Editing Harold Shipman

{{short description|English doctor and serial killer (1946–2004)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Harold Shipman
| image             = Harold Shipman mug shot.jpg
| caption           = Shipman {{circa}} 2000
| birth_name        = Harold Frederick Shipman
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1946|1|14|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Nottingham]], [[Nottinghamshire]], England
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|2004|1|13|1946|1|14|df=y}}
| death_place       = [[HM Prison Wakefield]], [[West Yorkshire]], England
| occupation        = [[General practitioner]]
| alma_mater        = [[University of Leeds]]
| spouse            = {{marriage|Primrose Oxtoby|5 November 1966}}
| children          = 4
| victims           = 250 confirmed (15 convicted), possibly more<ref name="shipman inquiry"/>
| beginyear         = 1975
| country           = England
| states            = 
| endyear           = 1998
| apprehended       = 7 September 1998
| alias             = {{unbulleted list|"Dr. Death"<ref name=angel>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1431104.stm|title=Shipman known as 'angel of death'|date=9 July 2001|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 September 2014}}</ref>|"The Angel of Death"<ref name=angel/>|"The Good Doctor"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/manchester/harold-shipman-jr6gv7xx532|title=Harold Shipman|date=18 September 2018|access-date=18 September 2018|newspaper=The Times}}</ref>}}
| penalty           = [[Life imprisonment]] ([[whole life tariff]])
| death_cause       = [[Suicide by hanging]]
}}
'''Harold Frederick Shipman''' (14 January 1946&nbsp;– 13 January 2004), known to acquaintances as '''Fred Shipman''', was an English [[General practitioner|doctor in general practice]] and [[serial killer]]. He is considered to be one of the [[List of serial killers by number of victims|most prolific serial killers in modern history]], with an estimated 250 victims over roughly 30 years. On 31 January 2000, Shipman was convicted of [[Murder in English law|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 [[Suicide by hanging|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 with either a fatal dose of drugs or prescribing an abnormal amount. {{As of|2025}} 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 life and education==
Harold Frederick Shipman was born on 14 January 1946 on the [[Bestwood Estate]], a council estate in [[Nottingham]], the second of three children.<ref>{{cite news| last= Oliver| first=Mark |title=Portrait of a necrophiliac| url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jan/13/shipman.health |newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 January 2004}}</ref> His father, also Harold Frederick Shipman (1914–1985), was a lorry driver; his mother was Vera ({{nee|Brittan}}; 1919–1963).<ref name="abc RN">{{cite episode| last=Swan |first=Norman |title=Why Some Doctors Kill |series=The Health Report |date=29 July 2002 |others=Brigitte Seega (producer); Robert Kaplan (guest) |url= https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/healthreport/why-some-doctors-kill/3517994 |access-date=1 April 2010 |network=ABC Australia |station=Radio National}} [Programme transcript]</ref><ref name= "bookref1">{{cite book| last= Kaplan| first=Robert M.|title =Medical Murder: Disturbing Cases of Doctors Who Kill|publisher=Allen & Unwin| year= 2009| page= 80|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-4DYxI65nAUC |isbn=978-1-74175-610-4}}</ref> His working-class parents were devout [[Methodists]].<ref name="abc RN"/><ref name="bookref1"/>

Shipman was particularly close to his mother, who died of [[lung cancer]] when he was aged 17.<ref name="bookref1"/><ref>''[[Born to Kill?]]'', [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]], 2 August 2012.</ref><ref name="independent1">{{cite news|last=Herbert|first=Ian|title=How a humble GP perverted his medical skill to become Britain's most prolific mass killer|date=14 January 2004|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/how-a-humble-gp-perverted-his-medical-skill-to-become-britain-s-most-prolific-mass-killer-73537.html |access-date=2 September 2009|work=The Independent|location=London}}</ref> Her death came in a manner similar to what later became Shipman's own ''[[modus operandi]]'': in the later stages of her disease, she had [[morphine]] administered at home by a doctor. Shipman witnessed his mother's pain subside, despite her terminal condition, until her death on 21 June 1963.<ref>[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/shipman/die_3.html ''The Early Life of Harold Shipman''].</ref>

On 5 November 1966, he married Primrose May Oxtoby; the couple had four children. Shipman studied medicine at [[Leeds School of Medicine]], [[University of Leeds]], graduating in 1970.<ref name="bbc2002"/>

==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 and briefly attended a drug rehabilitation clinic in [[York]]. He worked as a GP at Donneybrook Medical Centre in [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]], [[Greater Manchester]], in 1977.<ref name= "bbc2002">{{cite news| title= Harold Shipman: Timeline|work=BBC News| date=18 July 2002| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2136444.stm|access-date=1 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="telegraph2001">{{cite news|last= Bunyan| first= Nigel| title=The Killing Fields of Harold Shipman|work=The Daily Telegraph| date=16 June 2001| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4724155/The-Killing-Fields-of-Harold-Shipman.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4724155/The-Killing-Fields-of-Harold-Shipman.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2010 | location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Shipman continued working as a GP in Hyde throughout the 1980s and established his own surgery at 21 Market Street in 1993, becoming a respected member of the community. In 1983, he was interviewed in an edition of the [[Granada Television]] current affairs documentary ''[[World in Action]]'' on how the mentally ill should be treated in the community.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/tameside|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022183541/http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/news/shipman/uncovering/|url-status=dead|title=Tameside latest news |work= Manchester Evening News| archive-date=22 October 2007|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref> A year after his conviction on charges of murder, the interview was re-broadcast on ''[[Tonight with Trevor McDonald]]''.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1159420.stm |title=Shipman interview rebroadcast |work=BBC News |date=8 February 2001 |access-date= 24 March 2014}}</ref>

==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. Police were unable to find sufficient evidence to bring charges and closed the investigation on 17 April.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/secondreport.asp|title=Second Report&nbsp;– The Police Investigation of March 1998 (Cm 5853)|date=14 July 2003|publisher=The Shipman Inquiry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305085744/http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/secondreport.asp|archive-date=5 March 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[The Shipman Inquiry]]'' later blamed [[Greater Manchester Police]] for assigning inexperienced officers to the case. After the investigation was closed, Shipman killed three more people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3064231.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman inquiry criticises police|date=14 July 2003|access-date=30 July 2005}}</ref> A few months later, in August, taxi driver John Shaw told the police that he suspected Shipman of murdering 21 patients.<ref name="I feel guilty">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3152204.stm|title=I feel guilty over Shipman killings|date=30 September 2003|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=26 March 2016}}</ref> Shaw became suspicious as many of the elderly customers he took to the hospital, while seemingly in good health, died in Shipman's care.<ref name="I feel guilty"/>

Shipman's last victim was Kathleen Grundy, a former mayor of Hyde who was found dead at her home on 24 June 1998. He was the last person to see her alive; he later signed her [[death certificate]], recording the [[cause of death]] as old age. Grundy's daughter, [[solicitor]] Angela Woodruff, became concerned when fellow solicitor Brian Burgess informed her that a [[Will and testament|will]] had been made, apparently by her mother, with doubts about its authenticity. The will excluded Woodruff and her children, but left £386,000 to Shipman. At Burgess' urging, Woodruff went to the police, who began an investigation. Grundy's body was exhumed and found to contain traces of [[diamorphine]] (heroin), often used for pain control in [[terminal cancer]] patients. Shipman claimed that Grundy had been an addict and showed them comments he had written to that effect in his computerised medical journal; however, police examination of his computer showed that the entries were written after her death.

Shipman was arrested on 7 September 1998, and was found to own a [[Brother Industries|Brother]] typewriter of the type used to make the forged will.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Shipman tapes I|date=31 January 2000|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/the_shipman_murders/the_shipman_files/613286.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=27 September 2008}}</ref> ''Prescription for Murder'', a 2000 book by journalists Brian Whittle and Jean Ritchie, suggested that Shipman forged the will either because he felt his life was out of control and wanted to be caught, or because he planned to retire at 55 and leave the UK.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Whittle|first1= B. |last2=Richie|first2= J. |title=Prescription for Murder: The True Story of Dr Harold Frederick Shipman|publisher= Little Brown |date=2000|pages= 348–49|isbn= 0751529982}}.</ref> The police investigated other deaths that Shipman had certified and investigated 15 specimen cases. They discovered a pattern of his administering lethal doses of diamorphine, signing patients' death certificates, and then falsifying medical records to indicate that they had been in poor health.<ref>{{cite news|title=UK Doctor 'forged victim's medical history'|date=8 November 1999|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/510002.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=27 September 2008}}</ref> In addition, an abnormally large number of the deaths occurred around the same time of day (when Shipman was on his afternoon visits) and in the doctor's presence.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Statistics could have spotted mass murderer|first=John|last=Pickrell|date=2005-09-06|journal=[[New Scientist]]|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7958-statistics-could-have-spotted-mass-murderer/|accessdate=2024-03-19}}</ref>

In 2003, after Shipman had been convicted, a [[Academic paper|paper]] by statistician [[David Spiegelhalter]] and others found that Shipman's mortality rates had been broadly in line with national rates between 1988 and 1994, and started increasing in 1995. They suggested that [[statistical]] monitoring could have led to an alarm being raised at the end of 1996, although not before, when there had already been 67 [[excess death]]s of Shipman's female patients aged over 65, before reaching 119 in 1998, when suspicions were first actually raised.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Spiegelhalter | first1=David|last2=Grigg|first2=Olivia|last3=Kinsman|first3=Robin|last4=Treasure|first4=Tom | title=Risk-adjusted sequential probability ratio tests: applications to Bristol, Shipman and adult cardiac surgery | journal=International Journal for Quality in Health Care | volume=15 | issue=1 | date=1 February 2003 | doi=10.1093/intqhc/15.1.7| pages=7–13 | url=https://academic.oup.com/intqhc/article-pdf/15/1/7/5086350/150007.pdf}}</ref>

==Trial and imprisonment==
Shipman's trial began at [[Sessions House, Preston|Preston Crown Court]] on 5 October 1999. He was charged with the murders of 15 women by lethal injections of [[diamorphine]], all between 1995 and 1998:<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jan/31/shipman.health5 |title=Shipman found guilty of murdering 15 patients |work= [[The Guardian]] |date=31 January 2000 |access-date=27 May 2024}}</ref>
{{columns-list|colwidth=12em|
* Marie West, 81
* Irene Turner, 67
* Lizzie Adams, 77
* Jean Lilley, 59
* Ivy Lomas, 63
* Muriel Grimshaw, 76
* Marie Quinn, 67
* Kathleen Wagstaff, 81
* Bianka Pomfret, 49
* Norah Nuttall, 65
* Pamela Hillier, 68
* Maureen Ward, 57
* Winifred Mellor, 73
* Joan Melia, 73 
* Kathleen Grundy, 81
}}   

Shipman's legal representatives tried unsuccessfully to have the Grundy case tried separately from the others, 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<ref>{{cite web | url=https://soundcloud.com/ukradiojones/shipmanverdict | title=Shipmanverdict }}</ref> of 15 counts of murder and one count of forgery. Mr Justice [[Thayne Forbes|Forbes]] subsequently sentenced Shipman to [[life imprisonment]] on all 15 counts of murder, with a recommendation that he be subject to a [[whole life tariff]], to be served concurrently with a sentence of four years for forging Grundy's will.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3391897.stm |title=Harold Shipman: The killer doctor|work= BBC News|date= 13 January 2004|access-date=30 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/616692.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman jailed for 15 murders|date=31 January 2000|access-date=16 September 2016}}</ref> On 11 February, 11 days after his conviction, Shipman was struck off the medical register by the [[General Medical Council]] (GMC).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/gmc-strikes-shipman-off-medical-register-725618.html|work=The Independent|title=GMC strikes Shipman off medical register|date=11 February 2000|access-date=20 September 2010|location=London|first1=Maxine|last1=Frith}}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/638291.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman struck off|date=11 February 2000|access-date=20 September 2010}}</ref> Two years later, Home Secretary [[David Blunkett]] confirmed the judge's whole life tariff, just months before British government ministers [[Anthony Anderson (murderer)|lost their power]] to set minimum terms for prisoners. While authorities could have brought many additional charges, they concluded that a fair hearing would be impossible given the enormous publicity surrounding the original trial. Furthermore, the 15 life sentences already imposed rendered further litigation unnecessary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413134928/http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401|url-status=dead|title=''The Shipman Inquiry''&nbsp;— Sixth Report&nbsp;— Conclusions<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=13 April 2010|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4212627.stm|title=Shipman's 'reckless' experiments|date=27 January 2005|work=BBC News|accessdate=30 July 2005}}</ref> Shipman became friends with fellow serial killer [[Peter Moore (serial killer)|Peter Moore]] while in prison.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tony|last=Gardner|title=Shipman's bizarre circle of jail pals|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Shipman39s--bizarre-circle-of.1008219.jp|newspaper=[[Yorkshire Evening Post]]|accessdate=28 April 2021|archivedate=22 May 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522082254/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/shipman_s_bizarre_circle_of_jail_pals_1_2045821|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Shipman denied his guilt, disputing the scientific evidence against him. He never made any public statements about his actions. Shipman's wife, Primrose, maintained that he was not guilty, even after his conviction.<ref name="Sweet2004">{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/16/gender.uk|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=He could do no wrong|date=16 January 2004|access-date=4 May 2010|first=Corinne|last=Sweet}}</ref>

Shipman is the only doctor in the history of British medicine found guilty of murdering his patients.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150902093955/http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm Strangerinblood.co.uk]}} [[Nigel Cox (doctor)|Nigel Cox]] was convicted of [[attempted murder]] in 1992, in the death of Lillian Boyes.</ref> [[John Bodkin Adams]] was charged in 1957 with murdering a patient, amid rumours he had killed dozens more over a 10-year period and "possibly provided the role model for Shipman"; he was [[acquit]]ted and no further charges were pursued.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kinnell |first=H.&nbsp;G. |title=Serial homicide by doctors: Shipman in perspective |journal=BMJ |volume=321 |issue=7276 |pages=1594–7 |year=2000 |pmid=11124192 |pmc=1119267 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1594}}</ref> An historian, Pamela Cullen, has argued that because of Adams' acquittal, there was no impetus to examine potential flaws in the British legal system until the Shipman case.<ref>{{cite web|first=James|last=Stovold|url=http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm|title=Strangerinblood.co.uk|publisher=Strangerinblood.co.uk|access-date=4 June 2010|archive-date=2 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902093955/http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

==Death==
<!-- re "hanged" vs. "hung", see e.g., https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/hung-or-hanged -->
Shipman [[suicide by hanging|hanged<!--the word "hanged" is correct in this context--> himself]] in his cell at [[HM Prison Wakefield]] on 13 January 2004, the day before his 58th birthday.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/harold-shipman-timed-suicide-to-ensure-his-wife-got-ps100k-pension-pay-out-a6943316.html |title=Harold Shipman timed suicide to ensure his wife got £100k pension pay out |last= Mortimer |first=Caroline |date=20 March 2016 |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=13 January 2023 |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3391871.stm|date=13 January 2004|title=Harold Shipman found dead in cell|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The Medico Legal Centre in Sheffield performed a [[post-mortem]] examination, and an [[inquest]] was opened.<ref name="shipman-finally-cremated">{{cite news|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/shipman-finally-cremated-1064483 |title=Shipman finally cremated|work= Manchester Evening News|date= 30 June 2005|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3392135.stm|date=13 January 2004|work=BBC News|title=No mourning from Shipman families}}</ref> Home Secretary David Blunkett admitted that celebration was tempting: "You wake up and you receive a call telling you Shipman has topped himself and you think, is it too early to open a bottle? And then you discover that everybody's very upset that he's done it."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3404041.stm|title=Blunkett admits Shipman error|date=16 January 2004 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Shipman's death divided national newspapers, with the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' branding him a "cold coward" and condemning the Prison Service for allowing his suicide to occur. However, ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' ran a celebratory front-page headline; "Ship Ship hooray!"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hattenstone|first1=Simon|title=Is it the Sun that's gone bonkers?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jan/19/sun.mondaymediasection|access-date=2 August 2016|work=The Guardian|date=19 January 2004}}</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' called for the inquiry into Shipman's suicide to look more widely at the state of UK prisons as well as the welfare of inmates.<ref name=papers>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3395065.stm | work=BBC News | title=Shipman's death divides papers | date=14 January 2004 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> In ''[[The Guardian]]'', an article by [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham|Sir David Ramsbotham]], who had formerly served as [[Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons]], suggested that whole-life sentencing be replaced by [[indefinite sentencing]], for this would at least give prisoners the hope of eventual release and reduce the risk of their ending their own lives by suicide, as well as making their management easier for prison officials.<ref name=papers/>

Shipman's motive for suicide was never established, though he reportedly told his [[probation officer]] that he was considering suicide to assure his wife's financial security after he was stripped of his [[National Health Service]] [[NHS Pension Scheme|pension]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3611019.stm|date=8 April 2004|title=Shipman leaves his wife £24,000|work=BBC News}}</ref> Primrose Shipman received a full NHS pension that she would not have been entitled to if Shipman had lived past the age of 60.<ref name="Not preventable">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4182730.stm|title=Shipman suicide 'not preventable'|work=BBC News|date=25 August 2005 |access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> Additionally, there was evidence that Primrose, who had consistently protested Shipman's innocence despite the overwhelming evidence, had begun to suspect his guilt. Shipman refused to take part in courses which would have encouraged acknowledgement of his crimes, leading to a temporary removal of privileges, including the right to telephone his wife.<ref name="Not preventable"/><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3391871.stm | work=BBC News | title=Harold Shipman found dead in cell | date=13 January 2004 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> During this period, according to Shipman's cellmate, he received a letter from Primrose exhorting him to "Tell me everything, no matter what."<ref name="Sweet2004"/> A 2005 inquiry found that Shipman's suicide "could not have been predicted or prevented", but that procedures should nonetheless be re-examined.<ref name="Not preventable"/>

After Shipman's body was released to his family, it remained in [[Sheffield]] for more than a year. His widow was advised by police against burying her husband in case the grave was attacked; the body was eventually [[cremated]] at Hutcliffe Wood Crematorium, in the city,<ref name="shipman-finally-cremated"/> attended only by Shipman's widow and the couple's four children.<ref name="killer-finally-cremated">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3484824.stm |title=Serial killer Shipman cremated |work=BBC News|date=8 April 2005|access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{cite news |title=How many more did Shipman kill? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/how-many-more-did-shipman-kill-630689.html |date=9 October 2001 |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=19 September 2009 |location=London }}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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). [[Janet Smith (judge)|Janet Smith]], the judge who submitted the report, said that there were further deaths about which there was so little evidence that a conclusion on whether they were unlawful killings could not be reached. Most of his victims were elderly women in good health.<ref name="shipman inquiry">{{cite report|title=The Shipman Inquiry - Conclusions|url=http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413134928/http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401|section=Section 24|archive-date=13 April 2010|publisher=The Shipman Inquiry}}</ref>

In her sixth and final report, issued on 24 January 2005, Smith reported that she believed that Shipman had killed three patients, and she had serious suspicions about four further deaths, including that of a four-year-old girl, during the early stage of his medical career at [[Pontefract General Infirmary]]. In total, 459 people died while under his care between 1971 and 1998, but it is uncertain how many of those were murder victims, as he was often the only doctor to certify a death. Smith's estimate of Shipman's total victim count over that 27-year period was 250.<ref name="shipman inquiry"/><ref name="killed early">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4210581.stm |work=BBC News |title=Shipman 'killed early in career'|date=27 January 2005}}</ref>

The GMC charged six doctors who signed cremation forms for Shipman's victims with misconduct on the grounds that they should have noticed the pattern between Shipman's home visits and his patients' deaths; they were all found not guilty. In October 2005 the GMC found two doctors who worked at Tameside General Hospital in 1994 guilty of serious professional misconduct for failing to report their concerns and for giving misleading evidence to the Shipman inquiry.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Dyer | first=Owen | title=Consultants who misled Shipman inquiry are found guilty of misconduct | journal=British Medical Journal | volume=331 | issue=7524 | url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1283221/}}</ref> ''The Shipman Inquiry'' recommended changes to the structure of the GMC.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4081425.stm |title=Shipman report demands GMC reform |date=9 December 2004|work=BBC News}}</ref>

In 2005, it came to light that Shipman may have stolen jewellery from his victims. In 1998, police had seized over £10,000 worth of jewellery they found in his garage. In March 2005, when Primrose asked for its return, police wrote to the families of Shipman's victims asking them to identify the jewellery.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4357193.stm|title=Theft fears over 'Shipman gems'|work=BBC News|date=17 March 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4446593.stm|title=Twenty make Shipman jewels claims|work=BBC News|date=15 April 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/aug/31/shipman.uknews|title=Shipman's stolen gems found in his wife's jewellery box|newspaper=The Guardian|date=31 August 2005|access-date=16 August 2017}}</ref> Unidentified items were handed to the [[Assets Recovery Agency]] in May.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4574147.stm|title=Shipman jewels not going to widow|work=BBC News|date=24 May 2005}}</ref> The investigation ended in August. Authorities returned 66 pieces to Primrose and [[auction]]ed 33 pieces that she confirmed were not hers. Proceeds of the auction went to Tameside Victim Support.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4197812.stm|work=BBC News|title=Shipman stole victim's jewellery|date=31 August 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/shipman/Story/0,,1559544,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Shipman's stolen gems found in his wife's jewellery box|date=31 August 2005 | location=London | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> The only piece returned to a murdered patient's family was a platinum diamond ring, for which the family provided a photograph as proof of ownership.
[[File:Garden of Tranquility - geograph.org.uk - 1005040.jpg|thumb|Garden of Tranquillity in 2007]]
A memorial garden to Shipman's victims, called the Garden of Tranquillity, opened in [[Hyde, Greater Manchester#Leisure|Hyde Park, Hyde]], on 30 July 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4731119.stm |title=Garden tribute to Shipman victims |date=30 July 2005|work=BBC News}}</ref> As of early 2009, families of over 200 of the victims of Shipman were still seeking compensation for the loss of their relatives.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://alexanderharris.co.uk/article/Nurse_convicted_of_murder_of_two_patients_by_lethal_injection_2588.asp |title=Alexander Harris, the law firm who represented families of victims of Allitt and Shipman |date=25 August 2006 |publisher=Alexander Harris |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930061847/http://alexanderharris.co.uk/article/Nurse_convicted_of_murder_of_two_patients_by_lethal_injection_2588.asp |archive-date=30 September 2006 }}</ref> In September 2009, letters Shipman wrote in prison to friends were to be sold at auction,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8275479.stm|title=Shipman prison letters to be sold|publisher=BBC |work=BBC News|date=27 September 2009 |access-date=27 September 2009}}</ref> but following complaints from victims' relatives and the media, the sale was withdrawn.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8295005.stm|title=Shipman letters removed from sale|date=7 October 2009|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=2 October 2011}}</ref>

===Shipman effect===
The Shipman case, and a series of recommendations in the ''Shipman Inquiry'' report, led to changes to standard medical procedures in the UK (now referred to as the "Shipman effect"). Many doctors reported changes in their dispensing practices, and a reluctance to risk overprescribing pain medication may have led to under-prescribing.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5252902.stm|title='Shipman effect' harms pain care|date=7 August 2006|access-date=23 December 2014|publisher=BBC|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30192721|title=Shipman effect: How a serial killer changed medical practice forever|last=Queiro|first=Alicia|date=1 December 2014|work=BBC News|access-date=23 December 2014}}</ref> Death certification practices were altered as well.<ref>{{cite web|title=Consultation Paper on Death Certification, Burial and Cremation|url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/01/26131024/4|website=Scottish Government|access-date=23 December 2014|date=27 January 2010}}</ref> Perhaps the largest change was the movement from single-doctor general practices to multiple-doctor general practices.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} This was not a direct recommendation, but rather because the report stated that there was not enough safeguarding and monitoring of doctors' decisions.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

The forms needed for a cremation in England and Wales have had their questions altered as a direct result of the Shipman case. For example, the person(s) organising the funeral must answer, "Do you know or suspect that the death of the person who has died was violent or unnatural? Do you consider that there should be any further examination of the remains of the person who has died?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/697075/cremation-form-1-app-for-cremation-of-body.pdf|date=October 2017|title=Application for cremation of the body of a person who has died |access-date=1 October 2020}}</ref>

As of 1 December 2023, Shipman, also nicknamed "Dr. Death" and "The Angel of Death", is the only British doctor to have been convicted of murdering patients, although other doctors, such as Isyaka Mamman,<ref>{{cite news |date=4 July 2022 |title=Oldham doctor admits killing patient in botched routine procedure |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-62039156 |access-date=6 December 2023}}</ref> have been [[acquitted]] of similar crimes or convicted of lesser charges<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1431104.stm|title=Shipman known as 'angel of death'|date=9 July 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=James |last=Stovold |url=http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm |title=The Case of Dr. John Bodkin Adams |publisher=Strangerinblood.co.uk |access-date=4 June 2010 |archive-date=2 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902093955/http://www.strangerinblood.co.uk/html/case.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref> and nurses such as [[Lucy Letby]], [[Beverley Allitt]], [[Colin Norris]], [[Benjamin Geen]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boffey |first1=Daniel |last2=reporter |first2=Daniel Boffey Chief |date=31 July 2023 |title=New evidence claimed to undermine nurse's conviction for killing patients |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/jul/31/new-evidence-claimed-to-undermine-nurse-benjamin-geen-conviction-for-killing-patients |access-date=6 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and [[Victorino Chua]] have also been convicted of murdering patients in their care.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 August 2023 |title=Carers who kill: Letby joins gruesome list of medical monsters from Shipman to Allitt |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/beverley-allitt-parole-harold-shipman-lucy-letby-trial-b2396274.html |access-date=6 December 2023 |website=The Independent }}</ref>

==In media==
''Harold and Fred (They Make Ladies Dead)'' was a cartoon strip in a 2001 issue of ''[[Viz (comics)|Viz]]'' comic, also featuring serial killer [[Fred West]]. Some relatives of Shipman's victims voiced anger at the cartoon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/viz-pushes-taste-to-its-limits-with-shipman-cartoon-705190.html |title='Viz' pushes taste to its limits with Shipman cartoon |work=[[The Independent]] |date=1 February 2001 |access-date=6 March 2009 |last=Garrett |first=Jade |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223083641/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/viz-pushes-taste-to-its-limits-with-shipman-cartoon-705190.html |archive-date=23 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1148180.stm
|title=Anger at Shipman Cartoon |work= BBC News |access-date=6 March 2009 | date=1 February 2001}}</ref>

''[[Harold Shipman: Doctor Death]]'', an [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] television dramatisation of the case, was broadcast in 2002; it starred [[James Bolam]] in the title role.<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306943 |title=Harold Shipman: Doctor Death | medium=Television drama |year=2002 |people=Roger Bamford (Director)}}</ref>

A documentary also titled ''Harold Shipman: Doctor Death'', with new witness testimony about the serial killer, was shown by [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] as part of its ''Crime & Punishment'' strand on 26 April 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week17/harold-shipman-doctor-death|title=Harold Shipman: Doctor Death|access-date=17 April 2018|publisher=ITV Press Centre|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417191904/https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week17/harold-shipman-doctor-death|url-status=dead}}</ref> The programme was criticised as offering "little new insight".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2018/04/26/harold-shipman-doctor-death-review-20-years-documentary-offered/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2018/04/26/harold-shipman-doctor-death-review-20-years-documentary-offered/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Harold Shipman: Doctor Death, review: 20 years on, this documentary offered little new insight|first=Gerard|last=O'Donovan|date=26 April 2018|access-date=27 April 2018|work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

A play titled ''Beyond Belief – Scenes from the Shipman Inquiry'', written by Dennis Woolf and directed by Chris Honer, was performed at the Library Theatre, Manchester, from 20 October to 22 November 2004. The script of the play comprised edited verbatim extracts from [[the Shipman Inquiry]], spoken by actors playing the witnesses and lawyers at the inquiry.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/play-exposes-legacy-of-shipman-horror-1126194|title=Play exposes legacy of Shipman horror|newspaper=[[Manchester Evening News]]|date=22 October 2004|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> This provided a "stark narrative" that focused on personal tragedies.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rushforth|first=Bruno|date=4 November 2004|title=Beyond Belief: Scenes from the Shipman Inquiry|journal=BMJ|volume=329|issue=7474|pages=1109|doi=10.1136/bmj.329.7474.1109|pmc=526136|issn=0959-8138}}</ref>

A BBC drama-documentary, entitled ''Harold Shipman'' and starring Ian Brooker in the title role, was broadcast in April 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last=Savvas |first=Christina |date=17 April 2014 |title=Birmingham actor plays serial killer Harold Shipman in new TV drama |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/harold-shipman-driven-kill---7004256 |access-date=28 July 2022 |website=[[BirminghamLive]] }}</ref>

The satirical artist [[Cold War Steve]] regularly features Shipman in his work.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/talking-crappy-british-politics-the-media-and-dog-shit-with-coldwar-steve/|title=Talking Crappy British Politics, the Media and Dog Shit with 'Coldwar Steve'|website=Vice.com|date=10 November 2018 |access-date=10 September 2020}}</ref>

''The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story'', a three-part documentary by Chris Wilson, was broadcast on [[BBC Two]] on three consecutive nights between 28 and 30 September 2020, and focussed on Shipman's victims and how he went undetected for so long.<ref>{{cite web|date=28 September 2020|title=TV tonight: the harrowing tale of an 'honour' killing|url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/sep/28/tv-tonight-the-harrowing-tale-of-a-honour-killing|access-date=4 October 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000n1h4|title=The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story|access-date=6 January 2022|website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story – S1 – Episode 3|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/mp8hy8/the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story--s1-e3-the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story/|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Radio Times|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009121116/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/mp8hy8/the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story--s1-e3-the-shipman-files-a-very-british-crime-story/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Podcast episode "Catching a Killer Doctor"<ref>{{cite web|last=Harford|first=Cautionary Tales with Tim|title=Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford – Catching a Killer Doctor|url=https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vY2F1dGlvbmFyeXRhbGVz/episode/NTYzOTRiMTItNzUxZi0xMWViLTlmNDYtMGI0YWY4NWMzM2Fh|access-date=3 April 2021|website=Google Podcasts}}</ref> from the ''Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford'' podcast series features the story of Harold Shipman and how detection could have been made much earlier with good statistical models.

The 2005 song "What About Us?" by British band [[The Fall (band)|the Fall]] makes explicit reference to the Shipman killings ("There was a man going round all the time/He was dishing out drugs/He was a doctor/Dishing out morphine to old ladies"), and the name Shipman is sung as backing vocals during the choruses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://annotatedfall.doomby.com/pages/the-annotated-lyrics/what-about-us.html#n1 |title=What About Us? |publisher=annotatedfall.doomby.com |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref>

Shipman was a member of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/feb/01/shipman.health16 | title=The doctor Jekyll of Hyde | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=February 2000 | accessdate=17 June 2022 }}</ref> He was mentioned in the [[2022 Wakefield by-election]] when Conservative candidate Nadeem Ahmed highlighted his local connections, following Shipman's suicide in Wakefield prison, claiming that voters should "trust Tories like they do GPs after Harold Shipman".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/16/wakefield-tory-candidate-nadeem-ahmed-compares-imran-ahmad-khan-to-harold-shipman | title=Voters can trust Tories like they do GPS after Harold Shipman, says Wakefield candidate | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=16 June 2022 | accessdate=17 June 2022}}</ref>

In 2023, DeadHappy, a [[Leicester]]-based [[life insurance]] firm, was criticised for using an image of Shipman in one of its advertisements. The Advertising Standards Authority received more than 70 complaints about the advert.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-64419630|title=Relative of Harold Shipman victim criticises advert|date=26 January 2023|website=BBC News|accessdate=26 January 2023}}</ref>

In 2025, Shipman was referenced in the third episode of [[The Traitors (British TV series) series 3|series 3 of The Traitors]], a reality television game show where "Faithful" contestants are tasked with finding and banishing the titular "Traitors". During the roundtable discussion, medical doctor Kasim Ahmed was accused of being a Traitor by fellow contestant Jake Brown, who claimed that it would "make sense" for Ahmed to "save lives during the day" while "murdering by night" within the narrative of the show. Ahmed then stated that he believed Brown was "basically calling [him] Harold Shipman". This moment caused Shipman to trend on social media.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawes |first=Ruth |date=2025-01-03 |title=The Traitors sparks renewed interest in prolific serial killer after 'insane' scenes |url=https://metro.co.uk/2025/01/03/traitors-sparks-renewed-interest-prolific-serial-killer-insane-scenes-22292786/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Metro.co.uk}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Greater Manchester}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[List of serial killers in the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of serial killers by number of victims]]
* [[Euthanasia]]
* Other medical professionals who killed<!--not all "murdered"--> patients, or attempted to:
** [[2011 Stepping Hill Hospital poisoning incident]] (one nurse convicted of murder)<!--Biography articles in name order:-->
** [[Beverley Allitt]] (1991, multiple attempted murders and GBH)
** [[Nigel Cox (doctor)]] (1991, attempted murder)
** [[Charles Cullen]] (1988–2003, multiple murders)
** [[Benjamin Geen]] (2003–04, murder and [[Grievous_bodily_harm|GBH]])
** [[Niels Högel]] (2000–2005, multiple murders)
** [[Jack Kevorkian]] (1998, murder)
** [[Lucy Letby]] (2015–16, convicted for multiple deaths suspected of being murder)
** [[Colin Norris]] (2002, multiple murders)
** [[John Bodkin Adams]] (1946–56, multiple suspected murders)  
** [[Michael Swango]] (1981–1997, multiple murders)
** [[Elizabeth Wettlaufer]] (2007–2016, multiple murders)
* Convicted of offences other than homicide:
** [[Christopher Duntsch]] (2012, injury to an elderly person)
** [[Jayant Patel]] (2003, dishonestly gaining registration (acquitted of manslaughter))
* Suspects acquitted:
** [[Leonard Arthur]] (1980, attempted murder of an infant with Down syndrome)
** [[Thomas Lodwig]] (1990, murder)
** [[Howard Martin]] (2005, murder)
** [[Jessie McTavish]] (1974, murder)
** [[David Moor]] (1997, murder)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120426052240/http://www.shipman-inquiry.org.uk// Shipman Inquiry] (archived)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/the_shipman_murders/default.stm BBC&nbsp;– The Shipman Murders]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2138888.stm List of suspected murders]
* [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Liam_Donaldson/publication/320035425_Harold_Shipman%27s_clinical_practice_1974-1998_A_clinical_audit_commissioned_by_the_Chief_Medical_Officer/links/59ca184e45851556e97dee80/Harold-Shipmans-clinical-practice-1974-1998-A-clinical-audit-commissioned-by-the-Chief-Medical-Officer.pdf Harold Shipman's Clinical Practice 1974–1998] 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071108204416/http://www.casoabierto.com/reportajes/cronica-negra/Dr-Death-The-Harold-Shipman-Case.html Caso abierto, Dr Death: The Shipman Case]
*{{IMDb name|1526240}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shipman, Harold}}
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