How did harold shipman get caught

Begs the question- how did he get away with it for so long?Caught too late In early 1998, Linda Reynolds from the Donneybrook Surgery contacted South Manchester District’s coroner, John Pollard, expressing her concerns regarding the high death rate amongst Shipman’s patients. The matter was brought to the police, but following a small enquiry that gathered little to no evidence, the case was dropped and he was free to kill more innocent people. In August of the same year, taxi driver John Shaw also raised his concerns to police after suspecting Shipman of murdering 21 of his patients. But once again, this was ignored. Justice?The Kathleen Grundy revelation sparked an inquiry into 15 similar cases, all of which followed a similar pattern. Each patient, most of whom were elderly, had died following a deadly dose of diamorphine and then had their medical records falsified to indicate poor health. On the 5th October 1999, Shipman appeared at Preston Crown Court, accused of the murders and after six days of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of 15 counts of murder and one of forgery on New Year’s Eve 2000, sentencing him to life imprisonment with the recommendation he should never be released. The Shipman Inquiry In January 2001, a senior West Yorkshire detective, Chris Gregg, conducted an investigation into the 22 deaths. In July 2002 he submitted his findings and concluded that 459 people had died under his care between 1971-1998, 215 of whom were confirmed to have been murdered. Shipman’s motive was often for financial gain; however, psychologists have pointed out eerie similarities between his modus operandi and the nature of his own mother’s death. Some have even suggested that Shipman’s distorted sense of justice encouraged him to kill to put his patients ‘out of their misery’. But did he really believe his actions were motivated by kindness?Harold Shipman did not look like a serial killer. Then again, does evil really have a face? Lurking behind his kind smile and soft features was a man so obsessed with power that it drove him to kill over 200 people who trusted him. Manipulative, deceptive and cruel, he was the ultimate predator and will always be remembered as Britain’s most prolific serial killer. Some still remember him, others just know his name, but Harold Shipman’s cruel crusade of death will linger in our memories until the end of time.

INTRODUCTIONHarold Frederick Shipman, better known as Frederick Shipman was a British serial killer who worked as a medical practitioner in England. He was declared guilty on January 31, 2000, at Preston, England, for the murder of 15 patients, with a list of around 200 victims, or probably more. 80% of his victims were old-age females.Born in 1946, Harold was brought up in a working middle-class family in Manchester. He received a medical degree in the 1970s from Leeds University and became a general practitioner at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Practice in Lancashire. In 1975, it was discovered that he dishonestly consumed opiate pethidine by writing fraudulent prescriptions for which he was banished from the service and sentenced to pay compensation and fine by the Halifax Magistrates Court. He was sent to the drug rehabilitation center. Later, from August 1992, he began working as a practitioner in Greater Manchester until 1998, when he was arrested.In July 1998, Shipman was caught in an inquiry of one of his patients’ death, Mrs. Kathleen Grundy (age 81). Thereafter, the investigation circle widened when the mode of death of his other patients was acknowledged. On 31st January 2000, Harold was convicted by the Jury at Preston Crown Court.BACKGROUND OF THE CASEMrs. Grundy, a widow, was in good health according to her age and lived a healthy social and economic life. She was found dead in her home on 24th June 1998, shortly after Dr. Shipman had visited her. Her daughter Mrs. Angela Woodruff got suspicious of her death on the discovery that Mrs. Grundy has bequeathed her entire estate worth £386,000 to the doctor, leaving nothing for her grandchildren. Shipman had passed her forged death certificate mentioning a reason for old age. However, according to the scientific analysis carried out in August 1998, morphine poisoning was held responsible for her death.Few days before Mrs. Grundy’s death Shipman had visited her, compelling her to participate in research related to ageing process. This reason paved the way to visit Mrs. Grundy on a regular basis. A day before her death, he visited her to get her ears syringed and notified her that he needs her blood sample for which he managed to visit her at 8.30 am, the next morning. The next morning (24th June), when she didn’t visit her friend’s house, two of her colleagues Mr. John Green and Mr. Ronald Pickford reached her house during

Ask host to enable sharing for playback controlEpisode 17: Charles Manson7/21/2022Today we will be starting off our series on Cults with a two part episode on one of the most famous cult leaders of all time: Charles Manson. In this episode we will be discussing the early childhood of Charles Manson and the way he recruited others into 'The Family'.We would love to hear your thoughts!Love S & EPatreon: host to enable sharing for playback controlEpisode 16: Beverley Allitt6/30/2022Finishing off our series off killer medical professionals, we will be talking about the crimes of Beverley Allitt. Allitt would take advantage of the trust and security that a hospital gave her, and committed the ultimate betrayal against the parents of children undergoing mostly routine monitoring, by taking 4 lives. Her weapon of choice was a syringe, she would inject children with lethal doses of insulin, potassium or sometimes just air to induce a respiratory collapse in small children....Ask host to enable sharing for playback controlEp 15: Marcel Petiot5/19/2022Today's episode is the second in our 'Killer Doctors" series and we will be looking at the case of Marcel Petiot; an evil and corrupt Doctor who took advantage of the worldwide unrest during World War 2 to commit hideous atrocities.We'd love to know your thoughts and feedback, so let us know what you think!Love S & EPatreon: host to enable sharing for playback controlEpisode 14: Harold Shipman5/5/2022In today's episode we are starting off our series on Killer Doctors by discussing the case of Harold Shipman who is one of the world's most prolific serial killers. Shipman abused his power to end the lives of hundreds of innocent patients. We will be discussing his crimes and motivation to commit such atrocities. We would love to hear your thoughts and theories! P.S the documentary discussed in this episode is "The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story" by the BBC.Ask host to enable sharing for playback controlEp 13: Lizzie Borden4/21/2022One warm August morning is a good time to spend with family, right? Apparently not for Lizzie Borden. Fueled by feelings of being cheated from her birthright- and jealousy- Lizzie was accused of a strike a total of no less than 28 to her father and step-mother in their own home... But did she do it? Join us to discuss the evidence surrounding this case, with our special guest, the wood pigeon perched just above Sofie's chimney close to where we recorded :)Ask host to enable sharing for playback controlEp 12: Typhoid Mary4/7/2022In todays episode we are looking at the case of Mary Mallon, more commonly known as Typhoid Mary. Mary was a woman who wouldn't let a few deaths get in the way of her

Consultation session with Mrs. Grundy. This proved the doubt that the doctor must have obtained her signature as her consent for the research and the signatures of two of his patients as witnesses. He then copied those signatures on the forged will.The handwriting evidence indicated that there was a discontinuity in both the signatures which usually occurs as a result of the act of forging. Also, the bigger size of Mrs. Grundy’s signature was inconsistent with her normal signatures.Other evidence that pointed suspicion on Mr. Shipman was the sudden death of Mrs. Grundy as it was difficult to rely upon the entries mentioned in the medical report about drug abuse because she was in a perfectly healthy state. Being a security-conscious person, leaving the main door unlocked after Dr. Shipman left was another major reason to get suspicious over the testimony.MOTIVEMotives for crime by the Doctor were seemingly unclear. According to a few people, it was suggested that it must be out of vengeance for his mother’s death as she was infected by lung cancer, and to ease the pain, she used to administer morphine injections. However, few argued that this must have happened as he was practicing euthanasia so that he can remove older people from the population. A third reason was also surfaced, that he might be deriving pleasure by killing patients, as being a doctor, he had the power of life and death. Monetary benefits behind the forgery also cannot be overruled. These were the speculated reasons regarding his motives for the crimes committed by him.JUDGEMENTOn 31st January 2000, Mr. Shipman was found guilty of 15 murders by the administration of diamorphine in lethal doses, and for forging Mrs. Grundy’s will. He was sentenced to life in prison for 15 consecutive life sentences. Besides, he also received four years of imprisonment for will forgery. Later investigations in his case revealed the fact that he was also responsible for over 200 murders.AFTERMATHShipman committed suicide in Wakefield prison, West Yorkshire at the morning in his cell by hanging. On the eve of his 58th birthday, he was officially declared dead on 13 January 2004.REFERENCESDerrick J. Pounder, September 2003. The Case of Dr. Shipman, The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Vol. 24(3).Keith Soothill, September 2001. The Harold Shipman case: a sociological perspective, The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, Vol 12(2): 260–262.Keith Soothill, David Wilson, December 2005. Theorising the puzzle

His killing spree, which spanned over 20 years, affected hundreds of families in Manchester, trickling down through generations who still feel the weight of his vile crimes. His reign of terror is one of the most documented cases of mass murder ever recorded and is still to this day one of the UK’s most devasting events. He may have been a husband, father and friend to some but to the rest of the world, he was a psychotic narcissistic who abused his position of power. He was, and always will be, the Doctor of Death. The making of a murdererHarold Frederick Shipman was born into a working-class family on the 14th January 1946 and despite being one of four children, he grew into a shy, awkward loner. As the favourite child of his domineering mother, Shipman was devastated when his mother died from terminal lung cancer on the 21st June 1963, when he was just a teenager studying for his A Levels. Having devoted his life to her care, Shipman became fascinated by the effects of morphine and how it alleviated his mother’s pain when administered by doctors. Though her passing was tragic, it inspired him to pursue a career in medicine and seven years later, he graduated from medical school, taking his first job at Pontefract General Infirmary, Yorkshire. In 1974 he joined a medical practice in Todmorden, Yorkshire, where he thrived as a family practitioner. Within months, he was plagued with scandal when he allegedly became addicted to the painkiller Pethidine and was caught forging large prescriptions for himself. After being forced to resign in 1975, he entered a drug rehabilitation program and was handed a small fine for conviction of forgery. Despite this, he was still free to practice medicine and in 1977, was hired by Donneybrook Medical Centre in Hyde where he earned the respect of colleagues and patients. After nearly two decades in Hyde, he opened up his own practice just across the road from Donneybrook and continued his work as a respected, hard-working doctor. The game is upOn the 7th September 1998, Shipman was arrested for the murder of wealthy widow, Kathleen Grundy, who died aged 81 at her home on the 24th June earlier that year. The last person to have seen her alive was her doctor, the same man who insisted an autopsy was not necessary; the same man whom Kathleen’s estate had been left to. Horrified by the discovery, Kathleen’s daughter, Angela Woodruff grew increasingly suspicious of the events surrounding her mother’s passing. After alerting the police, her belief that Shipman had killed her mother and forged the will were supported by Detective Superintendent Bernard Postles who quickly ordered for Kathleen’s body to be exhumed. The post-mortem was conclusive. She had died of a diamorphine overdose within the timeframe of Shipman’s visit. It became apparent almost immediately that this wasn’t Shipman’s first killing- in fact, upon review of seized medical records- he would be suspected of around 260 murders. But this

A distance of fifteen yards. He would have made a great baseball catcher or an excellent slip fielder. On one occasion he seized a rupee coin from me (a week’s pocket money in those days) and swallowed it neatly."Although Harold never seemed to drink any water, he loved the rain. We always knew when it was going to rain because Harold would start chuckling to himself about an hour before the first raindrops fell."This used to irritate Aunt Ruby. She was always being caught in the rain. Harold would be chuckling when she left the house. And when she returned, drenched to the skin, he would be in fits of laughter."As storm clouds would gather, and gusts of wind would shake the banana trees, Harold would get very excited, and his chuckle would change to an eerie whistle."‘Wheee…wheee,’ he would scream, and then, as the first drops of rain hit the verandah steps, and the scent of the fresh earth passed through the house, he would start roaring with pleasure.""Road To Badrinath"If you have travelled up the Mandakini valley, and then cross over into the valley of the Alaknanda, you are immediately struck by the contrast. The Mandakini is gentler, richer in vegetation, almost pastoral in places; the Alaknanda is awesome, precipitous, threatening, and seemingly inhospitable to those who must live and earn a livelihood in its confines."Even as we left Chamoli and began the steady, winding climb to Badrinath, the nature of the terrain underwent a dramatic change. No longer did green fields slope gently down to the riverbed. Here they clung precariously to rocky slopes and ledges that grew steeper and narrower, while the river below, impatient to reach its confluence with the Bhagirathi at Deoprayag, thundered along a narrow gorge." ... Joshimath, the winter resort of the