Harold Shipman , Doctor Death

Harold Fredrick Shipman who was known to his co workers and friends as Fred was one of if not the most notorious serial killers in history. He is credited with 255 murders though the real number may be much higher. He was a medical doctor or a general practicioner as they are known in the UK.It is now said by Police that Shipman killed over 400 people and that only 3 of those were men. 397 were women. This indeed makes Harold Shipman the worst serial killer to ever live.  

It was on January 31 2000 that a Jury found Shipman guilty of 15 murders. The Judge in the case then sentenced Shipman to life in prison and recomended that he never be released. The Home Secretery confirmed the sentence more than two years later.

Afterwards there was a special board set up called the Shipman Inquiry and they ruled that there was enough evidence to say that Shipman had killed 255 persons of which 238 could be positively identified. If that is so then Shipman is the worst serial killer in history. It is interesting to note that Shipman is the only British Doctor to ever be convicted for killing his patients.

Harold Shipman was found hanging in his cell at Wakefield Prison on the morning of January 13th 2004 at 6.20 a.m. and he was pronounced dead at 8.10 a.m. He would have been 58 on January 14th 2004. Shipman used his be sheets from his bed and hung himself from the bars in his cell. Many of his victims families felt cheated that Shipman had chosen to take his own life and would not have to spend life in prison.

Police investagators now say that Shipman may very well have been greatly influenced by his mother. Harold Frederick Shipman, called Fred or Freddy was born into a working class family on June 14 1946. It is said that even in childhood Shipman kept himself at a distance to other people. Vera his mother dexided who Harold could play with and when. She made him wear a tie most of the time even as a little boy and neighbors said you could tell that Harold was her favorite child. She told friends and family that Harold had the most hope of her three children. And friends and neighbors said Vera Shipman was always trying to act as if her family was better than anyone else. Vera always told Harold that he was superior to anyone else and that he should act that way.

And then Vera Shipman came down with lung cancer and she went quickly. In the end she was in a lot of pain and Harold sat with her as she died. He would hurry home every day from school to have tea with her. Vera's death left Harold with a tremendous sense of loss and he saw many times over and over that morphine was the only thing that brought her relief. And many police officials think it was this scene he was playing over and over in his mind hundreds of times later as he killed his patients.Now estimated by police officials at 400 victims or more.