In the winter of 1998, a general practitioner in Manchester, England, noticed that one of her colleagues, Dr. Harold Shipman, appeared to have an unusually high death rate among his elderly female patients. An inquiry was opened into the matter, but it went nowhere and was quickly closed with no finding of wrongdoing. Then, in August, another accusation was leveled at Shipman: he was responsible for killing more than twenty of his patients. This time, the inquiry was taken more seriously and the reality was far worse than anyone could have imagined. The arrest and prosecution of Harold Shipman rocked England’s medical community and shocked people around the world. Although he was ultimately charged with and convicted of fifteen murders, investigators suspect Shipman of having killed as many as two hundred and fifty people over the course of his career, making him the most prolific killer in the nation’s history. ReferencesBBC News. 2003. 'I feel guilty over Shipman killings'. September 30. Accessed September 1, 2026. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester. Beal, Peter, and Harriet Tolputt. 1999. "Shipman 'bullied relatives not to ask for autopsy'." The Independent, December 7: 4. Carter, Helen. 1999. "Doctor enjoyed killing, court told." The Guardian, October 12: 3. —. 2000. "Harold Shipman, guilty of 15 murders. But did he kill 150?" The Guardian, February 1: 1. Carter, Helen, and Paddy Heaney. 2000. "Put aside emotions, judge tells Shipman trial jurors." The Guardian, January 11: 7. Clark, Jim. 2005. North West: Shipman inquiry. January 28. Accessed August 31, 2026. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/politics_show/. Duffin, Christian. 2002. "Shipman inquiry nurses were afraid to speak out." Nursing Standard, December 18: 9. Herbert, Ian. 2000. "A hard-working and popular GP." The Independent, February 1: 3. —. 1999. "Doctor murdered elderly woman while her friend waited outside in the kitchen." The Independent, October 13: 5. —. 2000. "Shipman 'duped and bullied the grieving reltives'." The Independent, January 6: 7. —. 2004. "The GP who betrayed his calling." The Independent, January 14: 1. Jenkins, Russell. 1998. "Police examine 19 deaths after widow changes will for doctor." The Times, August 20. —. 1998. "Priest tells of anguish at patient exhumations." The Times, October 15. Kelso, Paul. 1999. "Women had heart disease, says murder case doctor." The Guardian, November 27: 6. Morris, Nigel. 2004. "Ombudsman to lead inquiry into 'suicide'." The Independent, January 14: 7. Peters, Carole. 2005. Harold Shipman: Mind Set on Murder. London, UK: Carlton. Queiro, Alicia. 2014. Shipman effect: How a serial killer changed medical practice forever. December 1. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-30192721. The Guardian. 2004. "Life sentence: A loner, a drug addict and a mass murderer." The Guardian, January 14: G3. Ward, David. 2004. "Behind a mask of ordinariness." The Guardian, January 13: 3. —. 1999. "Doctor 'killed 15 for pleasure and power'." The Guardian, October 12: 1. —. 1998. "Doctor on three further murder charges after bodies exhumed." The Guardian, October 8. —. 1999. "GP faces 15 murder charges." The Guardian, February 23. Ward, David, and Helen Carter. 2000. "The doctor Jekyll of Hyde." The Guardian , February 1: 3. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022) Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023) Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
