Personal Data
| Name: | Harold Frederick Shipman |
| Nickname: | Doctor Death / Angel of Death |
| Born: | 14 Jan 1946 – Nottingham, England |
| Status: | Married |
| Occupation: | Medical Doctor (G.P.) |
| Died: | 13 Jan 2004, HMP Wakefield, England |
Crime Data
| Classification: | Serial Killer |
| Country: | UK |
| Active: | 1979 – 1988 |
| Victims: | 250+ |
| M.O.: | Injected patients with diamorphine |
| Arrested: | 7 Sep 1998 |
| Fate: | Life Imprisonment: Hanged himself in his cell |
History
Shipman was a family doctor (GP, general practitioner) who graduated from Leeds School of Medicine in 1970.
Suspicions arose in 1998 due to the large amount of cremation forms Shipman needed countersigning by other doctors. Police found insufficient evidence for any charges.
The daughter of one of his victims further reported him to police when her mother died and the will was found changed in favour of £386,000 left to Shipman. Police discovered he had forged the will and found diamorphine in the victim’s exhumed body. They went on to find a pattern of diamorphine overdoses in 15 specimen patients. Shipman had signed the death certificates and then falsified medical records to make it appear that the victims were more seriously ill than they were.
Shipman’s trial began in October 1999. It lasted until January the following year. The jury took 6 days to return a guilty verdict in all 15 charges of murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
There were several investigations into Shipman’s previous history. The Shipman Inquiry found that he had probably killed 215 patients between 1975 and 1998. A further investigation concluded he may have murdered up to 7 people including a four-year-old in his early career after qualifying as a doctor.
Out of the 459 people who died under Shipman’s care, the final inquiry concluded that he had killed 250 people.
Shipman denied all the charges and protested his innocence until his death. He hanged himself from the window bars in his cell with bedsheets the day before his 58th birthday on the 13th January 2004.
Victims
Marie West • Irene Turner • Lizzie Adams • Jean Lilley • Ivy Lomas • Muriel Grimshaw • Marie Quinn • Kathleen Wagstaff • Bianka Pomfret • Norah Nuttall • Pamela Hillier • Maureen Ward • Winifred Mellor • Joan Melia • Kathleen Grundy
Determined by Case Review:
Acton, Lily • Adams, Lizzie • Adkinson, Sarah • Adshead, Norman • Adshead, Rose Ann • Aitken, Irene • Andrew, Dorothy Mary • Andrew, Joseph • Andrew, Mary Emma • Arrandale, Albert • Arrowsmith, Winifred • Ashcroft, Netta • Ashton, Dora Elizabeth • Ashton, Ellen • Ashworth, Ada • Ashworth, Brenda • Ashworth, Elizabeth • Ashworth, James • Ashworth, Sarah • Aveyard, Clara Ethel • Baddeley, Elizabeth Mary • Baddeley, John • Bagshaw, Bertha • Barber, Squire • Bardsley, Joseph • Bardsley, Lily • Bardsley, Nellie • Barker, Elsie • Barlow, Charles Henry • Barnes, James Edward • Battersby, Elizabeth • Baxter, William • Beech, Joseph • Bell, Norman John • Bennett, Ethel • Bennett, Frances • Bennett, Nellie • Bennison, Charlotte • Bent, Arthur • Berry, Irene • Bill, Edith Annie • Birchall, Mary Ivy • Bird, Violet May • Black, Alice • Boardman, Kathleen May • Boardman, Mary Louisa • Bogle, Geoffrey • Bolland, Alice • Bowers, Mary Elizabeth • Bradshaw, Miriam • Brady, Edith • Bramwell, Harold • Bramwell, Vera • Brassington, Charles Geoffrey • Brassington, Nancy Anne • Bridge, Doris • Bridge, Jane • Brierley, Albert • Brierley, Edith • Broadbent, Lily • Brock, Edith • Brocklehurst, Charles Edward • Brocklehurst, Vera • Brooder, Irene • Brookes, Lily • Brookes, May • Brown, Alice • Brown, Mary Alice • Brown, William Henry • Buckland, Edward • Buckley, Ethel • Burke, Elizabeth Mary • Butcher, Lydia Edith • Cains, Ida • Callaghan, Sean Stuart • Calverley, Edith • Campbell, Annie • Carradice, Marion • Carrington, Alice • Carroll, Josephine May • Cartwright, Hannah • Chadwick, Wilfred • Challinor, Ivy Elizabeth • Challoner, Genevieve • Chapman, Irene • Chappell, Alice • Chappell, Wilfred • Charlton, John • Charnock, George • Cheetham, Albert • Cheetham, Alfred • Cheetham, Elsie • Cheetham, Hena • Cheetham, Norah • Cheetham, Thomas • Chidlow, Amy • Clarke, Fanny • Clayton, Elsie • Clayton, Frances • Clee, Beatrice Helen • Clough, James • Condon, Thomas • Connaughton, Alice Hilda • Connors, Michael • Conway, Margaret Ann • Coomber, Frederick • Cooper, Ann • Copeland, Erla • Copeland, Sydney Hoskins • Couldwell, Constance Anne • Coulthard, Ann • Coutts, Mary • Couzens, Hilda Mary • Cox, Eileen Theresa • Crompton, Eileen Daphne • Crompton, Frank • Crompton, John • Crossley, Lily • Cullen, Lilian • Cuthbert, Valerie • Davies, Cissie • Davies, Eric • Davies, Fred • Davies, Miriam • Dawson, Fanny • Dean, Elsie Lorna • Dean, Joan Edwina • Delaney, Bessie • Denham, Christopher • Dentith, Frederick • Devenport, Ronnie • Dixon, Alice • Dobb, Edgar • Dolan, Ethel • Drinkwater, Alice • Drummond, Joseph • Dudley, Mary Rose • Dutton, Elaine • Earls, Doris • Earnshaw, William • Eddleston, Harold • Eddleston, Monica • Edge, Agnes • Evans, Bethel Anne • Everall, Hannah • Everall, Joseph Vincent • Farrell, Phyllis • Fernley, Marie Antoinette • Firman, Mary Elizabeth • Fish, Hilda • Fitton, Hilda • Fletcher, Dorothy • Fletcher, Elizabeth • Floyd, Arthur • Fogg, Leah • Foulkes, Edwin • Fowden, Thomas • Fox, Moira Ashton • France, John • Freeman, Harold • Freeman, Winifred • Frith, Hannah • Galpin, Minnie Doris Irene • Garlick, Rose • Garlick, Violet • Garratt, Mary Alice • Garside, Millicent • Gaskell, Marion • Gaunt, Mary • Gee, Nellie • Gess, Clifford • Givens, William • Goddard, Edith • Godfrey, Elsie • Golds, Annie Elizabeth • Gorton, Alice Maude • Graham, Edith • Gray, Rebecca • Greenhalgh, John Sheard • Grimshaw, Annie • Grimshaw, Muriel • Grundy, Donald Anthony • Grundy, Kathleen • Grundy, Nora • Hackney, Clara • Hackney, Clara • Hadfield, Violet • Hague, William • Hall, Josephine • Halliday, Frank • Hallsworth, Janet • Hamblett, Leonora • Hamer, Mary Emma • Hammond, Caroline Veronica • Hampson, Jesse • Hancock, Christine • Hannible, Elsie • Harding, Joan Milray • Harris, Charles • Harris, Harriet • Harrison, Christina • Harrison, David Alan • Harrison, Marion • Harrison, Muriel Eveline • Harrison, Samuel • Harrop, Elsie • Haslam, Mary Elizabeth • Hawkins, Sarah • Healey, Winifred • Heapey, Clifford Barnes • Heapey, Gladys • Heathcote, Irene • Heginbotham, Olive • Hennefer, Ellen • Hett, Mary Jane • Heywood, Ada • Heywood, Florence • Hibbert, Hilda Mary • Hickson, Robert • Higginbottom, George Eric • Higginbottom, Peter • Higgins, Barry • Higgins, Lily • Higham, Marion Elizabeth • Highley, Ruth • Higson, Ellen • Hill, Sarah Ann • Hillier, Pamela Marguerite • Hilton, Ada Matley • Hilton, John • Hirst, Emma • Holgate, Ethel Doris • Holland, Alline Devolle • Holt, Alice • Hopkins, Dorothy Doretta • Howcroft, John • Hulme, Hilda • Hurd, May • Iwanina, Jozef • Jackman, Harold Edward • Jackson, Maureen Lamonnier • Jackson, Nancy • Jameson, Ronald • Jeffries, Beatrice • Johnson, Norah • Johnson, Richard • Johnston, Leah • Jones, Alice Mary • Jones, David • Jones, Hannah • Jones, Ivy • Jones, Jane • Jones, Robert Edward • Jordan, Mary Ellen • Keating, Mary • Kellett, Ethel May • Kellett, Fred • Kelly, Ellen • Kelly, Moira • Kennedy, Alice • Killan, Charles Henry • King, Elsie • King, James Joseph • Kingsley, Mary • Kitchen, Alice Christine • Lacey, Renee • Leach, Florence • Leech, Edith • Leech, William Henry • Lees, Olive • Leigh, Carrie • Leigh, Joseph • Leigh, Wilfred • Lewis, Elsie • Lewis, Florence • Lewis, Peter • Lilley, Jean • Lingard, Robert Henry • Linn, Laura Frances • Livesey, John Louden • Llewellyn, Edna May • Lomas, Harry • Lomas, Ivy • Long, Dorothy • Longmate, Thomas Alfred • Lord, Jane Ellen • Lowe, Beatrice • Lowe, Esther • Lowe, May • Lyons, Eva • MacConnell, Charles • Mackenzie, Selina • Mackie, Christina McCulloch • Mansfield, Mary Ann • Mansfield, Walter • Marley, Martha • Marsland, Sarah Hannah • Matley, Maud • McDonald, Kathleen • McLaren, William James • McLoughlin, Gertrude • Melia, Joan May • Mellor, Elizabeth Ellen • Mellor, Samuel • Mellor, Winifred • Meredith, Oscar • Metcalfe, Margaret • Middleton, Deborah • Middleton, Mary • Mills, Samuel • Mitchell, Cyril • Mitchell, Wilbert • Molesdale, John Bennett • Morgan, Emily • Moss, Bertha • Moss, Hannah • Mottram, George Henry • Mottram, Hannah Helena • Mottram, Pamela Grace • Moult, Thomas • Mullen, Nellie • Mycock, Miriam Rose Emily • Needham, Nora • Nicholls, Violet • Nichols, Fanny • Nichols, Lily • Nuttall, Hervey • Nuttall, Norah • O’Sullivan, Thomas • Ogden, Mary • Oldham, Agnes • Oldham, Samuel • Oswald, Frances Elaine • Otter, Enid • Ousey, Margaret • Ovcar-Robinson, Konrad Peter • Overton, Renate Eldtraude • Oxley, Phyllis • Parker, Marjorie • Parkes, Annie • Parkin, Laura Victoria • Parr, Bertha • Pearce, Elizabeth • Pedley, Rosetta • Penney, Vara • Pickering, Leah • Pickup, Kenneth • Pickup, Mavis Mary • Pitman, Edith • Platt, Elsie • Platt, Marion • Pomfret, Bianka • Potts, Frances • Potts, Reginald • Powers, Annie Alexandra • Preston, Ada Marjorie • Prestwich, Alice • Proud, Ethel May • Quinn, Marie • Ralphs, Anne Lilian • Ralphs, Ernest Colin • Rawling, Alice • Reade, Audrey • Redfern, Tom • Renwick, Dorothea Hill • Richards, Jose Kathleen Diana • Richardson, Alice • Riley, Stanley • Roberts, Edith • Roberts, Esther Hannah • Roberts, Gladys • Robinson, Eileen • Robinson, Eveline • Robinson, Lavinia • Robinson, Mildred • Rogers, Elizabeth Ann • Rostron, Jane Frances • Rowarth, Dorothy • Rowbottom, Annie • Rowland, Jane Isabella • Royles, Elsie • Royston, Betty • Rudol, Ernest • Russell, Tom Balfour • Sankey, Margaret • Saunders, Albert Edward • Saunders, Gladys • Scott, Edith • Scott, Elsie • Sellors, Kate Maud • Sharples, Cicely • Shaw, Joseph • Shaw, Leonard • Shaw, Lilian • Shaw, Neville • Shaw, Susan Eveline • Shawcross, Edna • Shawcross, Ernest • Shawcross, Mabel • Shelmerdine, Jack Leslie • Shelmerdine, Jane Elizabeth • Shore, Lily • Sidebotham, Florence • Sigley, Elizabeth Teresa • Simpson, Kenneth Harry • Slater, Albert • Slater, Florence • Slater, Lena Norah • Slater, May • Smith, Alice • Smith, Dora Elizabeth • Smith, Emma • Smith, Kenneth Ernest • Smith, Margaret • Smith, Mary Alice • Smith, Sidney Arthur • Smith, Winifred Isabel • Sparkes, Monica Rene • Squirrell, Alice • Stafford, Harry • Stafford, Kate Elizabeth • Stansfield, Joe Ainscow • Stocks, Louisa • Stone, John • Stopford, Arthur Henderson • Stopford, Harriet • Strickland, Ruth • Sumner, Grace • Swann, Bessie • Swann, Robert • Swindells, Emmeline • Taylor, Caroline Mary • Taylor, Edna Mary • Taylor, Florence • Taylor, Lily Newby • Taylor, Mary • Tempest, Mary Ann • Thomas, Alice • Thomas, Sarah Ann • Thornton, Maria • Tideswell, Sarah • Tierney, Angela Philomena • Tingle, Walter • Toft, Beatrice • Tomlin, Mary • Townsend, Margaret • Tucker, Dorothy • Tuff, Mary • Tuffin, Winifred Amy • Turner, Frances Elizabeth • Turner, Irene • Uttley, Stanley • Vickers, Frederick • Vickers, Margaret Mary • Virgin, Lucy • Vizor, George Edgar • Vizor, May • Wagstaff, George Lawton • Wagstaff, Jessie Irene • Wagstaff, Laura Kathleen • Waldron, Margaret Anne • Walker, Edward • Walker, Ellen • Walker, Henrietta • Walker, Winifred Mary • Waller, Harry • Waller, Marjorie Hope • Walls, Mary • Walton, Sydney • Warburton, Ada • Ward, Maureen Alice • Ward, Minnie • Ward, Muriel Margaret • Ward, Percy • Wardle, Eric • Wareing, William Hill • Warren, May • Wass, Kathleen May • Watkins, Annie • West, Maria • Wharam, Ellen Frances • Wharmby, Lavinia • White, Mona Ashton • Whitehead, Amy • Whitham, Colin • Whittaker, Maureen • Whittaker, Violet Mary • Whittingslow, Vera • Whittle, Edith • Wibberley, Edith • Wilcockson, Joseph Frank • Wilkinson, Annie • Wilkinson, Maud • Williams, Albert Redvers • Williams, Emily • Williamson, Sarah Jane • Wills, Jack • Wilmore, Margaret • Wilson, Muriel Elsie • Wimpeney, Mark • Winston, George • Winston, Olive • Winterbottom, Mary • Wood, Annie • Wood, Charles Henry • Wood, Fanny • Wood, James • Woodhead, Joyce • Woodhead, Kenneth Wharmby
Books
Harold Shipman: Mind Set on Murder – Carole Peters (2004, Carlton Books)
The Good Doctor: Portrait of a Serial Killer – Wensley Clarkson (2001, Blake Publishing)
Addicted to Murder : The True Story of Dr. Harold Shipman – Mikaela Sitford (2000, Virgin Books)Harold Shipman: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Serial Killer – Ryan Green (2015, Createspace Independent Publishing)
Harold Shipman: Doctor Death: The Shocking Case of the Harold Shipman Murders – Roger Harrington (2018, independently published)
Doctor Death : The True Story of Harold Shipman – Natalie Marshall (2016, Createspace Independent Publishing)
Evil Beyond Belief – How and Why Dr Harold Shipman Murdered 357 People – Wensley Clarkson (2005, John Blake)
Retelling the story of Harold Shipman – Dr Steve Hyer (2017, independently published)
