Dr. Death

He is one of the most prolific serial killers to have been apprehended in modern history, with an estimated count of 284 victims. On January 31st ,2000, Dr. Harold Frederick Shipman was convicted of the murder of 15 patients and of forging the will of his latest victim, 81 year-old Mrs Kathleen Grundy, where he seized a £400,000 estate, sentencing him to life imprisonment in HM Prison Wakefield, West Yorkshire. He died hanging himself in his cell, on January 13, 2004.

Harold Shipman began his career as a medical practitioner in 1974, where he received the position of a general practitioner (GP) in Todmorden. However, Shipman was discharged from his position in the medical centre due to a scandal involving the forgery of drugs (opiate pethidine) for his own abuse. This resulted in a fine of £600 and rehabilitation.

Unfortunately, this incident did not result in the confiscation of his medical licence, which later brought him to work in a new medical institute as a GP in Hyde throughout the 1980s and where he later established his own surgery at 21 Market Street in 1993. His success as a doctor led him into becoming quite popular with his patients, especially amongst his elder ones.

Shipman’s last victim was Kathleen Grundy, an 81 year-old woman who was deemed healthy by relatives, but coincidently died of “old age” shortly after a medical visit with Shipman. Although this seemed normal, Mrs.Grundy's family soon discovered that Shipman was nominated in the will as the new beneficiary to a £400,000 estate. Finding this suspicious, Kathleen’s daughter expressed her concerns to the police in which an investigation was conducted. This led to the reveal of the will being “crudely forged” and the discovery that Mrs Grundy did not pass of old age but of a lethal dose of heroin. Shipman was arrested shortly after the incident in July 1998, and his convictions later accumulated during the discovery of the other victims, resulting to life imprisonment

In 2002, “The Shipman Inquiry” was submitted by Dame Janet Smith, which concluded that an estimate of 459 people died under his care and around 250 of the 400 was a result of murder. The inquiry also revealed that a confidential investigation was conducted in March 1998, from a complaint sent by Dr.Linda Reynolds, who was sceptical towards the high death rate found in Dr.Shipman’s patients. She was especially concerned about the crematorium documents that Shipman insisted on having countersigned. Unfortunately, he was deemed innocent and it was speculated that if Dr.Shipman was apprehended during this time period, 3 victims would have been spared from his immoral deeds.

The Shipman Inquiry published a total of six reports, which summarised the extent of his criminal activities before his arrest, the 1998 investigation, the death certification and the coroner system, the systems for ensuring the safe and appropriate use of controlled drugs (as it was used to eliminate his victims), the arrangements for monitoring and disciplining GPs including complaints in the NHS, and the extent of his criminal activities before his discharge.

The Shipman Inquiry also holds a series of recommendations of the medical practices found on the field which was later named the Shipman Effect.

Resources:

● https://www.britannica.com/

● https://en.wikipedia.org/

● https://serialkillersinfo.com/

● https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/