that no actual calls were made.
Finally, evidence of his drug hoarding was introduced, with false prescribing to patients who didn’t require morphine, over-prescribing to others who did, as well as proof of his visits to the homes of the recently deceased to collect up unused drug supplies for “disposal”.
Shipman’s haughty demeanour throughout the trial did nothing to assist his defence in painting a picture of a dedicated healthcare professional of the old fashioned variety, always putting the needs of others above his own. Despite their attempts, his arrogance and constantly changing stories, when caught out in obvious lies, did nothing to endear him to the jury.
>>>
Following a meticulous summation by the judge, and a caution to the jury that no one had actually witnessed Shipman kill any of his patients, the jury were sufficiently convinced by the testimony and evidence presented, and unanimously found Shipman guilty on all charges: 15 counts of murder and one of forgery, on the afternoon of 31st January 2000.
The judge passed fifteen life sentences, as well as a four-year sentence for forgery, which he commuted to a “whole life” sentence, effectively removing any possibility of parole. Shipman was incarcerated at Durham Prison.
|
 |
