Britain's 'Dr. Death' hangs himself in prison cell

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Britain's 'Dr. Death' hangs himself in prison cell

Last Updated: 2004-01-13 9:52:04 -0400 (Reuters Health)

 

By Kate Kelland and Peter Griffiths

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's worst mass murderer Harold Shipman -- a family

doctor who killed hundreds of his patients- - hanged himself in his prison

cell Tuesday.

 

Shipman, whose suicide was immediately condemned by victims' relatives as a

final act of cowardice, was nicknamed " Dr. Death " after a horrific,

23-year-long killing spree in which he murdered at least 215 of his

patients.

 

" He was found dead, hanging in his cell, " a prison service spokesman told

Reuters. He said Shipman had used bed sheets tied to his cell bars to make a

noose.

 

Shipman was convicted in 2000 of murdering 15 of his patients and sentenced

to life in prison. An inquiry later ruled he had murdered at least 215

patients with heroin injections, making him Britain's - and one of the

world's - most prolific serial killer.

 

The bearded, bespectacled doctor killed his patients over a period from 1975

to 1998. Of his victims, 171 were female and 44 male. The oldest was a

93-year-old woman and the youngest a man of 41.

 

A statement from Wakefield high-security prison in northern England, where

Shipman had been held, said he was found at 0620 GMT Tuesday, the day before

his 58th birthday. " Despite the best efforts of staff who immediately

attempted resuscitation, he was pronounced dead by a doctor at 8:10 a. m., "

it said.

 

Shipman's body was driven away from the prison in a funeral service van

flanked by a police escort.

 

The prison said Shipman was alone in his cell when he died and that an

investigation into the death would be carried out.

 

" ADDICTED TO KILLING? "

 

The official inquiry into Shipman's killings found he had murdered his

victims quietly, coldly and systematically, ending their lives in a betrayal

of trust " unparalleled in history. " It said he may have been " addicted to

killing, " but found no conclusive motive.

 

The death means his victims' families will now never know what drove him to

kill their loved ones.

 

Danny Mellor, whose 73-year-old mother Winifred was one of Shipman's

victims, said the killer was a coward whose death made it " desperately hard "

for families to live with the mystery.

 

" I always harbored the remote possibility that one day I could confront him

and ask him why, " he told Reuters. " Now that's been taken away from me. "

 

Shipman's conviction in 2000 sparked horror among Britons at how a doctor

who had previous convictions for forging prescriptions to feed his own drug

addiction was able to continue his career and run a one-man practice.

 

Working alone, he was able to stockpile huge amounts of diamorphine - the

medical name for heroin - at his home and surgery, ready to use on his often

elderly victims.

 

He was finally captured after the daughter of Kathleen Grundy, his last

victim, challenged a new will that left all her mother's wealth to Shipman.

Her body was exhumed and traces of the fatal dose of heroin were found in

her remains.

 

Prosecutors at Shipman's trial said his drive to kill was fueled by his need

for a God-like power over life and death.

 

Others say the killer was profoundly affected by the experience of watching

his own mother die from cancer - and taking diamorphine to ease her pain.

 

The trial judge said Shipman's actions were a " calculated and cold-blooded

perversion " of his medical skills.

 

Ann Alexander, a lawyer who represents some of the victims' families, said

many of them would feel cheated.

 

" They had hoped that one day they would be able to find out why ... and

would have some understanding of why he did what he did. Now, of course,

they are never going to know. " ____________________________

 

List, I wonder how many physicians are practicing with a similar

psychological make-up, that is, " a need for God-like power over life and

death " ? I know of a current case of a women who has recently experienced a

1/3 shrinkage of her pancreatic cancer (natural methods) and was improving

despite cachexia and a slight infection. Her conventional physician denied

her TPN, antibiotics, and any medication but pain killers. I realize that

HMOs consider it too expensive when so-called terminal patients don't die on

schedule, but last year HMOs in California recorded $3,000,000,000 in

profits. I would think that this is enough profit to allow a few more to

live. Physicians who specialize in acute care often derive great enjoyment

in outwitting the grim reaper. More power to them. On the other hand,

physicians who specialize in treating chronic and slow terminal cases all

too often have a very complex and disturbed psyche. Most cancer patients

tell me about the abrupt, hostile and dismissive attitudes of their

oncologists. Perhaps much of that is because today's cancer patients are

increasingly well-informed and questioning, and this is perceived as

threatening to the smooth operation of the conveyor belt. At any rate, I am

delighted to inform the newsgroup that Dr. Shipman will not be getting his

license back. Vincent