Revision as of 21:55, 15 May 2006 editJayjg (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Administrators134,922 editsm Reverted edits by 85.210.106.84 (talk) to last version by 129.234.4.1← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 11:22, 22 December 2024 edit undoEntranced98 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers170,622 edits Restored revision 1263647568 by Brenont (talk): VandalismTags: Twinkle Undo | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|English doctor and serial killer (1946–2004)}} | |||
] | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}} | |||
{{Use British English|date=January 2022}} | |||
{{Infobox criminal | |||
| name = Harold Shipman | |||
| image = Harold Shipman mug shot.jpg | |||
| caption = Shipman {{circa}} 2000 | |||
| birth_name = Harold Frederick Shipman | |||
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1946|1|14|df=y}} | |||
| birth_place = ], ], England | |||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2004|1|13|1946|1|14|df=y}} | |||
| death_place = ], ], England | |||
| occupation = ] | |||
| alma_mater = ] | |||
| spouse = {{marriage|Primrose Oxtoby|5 November 1966}} | |||
| children = 4 | |||
| victims = 284 confirmed (15 convicted), possibly more <ref name="shipman inquiry"/> | |||
| beginyear = 1975 | |||
| country = England | |||
| states = | |||
| endyear = 1998 | |||
| apprehended = 7 September 1998 | |||
| alias = {{unbulleted list|"Dr. Death"<ref name=angel>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1431104.stm|title=Shipman known as 'angel of death'|date=9 July 2001|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 September 2014}}</ref>|"The Angel of Death"<ref name=angel/>|"The Good Doctor"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/harold-shipman-jr6gv7xx532|title=Harold Shipman|date=18 September 2018|access-date=18 September 2018|work=The Times}}</ref>}} | |||
| penalty = ] (]) | |||
| death_cause = ] | |||
}} | |||
'''Harold Frederick Shipman''' (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004), known to acquaintances as '''Fred Shipman''', was an English ] and ]. He is considered to be one of the ], with an estimated 284 victims over a period of roughly 30 years. On 31 January 2000, Shipman was convicted of ] 15 patients under his care. He was sentenced to ] with a ]. On 13 January 2004, one day before his 58th birthday, Shipman ] in his cell at ], ]. | |||
'']'', a two-year-long investigation of all deaths certified by Shipman, chaired by ], examined Shipman's crimes. It revealed Shipman targeted vulnerable elderly people who trusted him as their doctor, killing them with either a fatal dose of drugs or prescribing an abnormal amount. To date, Shipman, who has been nicknamed "'''Dr. Death'''" and the "'''Angel of Death'''", is the only British doctor to have been convicted of murdering patients, although other doctors have been ] of similar crimes or convicted of lesser charges; some nurses, such as ], have also been convicted of murdering patients in their care. | |||
'''Harold Frederick Shipman''' (], ] – ], ]) was a ] ] who was the most prolific known ] in the ] (and possibly the world). | |||
==Early life and education== | |||
He killed around 250 patients from the 1970s to 1998, in ], mainly elderly women who lived alone and were otherwise in good health. He was eventually caught after he ineptly forged a new ] in the name of one of his victims. He was convicted on 15 sample charges in ] and sentenced to ]. He committed ] in ] at HMP Wakefield, ], without admitting to or explaining his crimes. | |||
Harold Frederick Shipman was born on 14 January 1946 on the ], a ]<ref>{{cite news| last= Oliver| first=Mark|title=Portrait of a necrophiliac| url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jan/13/shipman.health|newspaper=The Guardian|date=13 January 2004}}</ref> in ], the second of three children. His father, also Harold Frederick Shipman (1914–1985), was a lorry driver; his mother was Vera ({{nee|Brittan}}; 1919–1963).<ref name="abc RN">{{cite episode| last=Swan |first=Norman |title=Why Some Doctors Kill |series=The Health Report |date=29 July 2002 |others=Brigitte Seega (producer); Robert Kaplan (guest) |url= https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/healthreport/why-some-doctors-kill/3517994 |access-date=1 April 2010 |network=ABC Australia |station=Radio National}} </ref><ref name= "bookref1">{{cite book| last= Kaplan| first=Robert M.|title =Medical Murder: Disturbing Cases of Doctors Who Kill|publisher=Allen & Unwin| year= 2009| page= 80|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-4DYxI65nAUC |isbn=978-1-74175-610-4}}</ref> His working-class parents were devout ].<ref name="abc RN"/><ref name="bookref1"/> | |||
Shipman was particularly close to his mother, who died of ] when he was aged 17.<ref name="bookref1"/><ref>'']'', ], 2 August 2012.</ref><ref name="independent1">{{cite news|last=Herbert|first=Ian|title=How a humble GP perverted his medical skill to become Britain's most prolific mass killer|date=14 January 2004|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/how-a-humble-gp-perverted-his-medical-skill-to-become-britain-s-most-prolific-mass-killer-73537.html |access-date=2 September 2009|work=The Independent|location=London}}</ref> Her death came in a manner similar to what later became Shipman's own '']'': in the later stages of her disease, she had ] administered at home by a doctor. Shipman witnessed his mother's pain subside, despite her terminal condition, until her death on 21 June 1963.<ref>.</ref> | |||
==Early life== | |||
On 5 November 1966, he married Primrose May Oxtoby; the couple had four children. Shipman studied medicine at ], ], graduating in 1970.<ref name="bbc2002"/> | |||
Shipman was born in ], the second of three children, and was known as '''Fred''' or '''Freddy''' to his family. His mother, Vera, died in 1963 from ], when he was 17. He went to ] medical school in 1965, and around this time, he met his future wife, Primrose (who was three years his junior). | |||
==Career== | |||
They married in 1966, and Primrose gave birth to their first child, Sarah, four months later. In total they had four children. In 1970 he graduated from ] and started work at Pontefract General Infirmary in ], a small town southeast of Leeds. It was apparently here that he started murdering people. | |||
Shipman began working at Pontefract General Infirmary in ], ], and in 1974 took his first position as a ] (GP) at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Centre in ]. The following year, Shipman was caught forging prescriptions of ] for his own use. He was fined £600 and briefly attended a drug rehabilitation clinic in ]. He worked as a GP at Donneybrook Medical Centre in ], ], in 1977.<ref name= "bbc2002">{{cite news| title= Harold Shipman: Timeline|work=BBC News| date=18 July 2002| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2136444.stm|access-date=1 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="telegraph2001">{{cite news|last= Bunyan| first= Nigel| title=The Killing Fields of Harold Shipman|work=The Daily Telegraph| date=16 June 2001| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4724155/The-Killing-Fields-of-Harold-Shipman.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4724155/The-Killing-Fields-of-Harold-Shipman.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2010 | location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> | |||
Shipman continued working as a GP in Hyde throughout the 1980s and established his own surgery at 21 Market Street in 1993, becoming a respected member of the community. In 1983, he was interviewed in an edition of the ] current affairs documentary '']'' on how the mentally ill should be treated in the community.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/tameside|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022183541/http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/news/shipman/uncovering/|url-status=dead|title=Tameside latest news |work= Manchester Evening News| archive-date=22 October 2007|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref> A year after his conviction on charges of murder, the interview was re-broadcast on '']''.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1159420.stm |title=Shipman interview rebroadcast |work=BBC News |date=8 February 2001 |access-date= 24 March 2014}}</ref> | |||
In 1974 Shipman took his first GP position in ], 12.5 miles west of ]. Soon after this, in ] he was caught forging prescriptions of ] for his own use. Sent briefly to a ] clinic in ], he was pronounced clean, and became a GP at the Donneybrook Medical Centre in ], ], ] in ]. | |||
Shipman continued working as a GP in Hyde throughout the ], founding a clinic of his own in 1993, on Market Street. He became a respected member of the community. | |||
==Detection== | ==Detection== | ||
In March 1998, Linda Reynolds, a general practitioner at the Brooke Surgery in Hyde, expressed concerns to John Pollard, the ] for the South Manchester District, about the high death rate among Shipman's patients. In particular, she was concerned about the large number of ] forms for elderly women that he had asked to have countersigned. Police were unable to find sufficient evidence to bring charges and closed the investigation on 17 April.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/secondreport.asp|title=Second Report – The Police Investigation of March 1998 (Cm 5853)|date=14 July 2003|publisher=The Shipman Inquiry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305085744/http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/secondreport.asp|archive-date=5 March 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> '']'' later blamed ] for assigning inexperienced officers to the case. After the investigation was closed, Shipman killed three more people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3064231.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman inquiry criticises police|date=14 July 2003|access-date=30 July 2005}}</ref> A few months later, in August, taxi driver John Shaw told the police that he suspected Shipman of murdering 21 patients.<ref name="I feel guilty">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3152204.stm|title=I feel guilty over Shipman killings|date=30 September 2003|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=26 March 2016}}</ref> Shaw became suspicious as many of the elderly customers he took to the hospital, while seemingly in good health, died in Shipman's care.<ref name="I feel guilty"/> | |||
In March 1998, Dr. Linda Reynolds of the Brooke Surgery in Hyde, opposite Shipman's clinic, went to John Pollard, the ] for the South Manchester district, with concerns about the high death rate among Shipman's patients (in particular the large number of ] forms for elderly women that he had needed countersigning). | |||
Shipman's last victim was Kathleen Grundy, a former mayor of Hyde who was found dead at her home on 24 June 1998. He was the last person to see her alive; he later signed her ], recording the ] as old age. Grundy's daughter, ] Angela Woodruff, became concerned when fellow solicitor Brian Burgess informed her that a ] had been made, apparently by her mother, with doubts about its authenticity. The will excluded Woodruff and her children, but left £386,000 to Shipman. At Burgess' urging, Woodruff went to the police, who began an investigation. Grundy's body was exhumed and found to contain traces of ] (heroin), often used for pain control in ] patients. Shipman claimed that Grundy had been an addict and showed them comments he had written to that effect in his computerised medical journal; however, police examination of his computer showed that the entries were written after her death. | |||
She said that he was "killing" his patients, although she was not sure whether it was ] or malice. The matter was brought to the attention of the police, who were unable to find sufficient evidence to bring charges. (The ] later apportioned blame on the police for assigning inexperienced officers to the case.) Between the time the investigation was abandoned on ], and Shipman's eventual arrest, he had killed a further three people . | |||
Shipman was arrested on 7 September 1998, and was found to own a ] typewriter of the type used to make the forged will.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Shipman tapes I|date=31 January 2000|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/the_shipman_murders/the_shipman_files/613286.stm|work=]|access-date=27 September 2008}}</ref> ''Prescription for Murder'', a 2000 book by journalists Brian Whittle and Jean Ritchie, suggested that Shipman forged the will either because he wanted to be caught as he felt his life was out of control, or because he planned to retire at 55 and leave the UK.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Whittle|first1= B. |last2=Richie|first2= J. |title=Prescription for Murder: The True Story of Dr Harold Frederick Shipman|publisher= Little Brown |date=2000|pages= 348–49|isbn= 0751529982}}.</ref> The police investigated other deaths Shipman had certified and investigated 15 specimen cases. They discovered a pattern of his administering lethal doses of diamorphine, signing patients' death certificates, and then falsifying medical records to indicate that they had been in poor health.<ref>{{cite news|title=UK Doctor 'forged victim's medical history'|date=8 November 1999|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/510002.stm|work=]|access-date=27 September 2008}}</ref> In 2003, ] ''et al.'' suggested that "statistical monitoring could have led to an alarm being raised at the end of 1996, when there were 67 excess deaths in females aged over 65 years, compared with 119 by 1998."<ref>Spiegelhalter, D. ''et al.'' {{dead link|date=May 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''Int J Qual Health Care'', vol. 15, pp. 7–13 (2003).</ref> In addition, an abnormally large number of the deaths occurred around the same time of day (when Shipman was on his afternoon visits) and in the doctor's presence.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Statistics could have spotted mass murderer|first=John|last=Pickrell|date=2005-09-06|journal=]|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7958-statistics-could-have-spotted-mass-murderer/|accessdate=2024-03-19}}</ref> | |||
The last of these was Kathleen Grundy, a former Mayor of Hyde. On ], ], she was found dead at her home. The last person to see her alive had been Shipman, who later signed her ]. | |||
==Trial and imprisonment== | |||
Grundy's daughter, lawyer Angela Woodruff, became concerned when she discovered that a ] had been made, apparently by her mother, which excluded her entirely and bequeathed ]386,000 to Shipman. Woodruff went to the police, who began an investigation. Grundy's body was ] and examined, and was determined to contain traces of diamorphine (medical-grade ], legal for pain control in the UK). Shipman was arrested on ], ], and was found to own a typewriter of the type used to make the forged will. | |||
Shipman's trial began at ] on 5 October 1999. He was charged with the murders of 15 women by lethal injections of ], all between 1995 and 1998:<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jan/31/shipman.health5 |title=Shipman found guilty of murdering 15 patients |work= ] |date=31 January 2000 |access-date=27 May 2024}}</ref> | |||
{{columns-list|colwidth=12em| | |||
* Marie West, 81 | |||
* Irene Turner, 67 | |||
* Lizzie Adams, 77 | |||
* Jean Lilley, 59 | |||
* Ivy Lomas, 63 | |||
* Muriel Grimshaw, 76 | |||
* Marie Quinn, 67 | |||
* Kathleen Wagstaff, 81 | |||
* Bianka Pomfret, 49 | |||
* Norah Nuttall, 65 | |||
* Pamela Hillier, 68 | |||
* Maureen Ward, 57 | |||
* Winifred Mellor, 73 | |||
* Joan Melia, 73 | |||
* Kathleen Grundy, 81 | |||
}} | |||
Shipman's legal representatives tried unsuccessfully to have the Grundy case tried separately from the others, as a motive was shown by the alleged forgery of Grundy's will. | |||
After this, police looked at other deaths that Shipman had certified, and drew up a list of 15 specimen counts to investigate. A pattern emerged, of him ] patients with morphine, signing their death certificates, and then forging ]s to indicate they were in poor health. | |||
On 31 January 2000, after six days of deliberation, the jury found Shipman guilty<ref>{{cite web | url=https://soundcloud.com/ukradiojones/shipmanverdict | title=Shipmanverdict }}</ref> of 15 counts of murder and one count of forgery. Mr Justice ] subsequently sentenced Shipman to ] on all 15 counts of murder, with a recommendation that he be subject to a ], to be served concurrently with a sentence of four years for forging Grundy's will.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3391897.stm |title=Harold Shipman: The killer doctor|work= BBC News|date= 13 January 2004|access-date=30 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/616692.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman jailed for 15 murders|date=31 January 2000|access-date=16 September 2016}}</ref> On 11 February, 11 days after his conviction, Shipman was struck off the medical register by the ] (GMC).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/gmc-strikes-shipman-off-medical-register-725618.html|work=The Independent|title=GMC strikes Shipman off medical register|date=11 February 2000|access-date=20 September 2010|location=London|first1=Maxine|last1=Frith}}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/638291.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman struck off|date=11 February 2000|access-date=20 September 2010}}</ref> Two years later, Home Secretary ] confirmed the judge's whole life tariff, just months before British government ministers ] to set minimum terms for prisoners. While authorities could have brought many additional charges, they concluded that a fair hearing would be impossible in view of the enormous publicity surrounding the original trial. Furthermore, the 15 life sentences already imposed rendered further litigation unnecessary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413134928/http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401|url-status=dead|title=''The Shipman Inquiry'' — Sixth Report — Conclusions<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=13 April 2010|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4212627.stm|title=Shipman's 'reckless' experiments|date=27 January 2005|work=BBC News|accessdate=30 July 2005}}</ref> Shipman became friends with fellow serial killer ] while in prison.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tony|last=Gardner|title=Shipman's bizarre circle of jail pals|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Shipman39s--bizarre-circle-of.1008219.jp|newspaper=]|accessdate=28 April 2021|archivedate=22 May 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522082254/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/shipman_s_bizarre_circle_of_jail_pals_1_2045821|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
Shipman denied his guilt, disputing the scientific evidence against him. He never made any public statements about his actions. Shipman's wife, Primrose, maintained that he was not guilty, even after his conviction.<ref name="Sweet2004">{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/16/gender.uk|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=He could do no wrong|date=16 January 2004|access-date=4 May 2010|first=Corinne|last=Sweet}}</ref> | |||
==Trial and imprisonment== | |||
Shipman is the only doctor in the history of British medicine found guilty of murdering his patients.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902093955/http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm |date=2 September 2015 }} ] was convicted of ] in 1992, in the death of Lillian Boyes.</ref> ] was charged in 1957 with murdering a patient, amid rumours he had killed dozens more over a 10-year period and "possibly provided the role model for Shipman"; he was ]ted and no further charges were pursued.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kinnell |first=H. G. |title=Serial homicide by doctors: Shipman in perspective |journal=BMJ |volume=321 |issue=7276 |pages=1594–7 |year=2000 |pmid=11124192 |pmc=1119267 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1594}}</ref> A historian, Pamela Cullen, has argued that because of Adams' acquittal, there was no impetus to examine potential flaws in the British legal system until the Shipman case.<ref>{{cite web|first=James|last=Stovold|url=http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm|title=Strangerinblood.co.uk|publisher=Strangerinblood.co.uk|access-date=4 June 2010|archive-date=2 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902093955/http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
Shipman's trial, presided over by Justice Thayne John Forbes, began on ], ]. Shipman was prosecuted for the murders of Marie West, Irene Turner, Lizzie Adams, Jean Lilley, Ivy Lomas, Muriel Grimshaw, Marie Quinn, Kathleen Wagstaff, Bianka Pomfret, Naomi Nuttall, Pamela Hillier, Maureen Ward, Winifred Mellor, Joan Melia and Kathleen Grundy, over a period from 1995 to 1998. | |||
==Death== | |||
After ] deliberations of six days, Shipman was convicted on ], ], of killing fifteen patients with lethal injections of diamorphine. The trial judge sentenced him to ] and recommended that he should never be released. In February 2002, Shipman was formally struck off the ] register. | |||
<!-- re "hanged" vs. "hung", see e.g., https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/hung-or-hanged --> | |||
Shipman ] in his cell at ] on 13 January 2004, the day before his 58th birthday.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/harold-shipman-timed-suicide-to-ensure-his-wife-got-ps100k-pension-pay-out-a6943316.html |title=Harold Shipman timed suicide to ensure his wife got £100k pension pay out |last= Mortimer |first=Caroline |date=20 March 2016 |work=] |access-date=13 January 2023 |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3391871.stm|date=13 January 2004|title=Harold Shipman found dead in cell|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The Medico Legal Centre in Sheffield performed a ] examination, and an ] was opened.<ref name="shipman-finally-cremated">{{cite news|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/shipman-finally-cremated-1064483 |title=Shipman finally cremated|work= Manchester Evening News|date= 30 June 2005|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref> | |||
Some of the victims' families said they felt "cheated", as Shipman's suicide meant they would never have the satisfaction of a ], nor answers as to why he committed his crimes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3392135.stm|date=13 January 2004|work=BBC News|title=No mourning from Shipman families}}</ref> Home Secretary David Blunkett admitted that celebration was tempting: "You wake up and you receive a call telling you Shipman has topped himself and you think, is it too early to open a bottle? And then you discover that everybody's very upset that he's done it."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3404041.stm|title=Blunkett admits Shipman error|date=16 January 2004 |work=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
Shipman was one of the last prisoners to receive a government-imposed ]. In June 2002, the ], in accordance with the trial judge's guidance, informed Shipman that he would never leave prison. He was also convicted for forging Grundy's will, and received a four-year sentence for this. | |||
Shipman's death divided national newspapers, with the '']'' branding him a "cold coward" and condemning the Prison Service for allowing his suicide to occur. However, '']'' ran a celebratory front-page headline; "Ship Ship hooray!"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hattenstone|first1=Simon|title=Is it the Sun that's gone bonkers?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jan/19/sun.mondaymediasection|access-date=2 August 2016|work=The Guardian|date=19 January 2004}}</ref> '']'' called for the inquiry into Shipman's suicide to look more widely at the state of UK prisons as well as the welfare of inmates.<ref name=papers>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3395065.stm | work=BBC News | title=Shipman's death divides papers | date=14 January 2004 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> In '']'', an article by ] ], who had formerly served as ], suggested that whole life sentencing be replaced by ], for this would at least give prisoners the hope of eventual release and reduce the risk of their ending their own lives by suicide, as well as making their management easier for prison officials.<ref name=papers/> | |||
Shipman consistently denied his guilt (his defence relying on disputing the ] against him), and never made any statements about his actions. His defence tried (and failed) to have the count of murder of Grundy, where a clear motive was alleged, tried separately from the others, where there appears to have been no strong motive. | |||
Shipman's motive for suicide was never established, though he reportedly told his ] that he was considering suicide to assure his wife's financial security after he was stripped of his ] ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3611019.stm|date=8 April 2004|title=Shipman leaves his wife £24,000|work=BBC News}}</ref> Primrose Shipman received a full NHS pension; she would not have been entitled to it if Shipman had lived past the age of 60.<ref name="Not preventable">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4182730.stm|title=Shipman suicide 'not preventable'|work=BBC News|date=25 August 2005 |access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> Additionally, there was evidence that Primrose, who had consistently protested Shipman's innocence despite the overwhelming evidence, had begun to suspect his guilt. Shipman refused to take part in courses which would have encouraged acknowledgement of his crimes, leading to a temporary removal of privileges, including the opportunity to telephone his wife.<ref name="Not preventable"/><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3391871.stm | work=BBC News | title=Harold Shipman found dead in cell | date=13 January 2004 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> During this period, according to Shipman's cellmate, he received a letter from Primrose exhorting him to "Tell me everything, no matter what."<ref name="Sweet2004"/> A 2005 inquiry found that Shipman's suicide "could not have been predicted or prevented", but that procedures should nonetheless be re-examined.<ref name="Not preventable"/> | |||
Although there were many other cases that could have been brought to court, it was concluded that it would be hard to have a fair trial, in view of the enormous ] surrounding the original trial; in any case, a further trial would be unnecessary, given the existing sentence. The Shipman Inquiry concluded that Shipman was probably responsible for several hundred deaths. | |||
After Shipman's body was released to his family, it remained in ] for more than a year. His widow was advised by police against burying her husband in case the grave was attacked. Shipman's body was eventually ].<ref name="shipman-finally-cremated"/> The cremation was attended only by Primrose and the couple's four children.<ref name="killer-finally-cremated">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3484824.stm |title=Serial killer Shipman cremated |work=BBC News|date=8 April 2005|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref> | |||
Some commentators have postulated that his murder of older women was somehow related to the painful experience of his mother dying when he was young, while others said the motive was an arrogant desire to control life and death. The Shipman Inquiry suggested that he liked to experiment with drugs. | |||
== |
==Aftermath== | ||
In January 2001, ], a senior ] detective, was selected to lead an investigation into 22 of the West Yorkshire deaths.<ref>{{cite news |title=How many more did Shipman kill? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/how-many-more-did-shipman-kill-630689.html |date=9 October 2001 |work=] |access-date=19 September 2009 |location=London }}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Following this, ''The Shipman Inquiry'', submitted in July 2002, concluded that he had killed at least 218 of his patients between 1975 and 1998, during which time he practised in Todmorden (1974–1975) and Hyde (1977–1998). ], the judge who submitted the report, admitted that many more deaths of a suspicious nature could not be definitively ascribed to Shipman. Most of his victims were elderly women in good health.<ref name="shipman inquiry">{{cite web |title=The Shipman Inquiry |url=http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413134928/http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401 |archive-date=13 April 2010 |access-date=4 June 2010 |website=theshipmaninquiry.org}}</ref> | |||
In her sixth and final report, issued on 24 January 2005, Smith reported that she believed that Shipman had killed three patients, and she had serious suspicions about four further deaths, including that of a four-year-old girl, during the early stage of his medical career at ]. In total, 459 people died while under his care between 1971 and 1998, but it is uncertain how many of those were murder victims, as he was often the only doctor to certify a death. Smith's estimate of Shipman's total victim count over that 27-year period was 250.<ref name="shipman inquiry"/><ref name="killed early">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4210581.stm |work=BBC News |title=Shipman 'killed early in career'|date=27 January 2005}}</ref> | |||
Shipman was found hanged in his cell at 6:20 a.m. on ], ], on the eve of his 58th birthday, and was pronounced dead at 8:10 a.m. A ] statement indicated that Shipman had hanged himself from the bars of his cell, using bed sheets. Some British tabloids celebrated his suicide and encouraged other serial killers to follow his example. | |||
The GMC charged six doctors who signed cremation forms for Shipman's victims with misconduct, claiming they should have noticed the pattern between Shipman's home visits and his patients' deaths. All these doctors were found not guilty. In October 2005, a similar hearing was held against two doctors who worked at Tameside General Hospital in 1994, who failed to detect that Shipman had deliberately administered a "grossly excessive" dose of morphine.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4305366.stm|title=Shipman doctors deny misconduct|work=BBC News|date=3 October 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4331208.stm|title=Shipman doctor 'not good enough'|date=11 October 2005|work=BBC News}}</ref> ''The Shipman Inquiry'' recommended changes to the structure of the GMC.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4081425.stm |title=Shipman report demands GMC reform |date=9 December 2004|work=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
However, the victims' families said they felt "cheated", as his suicide meant that they would never have the satisfaction of Shipman's confession, and answers as to why he had committed his crimes. British Home Secretary ] noted that celebration was tempting, saying "You wake up and you receive a call telling you Shipman has topped himself and you think, is it too early to open a bottle? And then you discover that everybody's very upset that he's done it". | |||
In 2005, it came to light that Shipman may have stolen jewellery from his victims. In 1998, police had seized over £10,000 worth of jewellery they found in his garage. In March 2005, when Primrose asked for its return, police wrote to the families of Shipman's victims asking them to identify the jewellery.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4357193.stm|title=Theft fears over 'Shipman gems'|work=BBC News|date=17 March 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4446593.stm|title=Twenty make Shipman jewels claims|work=BBC News|date=15 April 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/aug/31/shipman.uknews|title=Shipman's stolen gems found in his wife's jewellery box|newspaper=The Guardian|date=31 August 2005|access-date=16 August 2017}}</ref> Unidentified items were handed to the ] in May.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4574147.stm|title=Shipman jewels not going to widow|work=BBC News|date=24 May 2005}}</ref> The investigation ended in August. Authorities returned 66 pieces to Primrose and ]ed 33 pieces that she confirmed were not hers. Proceeds of the auction went to Tameside Victim Support.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4197812.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman stole victim's jewellery|date=31 August 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/shipman/Story/0,,1559544,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Shipman's stolen gems found in his wife's jewellery box|date=31 August 2005 | location=London | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> The only piece returned to a murdered patient's family was a platinum diamond ring, for which the family provided a photograph as proof of ownership. | |||
Shipman's motive for ] was not established, although he had reportedly told his probation officer that he was considering suicide so that his widow could receive a ] pension and lump sum, even though he had been stripped of his own pension. | |||
] | |||
A memorial garden to Shipman's victims, called the Garden of Tranquillity, opened in ], on 30 July 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4731119.stm |title=Garden tribute to Shipman victims |date=30 July 2005|work=BBC News}}</ref> As of early 2009, families of over 200 of the victims of Shipman were still seeking compensation for the loss of their relatives.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://alexanderharris.co.uk/article/Nurse_convicted_of_murder_of_two_patients_by_lethal_injection_2588.asp |title=Alexander Harris, the law firm who represented families of victims of Allitt and Shipman |date=25 August 2006 |publisher=Alexander Harris |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930061847/http://alexanderharris.co.uk/article/Nurse_convicted_of_murder_of_two_patients_by_lethal_injection_2588.asp |archive-date=30 September 2006 }}</ref> In September 2009, letters Shipman wrote in prison to friends were to be sold at auction,<ref>{{cite news | |||
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8275479.stm|title=Shipman prison letters to be sold|publisher=BBC |work=BBC News|date=27 September 2009 |access-date=27 September 2009}}</ref> but following complaints from victims' relatives and the media, the sale was withdrawn.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8295005.stm|title=Shipman letters removed from sale|date=7 October 2009|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=2 October 2011}}</ref> | |||
===Shipman effect=== | |||
Questions were posed as to why he had not been on ] at HMP Wakefield, even though he had been on suicide watch at earlier stays at ] and ]. | |||
The Shipman case, and a series of recommendations in the ''Shipman Inquiry'' report, led to changes to standard medical procedures in the UK (now referred to as the "Shipman effect"). Many doctors reported changes in their dispensing practices, and a reluctance to risk overprescribing pain medication may have led to under-prescribing.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5252902.stm|title='Shipman effect' harms pain care|date=7 August 2006|access-date=23 December 2014|publisher=BBC|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30192721|title=Shipman effect: How a serial killer changed medical practice forever|last=Queiro|first=Alicia|date=1 December 2014|work=BBC News|access-date=23 December 2014}}</ref> Death certification practices were altered as well.<ref>{{cite web|title=Consultation Paper on Death Certification, Burial and Cremation|url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/01/26131024/4|website=Scottish Government|access-date=23 December 2014|date=27 January 2010}}</ref> Perhaps the largest change was the movement from single-doctor general practices to multiple-doctor general practices.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} This was not a direct recommendation, but rather because the report stated that there was not enough safeguarding and monitoring of doctors' decisions.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} | |||
The forms needed for a cremation in England and Wales have had their questions altered as a direct result of the Shipman case. For example, the person(s) organising the funeral must answer, "Do you know or suspect that the death of the person who has died was violent or unnatural? Do you consider that there should be any further examination of the remains of the person who has died?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/697075/cremation-form-1-app-for-cremation-of-body.pdf|date=October 2017|title=Application for cremation of the body of a person who has died |access-date=1 October 2020}}</ref> | |||
==Aftermath== | |||
It is unclear when Shipman started murdering people, or even how many he killed. A report into Shipman's activities submitted in July 2002 concluded that he had killed at least 215 of his patients between ] and ], during which time he had practised in Todmorden, West Yorkshire (1974–1975) and Hyde, Greater Manchester (1977–1998). Dame ], the judge who submitted the report, admitted that many more suspicious deaths could not be definitively ascribed to him. Most of his victims were elderly women in good health. | |||
As of 1 December 2023, Shipman, also nicknamed "Dr. Death" and "The Angel of Death", is the only British doctor to have been convicted of murdering patients, although other doctors, such as Isyaka Mamman,<ref>{{cite news |date=4 July 2022 |title=Oldham doctor admits killing patient in botched routine procedure |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-62039156 |access-date=6 December 2023}}</ref> have been ] of similar crimes or convicted of lesser charges<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1431104.stm|title=Shipman known as 'angel of death'|date=9 July 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=James |last=Stovold |url=http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm |title=The Case of Dr. John Bodkin Adams |publisher=Strangerinblood.co.uk |access-date=4 June 2010 |archive-date=2 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902093955/http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and nurses such as ], ], ], ]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boffey |first1=Daniel |last2=reporter |first2=Daniel Boffey Chief |date=31 July 2023 |title=New evidence claimed to undermine nurse's conviction for killing patients |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/jul/31/new-evidence-claimed-to-undermine-nurse-benjamin-geen-conviction-for-killing-patients |access-date=6 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and ] have also been convicted of murdering patients in their care.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 August 2023 |title=Carers who kill: Letby joins gruesome list of medical monsters from Shipman to Allitt |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/beverley-allitt-parole-harold-shipman-lucy-letby-trial-b2396274.html |access-date=6 December 2023 |website=The Independent }}</ref> | |||
In her sixth and final report, issued on ], ], Dame Janet Smith reported that she believed that Shipman had killed three patients, and she had serious suspicions about four further deaths including that of a four-year-old girl, during the early stage of his medical career at ], West Yorkshire. Dame Janet concluded that the probable number of Shipman's victims between 1971 and 1998 was 250. In total, 459 people died while under his care. It is unclear how many of these were Shipman's victims, as Shipman was often the only person to certify a death. | |||
==In media== | |||
The Shipman Inquiry also made recommendations about changes to the structure of the ]. | |||
''Harold and Fred (They Make Ladies Dead)'' was a cartoon strip in a 2001 issue of '']'' comic, also featuring serial killer ]. Some relatives of Shipman's victims voiced anger at the cartoon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/viz-pushes-taste-to-its-limits-with-shipman-cartoon-705190.html |title='Viz' pushes taste to its limits with Shipman cartoon |work=] |date=1 February 2001 |access-date=6 March 2009 |last=Garrett |first=Jade |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223083641/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/viz-pushes-taste-to-its-limits-with-shipman-cartoon-705190.html |archive-date=23 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1148180.stm | |||
|title=Anger at Shipman Cartoon |work= BBC News |access-date=6 March 2009 | date=1 February 2001}}</ref> | |||
'']'', an ] television dramatisation of the case, was broadcast in 2002; it starred ] in the title role.<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306943 |title=Harold Shipman: Doctor Death | medium=Television drama |year=2002 |people=Roger Bamford (Director)}}</ref> | |||
Six doctors who had signed cremation forms for Shipman's victims were charged with misconduct by the General Medical Council, which claimed that they should have noticed the pattern between Shipman's home visits and his patients' deaths. All of these doctors were found not guilty. Shipman's widow, Primrose Shipman, was called to give evidence about two of the deaths during the inquiry. Mrs. Shipman maintained her husband's innocence both before and after the prosecution. | |||
A documentary also titled ''Harold Shipman: Doctor Death'', with new witness testimony about the serial killer, was shown by ] as part of its ''Crime & Punishment'' strand on 26 April 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week17/harold-shipman-doctor-death|title=Harold Shipman: Doctor Death|access-date=17 April 2018|publisher=ITV Press Centre|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417191904/https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week17/harold-shipman-doctor-death|url-status=dead}}</ref> The programme was criticised as offering "little new insight".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2018/04/26/harold-shipman-doctor-death-review-20-years-documentary-offered/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2018/04/26/harold-shipman-doctor-death-review-20-years-documentary-offered/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Harold Shipman: Doctor Death, review: 20 years on, this documentary offered little new insight|first=Gerard|last=O'Donovan|date=26 April 2018|access-date=27 April 2018|work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> | |||
October 2005 saw a similar hearing against two doctors who worked at Tameside General Hospital in ], and had failed to detect that Shipman had deliberately administered a "grossly excessive" dose of morphine. | |||
A play titled ''Beyond Belief – Scenes from the Shipman Inquiry'', written by Dennis Woolf and directed by Chris Honer was performed at the Library Theatre, Manchester, from 20 October to 22 November 2004. The script of the play comprised edited verbatim extracts from ], spoken by actors playing the witnesses and lawyers at the inquiry.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/play-exposes-legacy-of-shipman-horror-1126194|title=Play exposes legacy of Shipman horror|newspaper=]|date=22 October 2004|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> This provided a "stark narrative" that focused on personal tragedies.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rushforth|first=Bruno|date=4 November 2004|title=Beyond Belief: Scenes from the Shipman Inquiry|journal=BMJ|volume=329|issue=7474|pages=1109|doi=10.1136/bmj.329.7474.1109|pmc=526136|issn=0959-8138}}</ref> | |||
A further inquiry was held in 2005 into Shipman's suicide. It found that it "could not have been predicted or prevented", but that procedures should nonetheless be re-examined. | |||
A BBC drama-documentary, entitled ''Harold Shipman'' and starring Ian Brooker in the title role, was broadcast in April 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last=Savvas |first=Christina |date=17 April 2014 |title=Birmingham actor plays serial killer Harold Shipman in new TV drama |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/harold-shipman-driven-kill---7004256 |access-date=28 July 2022 |website=] }}</ref> | |||
In ], it transpired that Shipman might have stolen ] from his victims. Over £10,000 worth of jewellery had been found in his garage in 1998, and in March 2005, with Primrose Shipman pressing for it to be returned to her, police wrote to the families of Shipman's victims asking them to identify the jewellery. | |||
The satirical artist ] regularly features Shipman in his work.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/bjexp5/talking-crappy-british-politics-the-media-and-dog-shit-with-coldwar-steve|title=Talking Crappy British Politics, the Media and Dog Shit with 'Coldwar Steve'|website=www.vice.com|date=10 November 2018 |access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref> | |||
Unidentified items were handed to the Asset Recovery Agency in May. In August the investigation ended, with sixty-six pieces returned to Primrose Shipman and thirty-three pieces, which Primrose confirmed were not hers, auctioned. The only piece actually returned to a family was a platinum-diamond ring, which the family were able to provide a photograph of as proof of ownership. | |||
''The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story'', a three-part documentary by Chris Wilson, was broadcast on ] on three consecutive nights between 28 and 30 September 2020, and focussed on Shipman's victims and how he went undetected for so long.<ref>{{cite web|date=28 September 2020|title=TV tonight: the harrowing tale of an 'honour' killing|url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/sep/28/tv-tonight-the-harrowing-tale-of-a-honour-killing|access-date=4 October 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000n1h4|title=The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story|access-date=6 January 2022|website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story – S1 – Episode 3|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/mp8hy8/the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story--s1-e3-the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story/|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Radio Times|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009121116/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/mp8hy8/the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story--s1-e3-the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
The proceeds of the auction went to Tameside Victim Support. | |||
Podcast episode "Catching a Killer Doctor"<ref>{{cite web|last=Harford|first=Cautionary Tales with Tim|title=Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford – Catching a Killer Doctor|url=https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vY2F1dGlvbmFyeXRhbGVz/episode/NTYzOTRiMTItNzUxZi0xMWViLTlmNDYtMGI0YWY4NWMzM2Fh|access-date=3 April 2021|website=Google Podcasts}}</ref> from the ''Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford'' podcast series features the story of Harold Shipman and how detection could have been made much earlier with good statistical models. | |||
A memorial garden to Shipman's victims, called the Garden of Tranquillity, opened in Hyde Park in Hyde on ], ]. | |||
The 2005 song "What About Us?" by British band ] makes explicit reference to the Shipman killings ("There was a man going round all the time/He was dishing out drugs/He was a doctor/Dishing out morphine to old ladies"), and the name Shipman is sung as backing vocals during the choruses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://annotatedfall.doomby.com/pages/the-annotated-lyrics/what-about-us.html#n1 |title=What About Us? |publisher=annotatedfall.doomby.com |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref> | |||
==External links== | |||
Shipman was a member of the ]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/feb/01/shipman.health16 | title=The doctor Jekyll of Hyde | website=] | date=February 2000 | accessdate=17 June 2022 }}</ref> and was mentioned in the ] when Conservative candidate Nadeem Ahmed highlighted his local connections, following Shipman's suicide in Wakefield prison, claiming that voters should "trust Tories like they do GPs after Harold Shipman".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/16/wakefield-tory-candidate-nadeem-ahmed-compares-imran-ahmad-khan-to-harold-shipman | title=Voters can trust Tories like they do GPS after Harold Shipman, says Wakefield candidate | website=] | date=16 June 2022 | accessdate=17 June 2022}}</ref> | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
In 2023, DeadHappy, a ]-based ] firm, was criticised for using an image of Shipman in one of its advertisements. The Advertising Standards Authority received more than 70 complaints about the advert.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-64419630|title=Relative of Harold Shipman victim criticises advert|date=26 January 2023|website=BBC News|accessdate=26 January 2023}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
] | |||
==See also== | |||
] | |||
{{Portal|Biography|Greater Manchester}} | |||
] | |||
{{div col|colwidth=20em}} | |||
] | |||
* ] | |||
] | |||
* ] | |||
] | |||
* ] | |||
] | |||
* Other medical professionals who killed<!--not all "murdered"--> patients, or attempted to: | |||
] | |||
** ] (one nurse convicted of murder)<!--Biography articles in name order:--> | |||
] | |||
** ] (1991, multiple attempted murders and GBH) | |||
] | |||
** ] (1991, attempted murder) | |||
** ] (1988–2003, multiple murders) | |||
** ] (2003–04, murder and ]) | |||
** ] (2000–2005, multiple murders) | |||
** ] (1998, murder) | |||
** ] (2015–16, convicted for multiple deaths suspected of being murder) | |||
** ] (2002, multiple murders) | |||
** ] (1946–56, multiple suspected murders) | |||
** ] (1981–1997, multiple murders) | |||
** ] (2007–2016, multiple murders) | |||
* Convicted of offences other than homicide: | |||
** ] (2012, injury to an elderly person) | |||
** ] (2003, dishonestly gaining registration (acquitted of manslaughter)) | |||
* Suspects acquitted: | |||
** ] (1980, attempted murder of an infant with Down syndrome) | |||
** ] (1990, murder) | |||
** ] (2005, murder) | |||
** ] (1974, murder) | |||
** ] (1997, murder) | |||
{{div col end}} | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
==External links== | |||
* (archived) | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
*{{IMDb name|1526240}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shipman, Harold}} | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 11:22, 22 December 2024
English doctor and serial killer (1946–2004)
Harold Shipman | |
---|---|
Shipman c. 2000 | |
Born | Harold Frederick Shipman (1946-01-14)14 January 1946 Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
Died | 13 January 2004(2004-01-13) (aged 57) HM Prison Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England |
Cause of death | Suicide by hanging |
Other names |
|
Alma mater | University of Leeds |
Occupation | General practitioner |
Spouse |
Primrose Oxtoby (m. 1966) |
Children | 4 |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment (whole life tariff) |
Details | |
Victims | 284 confirmed (15 convicted), possibly more |
Span of crimes | 1975–1998 |
Country | England |
Date apprehended | 7 September 1998 |
Harold Frederick Shipman (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004), known to acquaintances as Fred Shipman, was an English doctor in general practice and serial killer. He is considered to be one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history, with an estimated 284 victims over a period of roughly 30 years. On 31 January 2000, Shipman was convicted of murdering 15 patients under his care. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order. On 13 January 2004, one day before his 58th birthday, Shipman hanged himself in his cell at HM Prison Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
The Shipman Inquiry, a two-year-long investigation of all deaths certified by Shipman, chaired by Dame Janet Smith, examined Shipman's crimes. It revealed Shipman targeted vulnerable elderly people who trusted him as their doctor, killing them with either a fatal dose of drugs or prescribing an abnormal amount. To date, Shipman, who has been nicknamed "Dr. Death" and the "Angel of Death", is the only British doctor to have been convicted of murdering patients, although other doctors have been acquitted of similar crimes or convicted of lesser charges; some nurses, such as Lucy Letby, have also been convicted of murdering patients in their care.
Early life and education
Harold Frederick Shipman was born on 14 January 1946 on the Bestwood Estate, a council estate in Nottingham, the second of three children. His father, also Harold Frederick Shipman (1914–1985), was a lorry driver; his mother was Vera (née Brittan; 1919–1963). His working-class parents were devout Methodists.
Shipman was particularly close to his mother, who died of lung cancer when he was aged 17. Her death came in a manner similar to what later became Shipman's own modus operandi: in the later stages of her disease, she had morphine administered at home by a doctor. Shipman witnessed his mother's pain subside, despite her terminal condition, until her death on 21 June 1963.
On 5 November 1966, he married Primrose May Oxtoby; the couple had four children. Shipman studied medicine at Leeds School of Medicine, University of Leeds, graduating in 1970.
Career
Shipman began working at Pontefract General Infirmary in Pontefract, West Riding of Yorkshire, and in 1974 took his first position as a general practitioner (GP) at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Centre in Todmorden. The following year, Shipman was caught forging prescriptions of pethidine for his own use. He was fined £600 and briefly attended a drug rehabilitation clinic in York. He worked as a GP at Donneybrook Medical Centre in Hyde, Greater Manchester, in 1977.
Shipman continued working as a GP in Hyde throughout the 1980s and established his own surgery at 21 Market Street in 1993, becoming a respected member of the community. In 1983, he was interviewed in an edition of the Granada Television current affairs documentary World in Action on how the mentally ill should be treated in the community. A year after his conviction on charges of murder, the interview was re-broadcast on Tonight with Trevor McDonald.
Detection
In March 1998, Linda Reynolds, a general practitioner at the Brooke Surgery in Hyde, expressed concerns to John Pollard, the coroner for the South Manchester District, about the high death rate among Shipman's patients. In particular, she was concerned about the large number of cremation forms for elderly women that he had asked to have countersigned. Police were unable to find sufficient evidence to bring charges and closed the investigation on 17 April. The Shipman Inquiry later blamed Greater Manchester Police for assigning inexperienced officers to the case. After the investigation was closed, Shipman killed three more people. A few months later, in August, taxi driver John Shaw told the police that he suspected Shipman of murdering 21 patients. Shaw became suspicious as many of the elderly customers he took to the hospital, while seemingly in good health, died in Shipman's care.
Shipman's last victim was Kathleen Grundy, a former mayor of Hyde who was found dead at her home on 24 June 1998. He was the last person to see her alive; he later signed her death certificate, recording the cause of death as old age. Grundy's daughter, solicitor Angela Woodruff, became concerned when fellow solicitor Brian Burgess informed her that a will had been made, apparently by her mother, with doubts about its authenticity. The will excluded Woodruff and her children, but left £386,000 to Shipman. At Burgess' urging, Woodruff went to the police, who began an investigation. Grundy's body was exhumed and found to contain traces of diamorphine (heroin), often used for pain control in terminal cancer patients. Shipman claimed that Grundy had been an addict and showed them comments he had written to that effect in his computerised medical journal; however, police examination of his computer showed that the entries were written after her death.
Shipman was arrested on 7 September 1998, and was found to own a Brother typewriter of the type used to make the forged will. Prescription for Murder, a 2000 book by journalists Brian Whittle and Jean Ritchie, suggested that Shipman forged the will either because he wanted to be caught as he felt his life was out of control, or because he planned to retire at 55 and leave the UK. The police investigated other deaths Shipman had certified and investigated 15 specimen cases. They discovered a pattern of his administering lethal doses of diamorphine, signing patients' death certificates, and then falsifying medical records to indicate that they had been in poor health. In 2003, David Spiegelhalter et al. suggested that "statistical monitoring could have led to an alarm being raised at the end of 1996, when there were 67 excess deaths in females aged over 65 years, compared with 119 by 1998." In addition, an abnormally large number of the deaths occurred around the same time of day (when Shipman was on his afternoon visits) and in the doctor's presence.
Trial and imprisonment
Shipman's trial began at Preston Crown Court on 5 October 1999. He was charged with the murders of 15 women by lethal injections of diamorphine, all between 1995 and 1998:
- Marie West, 81
- Irene Turner, 67
- Lizzie Adams, 77
- Jean Lilley, 59
- Ivy Lomas, 63
- Muriel Grimshaw, 76
- Marie Quinn, 67
- Kathleen Wagstaff, 81
- Bianka Pomfret, 49
- Norah Nuttall, 65
- Pamela Hillier, 68
- Maureen Ward, 57
- Winifred Mellor, 73
- Joan Melia, 73
- Kathleen Grundy, 81
Shipman's legal representatives tried unsuccessfully to have the Grundy case tried separately from the others, as a motive was shown by the alleged forgery of Grundy's will.
On 31 January 2000, after six days of deliberation, the jury found Shipman guilty of 15 counts of murder and one count of forgery. Mr Justice Forbes subsequently sentenced Shipman to life imprisonment on all 15 counts of murder, with a recommendation that he be subject to a whole life tariff, to be served concurrently with a sentence of four years for forging Grundy's will. On 11 February, 11 days after his conviction, Shipman was struck off the medical register by the General Medical Council (GMC). Two years later, Home Secretary David Blunkett confirmed the judge's whole life tariff, just months before British government ministers lost their power to set minimum terms for prisoners. While authorities could have brought many additional charges, they concluded that a fair hearing would be impossible in view of the enormous publicity surrounding the original trial. Furthermore, the 15 life sentences already imposed rendered further litigation unnecessary. Shipman became friends with fellow serial killer Peter Moore while in prison.
Shipman denied his guilt, disputing the scientific evidence against him. He never made any public statements about his actions. Shipman's wife, Primrose, maintained that he was not guilty, even after his conviction.
Shipman is the only doctor in the history of British medicine found guilty of murdering his patients. John Bodkin Adams was charged in 1957 with murdering a patient, amid rumours he had killed dozens more over a 10-year period and "possibly provided the role model for Shipman"; he was acquitted and no further charges were pursued. A historian, Pamela Cullen, has argued that because of Adams' acquittal, there was no impetus to examine potential flaws in the British legal system until the Shipman case.
Death
Shipman hanged himself in his cell at HM Prison Wakefield on 13 January 2004, the day before his 58th birthday. The Medico Legal Centre in Sheffield performed a post-mortem examination, and an inquest was opened.
Some of the victims' families said they felt "cheated", as Shipman's suicide meant they would never have the satisfaction of a confession, nor answers as to why he committed his crimes. Home Secretary David Blunkett admitted that celebration was tempting: "You wake up and you receive a call telling you Shipman has topped himself and you think, is it too early to open a bottle? And then you discover that everybody's very upset that he's done it."
Shipman's death divided national newspapers, with the Daily Mirror branding him a "cold coward" and condemning the Prison Service for allowing his suicide to occur. However, The Sun ran a celebratory front-page headline; "Ship Ship hooray!" The Independent called for the inquiry into Shipman's suicide to look more widely at the state of UK prisons as well as the welfare of inmates. In The Guardian, an article by General Sir David Ramsbotham, who had formerly served as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, suggested that whole life sentencing be replaced by indefinite sentencing, for this would at least give prisoners the hope of eventual release and reduce the risk of their ending their own lives by suicide, as well as making their management easier for prison officials.
Shipman's motive for suicide was never established, though he reportedly told his probation officer that he was considering suicide to assure his wife's financial security after he was stripped of his National Health Service pension. Primrose Shipman received a full NHS pension; she would not have been entitled to it if Shipman had lived past the age of 60. Additionally, there was evidence that Primrose, who had consistently protested Shipman's innocence despite the overwhelming evidence, had begun to suspect his guilt. Shipman refused to take part in courses which would have encouraged acknowledgement of his crimes, leading to a temporary removal of privileges, including the opportunity to telephone his wife. During this period, according to Shipman's cellmate, he received a letter from Primrose exhorting him to "Tell me everything, no matter what." A 2005 inquiry found that Shipman's suicide "could not have been predicted or prevented", but that procedures should nonetheless be re-examined.
After Shipman's body was released to his family, it remained in Sheffield for more than a year. His widow was advised by police against burying her husband in case the grave was attacked. Shipman's body was eventually cremated. The cremation was attended only by Primrose and the couple's four children.
Aftermath
In January 2001, Chris Gregg, a senior West Yorkshire Police detective, was selected to lead an investigation into 22 of the West Yorkshire deaths. Following this, The Shipman Inquiry, submitted in July 2002, concluded that he had killed at least 218 of his patients between 1975 and 1998, during which time he practised in Todmorden (1974–1975) and Hyde (1977–1998). Janet Smith, the judge who submitted the report, admitted that many more deaths of a suspicious nature could not be definitively ascribed to Shipman. Most of his victims were elderly women in good health.
In her sixth and final report, issued on 24 January 2005, Smith reported that she believed that Shipman had killed three patients, and she had serious suspicions about four further deaths, including that of a four-year-old girl, during the early stage of his medical career at Pontefract General Infirmary. In total, 459 people died while under his care between 1971 and 1998, but it is uncertain how many of those were murder victims, as he was often the only doctor to certify a death. Smith's estimate of Shipman's total victim count over that 27-year period was 250.
The GMC charged six doctors who signed cremation forms for Shipman's victims with misconduct, claiming they should have noticed the pattern between Shipman's home visits and his patients' deaths. All these doctors were found not guilty. In October 2005, a similar hearing was held against two doctors who worked at Tameside General Hospital in 1994, who failed to detect that Shipman had deliberately administered a "grossly excessive" dose of morphine. The Shipman Inquiry recommended changes to the structure of the GMC.
In 2005, it came to light that Shipman may have stolen jewellery from his victims. In 1998, police had seized over £10,000 worth of jewellery they found in his garage. In March 2005, when Primrose asked for its return, police wrote to the families of Shipman's victims asking them to identify the jewellery. Unidentified items were handed to the Assets Recovery Agency in May. The investigation ended in August. Authorities returned 66 pieces to Primrose and auctioned 33 pieces that she confirmed were not hers. Proceeds of the auction went to Tameside Victim Support. The only piece returned to a murdered patient's family was a platinum diamond ring, for which the family provided a photograph as proof of ownership.
A memorial garden to Shipman's victims, called the Garden of Tranquillity, opened in Hyde Park, Hyde, on 30 July 2005. As of early 2009, families of over 200 of the victims of Shipman were still seeking compensation for the loss of their relatives. In September 2009, letters Shipman wrote in prison to friends were to be sold at auction, but following complaints from victims' relatives and the media, the sale was withdrawn.
Shipman effect
The Shipman case, and a series of recommendations in the Shipman Inquiry report, led to changes to standard medical procedures in the UK (now referred to as the "Shipman effect"). Many doctors reported changes in their dispensing practices, and a reluctance to risk overprescribing pain medication may have led to under-prescribing. Death certification practices were altered as well. Perhaps the largest change was the movement from single-doctor general practices to multiple-doctor general practices. This was not a direct recommendation, but rather because the report stated that there was not enough safeguarding and monitoring of doctors' decisions.
The forms needed for a cremation in England and Wales have had their questions altered as a direct result of the Shipman case. For example, the person(s) organising the funeral must answer, "Do you know or suspect that the death of the person who has died was violent or unnatural? Do you consider that there should be any further examination of the remains of the person who has died?"
As of 1 December 2023, Shipman, also nicknamed "Dr. Death" and "The Angel of Death", is the only British doctor to have been convicted of murdering patients, although other doctors, such as Isyaka Mamman, have been acquitted of similar crimes or convicted of lesser charges and nurses such as Lucy Letby, Beverley Allitt, Colin Norris, Benjamin Geen and Victorino Chua have also been convicted of murdering patients in their care.
In media
Harold and Fred (They Make Ladies Dead) was a cartoon strip in a 2001 issue of Viz comic, also featuring serial killer Fred West. Some relatives of Shipman's victims voiced anger at the cartoon.
Harold Shipman: Doctor Death, an ITV television dramatisation of the case, was broadcast in 2002; it starred James Bolam in the title role.
A documentary also titled Harold Shipman: Doctor Death, with new witness testimony about the serial killer, was shown by ITV as part of its Crime & Punishment strand on 26 April 2018. The programme was criticised as offering "little new insight".
A play titled Beyond Belief – Scenes from the Shipman Inquiry, written by Dennis Woolf and directed by Chris Honer was performed at the Library Theatre, Manchester, from 20 October to 22 November 2004. The script of the play comprised edited verbatim extracts from the Shipman Inquiry, spoken by actors playing the witnesses and lawyers at the inquiry. This provided a "stark narrative" that focused on personal tragedies.
A BBC drama-documentary, entitled Harold Shipman and starring Ian Brooker in the title role, was broadcast in April 2014.
The satirical artist Cold War Steve regularly features Shipman in his work.
The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story, a three-part documentary by Chris Wilson, was broadcast on BBC Two on three consecutive nights between 28 and 30 September 2020, and focussed on Shipman's victims and how he went undetected for so long.
Podcast episode "Catching a Killer Doctor" from the Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford podcast series features the story of Harold Shipman and how detection could have been made much earlier with good statistical models.
The 2005 song "What About Us?" by British band the Fall makes explicit reference to the Shipman killings ("There was a man going round all the time/He was dishing out drugs/He was a doctor/Dishing out morphine to old ladies"), and the name Shipman is sung as backing vocals during the choruses.
Shipman was a member of the Conservative Party and was mentioned in the 2022 Wakefield by-election when Conservative candidate Nadeem Ahmed highlighted his local connections, following Shipman's suicide in Wakefield prison, claiming that voters should "trust Tories like they do GPs after Harold Shipman".
In 2023, DeadHappy, a Leicester-based life insurance firm, was criticised for using an image of Shipman in one of its advertisements. The Advertising Standards Authority received more than 70 complaints about the advert.
See also
- List of serial killers in the United Kingdom
- List of serial killers by number of victims
- Euthanasia
- Other medical professionals who killed patients, or attempted to:
- 2011 Stepping Hill Hospital poisoning incident (one nurse convicted of murder)
- Beverley Allitt (1991, multiple attempted murders and GBH)
- Nigel Cox (doctor) (1991, attempted murder)
- Charles Cullen (1988–2003, multiple murders)
- Benjamin Geen (2003–04, murder and GBH)
- Niels Högel (2000–2005, multiple murders)
- Jack Kevorkian (1998, murder)
- Lucy Letby (2015–16, convicted for multiple deaths suspected of being murder)
- Colin Norris (2002, multiple murders)
- John Bodkin Adams (1946–56, multiple suspected murders)
- Michael Swango (1981–1997, multiple murders)
- Elizabeth Wettlaufer (2007–2016, multiple murders)
- Convicted of offences other than homicide:
- Christopher Duntsch (2012, injury to an elderly person)
- Jayant Patel (2003, dishonestly gaining registration (acquitted of manslaughter))
- Suspects acquitted:
- Leonard Arthur (1980, attempted murder of an infant with Down syndrome)
- Thomas Lodwig (1990, murder)
- Howard Martin (2005, murder)
- Jessie McTavish (1974, murder)
- David Moor (1997, murder)
References
- ^ "The Shipman Inquiry". theshipmaninquiry.org. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ^ "Shipman known as 'angel of death'". BBC News. BBC. 9 July 2001. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- "Harold Shipman". The Times. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- Oliver, Mark (13 January 2004). "Portrait of a necrophiliac". The Guardian.
- ^ Swan, Norman (29 July 2002). "Why Some Doctors Kill". The Health Report. ABC Australia. Radio National. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Kaplan, Robert M. (2009). Medical Murder: Disturbing Cases of Doctors Who Kill. Allen & Unwin. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-74175-610-4.
- Born to Kill?, Channel 5, 2 August 2012.
- Herbert, Ian (14 January 2004). "How a humble GP perverted his medical skill to become Britain's most prolific mass killer". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- The Early Life of Harold Shipman.
- ^ "Harold Shipman: Timeline". BBC News. 18 July 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- Bunyan, Nigel (16 June 2001). "The Killing Fields of Harold Shipman". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- "Tameside latest news". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- "Shipman interview rebroadcast". BBC News. 8 February 2001. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- Second Report – The Police Investigation of March 1998 (Cm 5853). The Shipman Inquiry. 14 July 2003. Archived from the original on 5 March 2005.
- "Shipman inquiry criticises police". BBC News. 14 July 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2005.
- ^ "I feel guilty over Shipman killings". BBC News. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- "The Shipman tapes I". BBC News. 31 January 2000. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- Whittle, B.; Richie, J. (2000). Prescription for Murder: The True Story of Dr Harold Frederick Shipman. Little Brown. pp. 348–49. ISBN 0751529982..
- "UK Doctor 'forged victim's medical history'". BBC News. 8 November 1999. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- Spiegelhalter, D. et al. Risk-adjusted sequential probability ratio tests: application to Bristol, Shipman and adult cardiac surgery. Int J Qual Health Care, vol. 15, pp. 7–13 (2003).
- Pickrell, John (6 September 2005). "Statistics could have spotted mass murderer". New Scientist. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- "Shipman found guilty of murdering 15 patients". The Guardian. 31 January 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- "Shipmanverdict".
- "Harold Shipman: The killer doctor". BBC News. 13 January 2004. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- "Shipman jailed for 15 murders". BBC News. 31 January 2000. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- Frith, Maxine (11 February 2000). "GMC strikes Shipman off medical register". The Independent. London. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- "Shipman struck off". BBC News. 11 February 2000. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- "The Shipman Inquiry — Sixth Report — Conclusions". Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- "Shipman's 'reckless' experiments". BBC News. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2005.
- Gardner, Tony. "Shipman's bizarre circle of jail pals". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ Sweet, Corinne (16 January 2004). "He could do no wrong". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- Strangerinblood.co.uk Archived 2 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Nigel Cox was convicted of attempted murder in 1992, in the death of Lillian Boyes.
- Kinnell, H. G. (2000). "Serial homicide by doctors: Shipman in perspective". BMJ. 321 (7276): 1594–7. doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1594. PMC 1119267. PMID 11124192.
- Stovold, James. "Strangerinblood.co.uk". Strangerinblood.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- Mortimer, Caroline (20 March 2016). "Harold Shipman timed suicide to ensure his wife got £100k pension pay out". The Independent. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- "Harold Shipman found dead in cell". BBC News. BBC. 13 January 2004.
- ^ "Shipman finally cremated". Manchester Evening News. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- "No mourning from Shipman families". BBC News. 13 January 2004.
- "Blunkett admits Shipman error". BBC News. 16 January 2004.
- Hattenstone, Simon (19 January 2004). "Is it the Sun that's gone bonkers?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "Shipman's death divides papers". BBC News. 14 January 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- "Shipman leaves his wife £24,000". BBC News. 8 April 2004.
- ^ "Shipman suicide 'not preventable'". BBC News. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- "Harold Shipman found dead in cell". BBC News. 13 January 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- "Serial killer Shipman cremated". BBC News. 8 April 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- "How many more did Shipman kill?". The Independent. London. 9 October 2001. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- "Shipman 'killed early in career'". BBC News. 27 January 2005.
- "Shipman doctors deny misconduct". BBC News. 3 October 2005.
- "Shipman doctor 'not good enough'". BBC News. 11 October 2005.
- "Shipman report demands GMC reform". BBC News. 9 December 2004.
- "Theft fears over 'Shipman gems'". BBC News. 17 March 2005.
- "Twenty make Shipman jewels claims". BBC News. 15 April 2005.
- "Shipman's stolen gems found in his wife's jewellery box". The Guardian. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- "Shipman jewels not going to widow". BBC News. 24 May 2005.
- "Shipman stole victim's jewellery". BBC News. 31 August 2005.
- "Shipman's stolen gems found in his wife's jewellery box". The Guardian. London. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- "Garden tribute to Shipman victims". BBC News. 30 July 2005.
- "Alexander Harris, the law firm who represented families of victims of Allitt and Shipman". Alexander Harris. 25 August 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2006.
- "Shipman prison letters to be sold". BBC News. BBC. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- "Shipman letters removed from sale". BBC News. BBC. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- "'Shipman effect' harms pain care". BBC News. BBC. 7 August 2006. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- Queiro, Alicia (1 December 2014). "Shipman effect: How a serial killer changed medical practice forever". BBC News. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- "Consultation Paper on Death Certification, Burial and Cremation". Scottish Government. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- "Application for cremation of the body of a person who has died" (PDF). October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- "Oldham doctor admits killing patient in botched routine procedure". BBC News. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "Shipman known as 'angel of death'". 9 July 2001.
- Stovold, James. "The Case of Dr. John Bodkin Adams". Strangerinblood.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- Boffey, Daniel; reporter, Daniel Boffey Chief (31 July 2023). "New evidence claimed to undermine nurse's conviction for killing patients". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "Carers who kill: Letby joins gruesome list of medical monsters from Shipman to Allitt". The Independent. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- Garrett, Jade (1 February 2001). "'Viz' pushes taste to its limits with Shipman cartoon". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
- "Anger at Shipman Cartoon". BBC News. 1 February 2001. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
- Roger Bamford (Director) (2002). Harold Shipman: Doctor Death (Television drama).
- "Harold Shipman: Doctor Death". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- O'Donovan, Gerard (26 April 2018). "Harold Shipman: Doctor Death, review: 20 years on, this documentary offered little new insight". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "Play exposes legacy of Shipman horror". Manchester Evening News. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- Rushforth, Bruno (4 November 2004). "Beyond Belief: Scenes from the Shipman Inquiry". BMJ. 329 (7474): 1109. doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7474.1109. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 526136.
- Savvas, Christina (17 April 2014). "Birmingham actor plays serial killer Harold Shipman in new TV drama". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- "Talking Crappy British Politics, the Media and Dog Shit with 'Coldwar Steve'". www.vice.com. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- "TV tonight: the harrowing tale of an 'honour' killing". The Guardian. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- "The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story". BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- "The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story – S1 – Episode 3". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- Harford, Cautionary Tales with Tim. "Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford – Catching a Killer Doctor". Google Podcasts. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- "What About Us?". annotatedfall.doomby.com. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- "The doctor Jekyll of Hyde". TheGuardian.com. February 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- "Voters can trust Tories like they do GPS after Harold Shipman, says Wakefield candidate". TheGuardian.com. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- "Relative of Harold Shipman victim criticises advert". BBC News. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
External links
- Shipman Inquiry (archived)
- BBC – The Shipman Murders
- List of suspected murders
- Harold Shipman's Clinical Practice 1974–1998
- Caso abierto, Dr Death: The Shipman Case
- Harold Shipman at IMDb
- 1946 births
- 2004 deaths
- 2004 suicides
- 20th-century English criminals
- 20th-century English medical doctors
- Alumni of the University of Leeds
- British general practitioners
- Criminals from Nottinghamshire
- English people convicted of murder
- English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
- English serial killers
- History of Tameside
- Medical scandals in the United Kingdom
- Medical doctors struck off by the General Medical Council
- Medical practitioners convicted of murdering their patients
- Medical serial killers
- People convicted of murder by England and Wales
- People educated at Nottingham High Pavement Grammar School
- People from Nottingham
- People with antisocial personality disorder
- Poisoners
- Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales
- Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention
- Serial killers who died by suicide in prison custody
- Suicides by hanging in England
- 1970s in Manchester
- 1980s in Manchester
- 1990s in Manchester
- 20th century in Manchester
- History of Greater Manchester
- Murder in Greater Manchester