哈罗德·希普曼1946—2004

希普曼多次利用医生的职责接近病患，并对病患注射大量吗啡使其致死，有时还会伪造病患遗嘱，借此获取病患的遗产。

法院将其起诉后，确认了希普曼至少谋杀了十五名病患，但法院调查小组审查了希普曼负责的病人病历后认为可能有200多人受害，但没有明确证据。

在2000年1月31日，希普曼被英国法庭判处终生监禁，并被法官提议永不释放。两年后，英国内政大臣戴维·布兰克特接纳法官的建议。2004年1月13日，哈罗德·希普曼在狱中吊颈自杀身亡。

法庭审讯后，英国医师协会（当时主席：德姆·珍纳特·史密斯，Dame Janet Smith）指有足够证据证明希普曼杀了215个人，其中80%为女性。最年轻的的受害者是41岁的彼德·刘易斯（Peter Lewis）。但有非官方估计他共杀了250人。

Harold Frederick Shipman (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004) 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 250 victims over 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 either with a fatal dose of drugs or by prescribing an abnormal amount.

As of 2026, 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. Shipman's case has often been compared to that of doctor John Bodkin Adams. Some nurses, such as Beverley Allitt and Lucy Letby, have also been convicted of murdering patients in their care.

Early and personal life

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.

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 (equivalent to £4,660 in 2025) and briefly attended a drug rehabilitation clinic in York.

Detection of murder

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.

Trial and imprisonment

Shipman's trial began at Preston Crown Court on 5 October 1999. He was charged with the murders of fifteen women by lethal injections of diamorphine between 1995 and 1998:

Shipman's legal representatives tried unsuccessfully to have the Grundy case tried separately, 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.

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.

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).

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.

A Mini-CD album by V/Vm, Dr. Fred Plays... His Favorite Medical Drama Theme Tunes, released in 2001, referenced and parodied Shipman, featuring an unlicensed photo of him on the cover. It received "adverse publicity" in the Daily Sport and the Daily Record.