Officially, Dr. Harold Shipman murdered at least 215 of his patients - 171 women and 44 men ranging in age from 41 to 93. After a year-long public inquiry, the 2,000-page report into his 23-year murder spree was released by High Court Judge Dame Janet Smith. The records of nearly 500 patients of Shipman's who died while in his care between 1978 and 1998 were scrutinized in the investigation.
Another investigation, conducted by University of Leicester professor Richard Baker determined that the real minimum number of Shipman victims was 236. Associated Press reported that Judge Janet Smith said "the full toll may be higher, citing a 'real suspicion' that Shipman had killed 45 more people for whom there was insufficient evidence to be certain. In another 38 cases, there was too little information to form any opinion on the cause of death."
Despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, the 56-year-old former physician maintains his innocence, continuing to shroud the motives for his extraordinary crimes. The official report speculated that the doctor was "addicted to killing" much like he was addicted to painkillers around the time the murders started. Like other death angels such as Dr. Michael Swango, the American Doctor Who killed patients in both Africa and the U.S., there was no hint of a sexual interest in his victims. Rather, as South Manchester coroner John Pollard speculated, Shipman "simply enjoyed viewing the process of dying and enjoyed feeling the control over life and death."
A fatal fascination with death, dying and drugs is consistent with the behavior of the 17-year-old Shipman who spent hours comforting Vera, his cancer-stricken dying mother. In the young man's mind, there was a powerful emotional connection between the visit of the family doctor and the relief that his injections of morphine brought to her suffering. Is it just a coincidence that he began abusing painkillers himself and shortly after he began practicing medicine, he used a lethal injection of pain medication to murder his first victim?
Judge Smith found Shipman's "non-violent" killing almost incredible. "The way in which Shipman could kill, face the relatives and walk away unsuspected would be dismissed as fanciful if described in a work of fiction." Even more incredible was that his murders of so many people did not arouse suspicion for decades, even though there were supposedly safeguards in place at that time.
Clearly new safeguards are needed and a number of them are now in the works in Britain. For example, after he murdered a victim, Dr. Shipman would often arrange for the body to be cremated if the family did not object, thereby destroying evidence of his crime. Judge Smith points out that new pre-cremation procedures are needed to prevent future abuse. Also, the system failed tragically when Shipman, after being convicted of drug abuse in 1975, was allowed to obtain enormous quantities of painkilling drugs. For example, in the name of a dying patient, Dr. Shipman obtained enough of the painkiller diamorphine to kill 360 people.
-Ted Ottley-
As a young doctor Shipman practiced as a family doctor in Todmorden, West Yorkshire but after only one year he was forced to enter rehab for drug abuse. Three years later Shipman joined the Donnybrook Medical Practice, Hyde, Cheshire. Throughout the 1980's Shipman worked in and around Hyde before opening his own practice in Hyde on Market Street.
Dr. Harold Shipman was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England on 14 Jan., 1946.
He graduated from Leeds University.
Dr. Harold Shipman was born on 14 January 1946 in Nottingham, England.
Harold Shipman, also known as Dr. Death, was a British general practitioner who is considered one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was convicted of murdering 15 patients, but it is believed that he may have been responsible for over 200 deaths by administering lethal doses of prescription drugs. Shipman's crimes were predominantly committed between the 1970s and 1990s in the UK.
Dr. Harold Shipman was 53 years old when he was arrested in 1998 for the murder of 15 of his patients.
The trial of Harold Shipman was 10 weeks long.
Dr. Harold Shipman died on 13 Jan., 2004, one day before his 58th birthday.
The widow of Dr. Harold Fred Shipman lives as a recluse in Walshford, West Yorkshire.
Shipman graduated in 1970 from Leeds Medical School.
Dr. Harold Shipman committed his crimes in the United Kingdom, primarily in the area of Greater Manchester. He was a general practitioner who was convicted of murdering at least 15 of his patients.
Harold Shipman died by suicide - he hung himself in his cell at Wakefield Prison at 6:20 AM on 13 Jan., 2004.
Harold Shipman's birth name is Harold Frederick Shipman.
There is no publicly available information to suggest that Dr. Harold Shipman was Jewish. Shipman was a British doctor who was convicted of being a prolific serial killer, known as the "Doctor Death," for murdering his patients.
Dr. Shipman certainly had no problem with taking "trophies" from his victims. Jewelry, heirlooms, etc. anything of worth Shipman would take. In fact Shipman took one victim's car.