The Encyclopedia of Serial Kill by Malestrom

Author:Malestrom [Malestrom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

SHIPMAN, Harold Frederick

1992, Shipman surprised his Donneybrook colleagues by quitting the practice to set up shop alone, abscond-ing with 3,000 patients in the process. The betrayal proved doubly galling when Shipman opened his new office within yards of the Donneybrook center.

Many patients who followed Shipman to his new

address were older women, who admired Shipman for his dedication, long hours, frequent house calls—and his generosity with drug prescriptions. Over time, Shipman ranked among the Tameside district’s top five doctors (out of 104 in practice) with respect to numbers of prescriptions issued. During his last six years in practice, patients cheerfully donated £19,200 to purchase new equipment for his office, confident that Shipman would employ the tools in their best interest. Naturally, some of his patients died from time to time. Who could expect a man of medicine to save them all?

One such patient was Kathleen Grundy, who died under Shipman’s care on June 24, 1998, eight days short of her 82nd birthday. Her death was not entirely unexpected, at that age, but her will took Grundy’s children by surprise. Crudely typed on cheap paper, it read: All my estate, money and house to my doctor. My family are not in need and I want to reward him for all the care he has given me and the people of Hyde. He is sensible enough to handle any problems this may give him.

My doctor is H. F. Shipman.

Dr. Harold Shipman (AP Photo/Manchester Police) While Grundy’s affluent family truly did not need the

£386,402 inheritance, they were suspicious of the will and her scrawled signature. Police shared those suspi-a partner in the practice discovered that Shipman had cions, heightened when a note arrived at her attorney’s consumed huge doses of pethidine—“thousands and office, typed with the same machine on identical paper.

thousands of ampoules”—which he charged to the It read: “I understand she lodged a will with you as I as practice. His subterfuge was uncovered on September a friend typed it out for her.” The note bore no return 25, 1975, and his partners fired Shipman on the spot, address, and it was signed “S. Smith,” a name unknown provoking a furious outburst. Shipman entered a drug to Grundy’s family and friends.

rehab center, emerging in early 1976 to plead guilty on The witnesses to Mrs. Grundy’s will were soon iden-eight charges of forging prescriptions. The court dis-tified as two of Dr. Shipman’s patients. Both had signed missed 67 identical counts and fined him £600. In retro-the document—folded to hide its text—while waiting in spect, authorities would question whether Shipman his office for appointments, on June 9, 1998. Further really used the vast amount of pethidine, a powerful investigation led to Shipman’s arrest on suspicion of narcotic, himself, or whether some was used to murder murder, on September 7, 1998. Over the next three patients in his care. The question is still unresolved.

months, 17 of Shipman’s former patients were exhumed Despite his recent scandal, Dr. Shipman found work for autopsy. All were women between the

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