How will the 200-year-old killer be caught by Dr. Reiter's mistake?
Angha Pathak
Post, BBC
He was a very intelligent doctor who believed that even after killing hundreds of people he would be safe from the law. Despite being caught by the police on suspicion, this belief did not diminish.
They used to say that people die suddenly, especially old people who have to die one day. He insisted that he had done nothing wrong and that the police and law enforcement agencies could not even trace his hair. But in spite of all these good intentions, he was caught on a simple mistake.
The arrest of the biggest serial killer in British history started with a phone call. Hyde is a small village in the Manchester area with a population of just over thirty thousand.
Catherine Grundy, former mayor of Hyde, died in August 1988, aged 81. No one would have suspected the death at the age of 81, but Catherine's lawyer daughter-in-law's daughter had doubts when she read her mother's will.
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In the old woman's will, it was written that 'I bequeath my house to Dr. Harold Frederick Shipman.'
Catherine's daughter said the will could not have been on behalf of her mother because she owned two houses in the area and if she had to make a will about her property, she would have done both houses instead of just one. Mention it in your will.
When he read the will, he doubted to the point of conviction that it had been written by someone who did not know that Catherine was the mistress of two houses and not just one.
Dr. Harold Shipman was arrested on September 7, 1988, a month after this alleged will came to light. Authorities said at the time that he had been arrested for questioning in connection with a murder investigation, but the investigation revealed details of more than 200 murders.
The Hyde area of Manchester, where the doctor had his clinic, had a population of 30,000 and about 3,000 of them were Dr. Harold's patients. Kathryn's lawyer Betty, reading the will, felt a similar suspicion to Ellen Massey, a funeral service provider in the area, that something was wrong in her area. was happening
Based on this suspicion, Alan Massey once told his daughter, Debbie, that Dr. Harold had a high death rate among patients who visited him for treatment. Another alarming thing that Allen noticed was that most of the dead were women.
Ellen didn't know how to say this because Dr. Harold was known as a very respectable person in her small village. Ellen was also puzzled as to how such a man could be accused.
Portrait of Dr. Harold Frederick Shipman as a teenager
However, with many questions in mind, Ellen went to see Dr. Harold one day and asked him what is going on. Dr. Harold didn't answer, he sat in silence for a while and then got up and took several files out of the closet and placed them in front of Alan, saying, "This register contains all the information." Those who want to check can see.
The visit to the doctor took place four months before Catherine Grundy's lawyer daughter complained about changes to her mother's will.
Harold's victims were mostly older people. Following their demise, these individuals' bodies were likewise discovered in strange circumstances; that is, the majority of the elderly people's bodies were discovered while they were seated and dressed in clean clothes.
Even at his advanced age, there was no indication of any serious ailment that may have taken his life unexpectedly.
Dr. Harold had been killing his patients for many years and most of his victims were elderly people living alone. These elderly people had children away from them and Dr. Harold gave them time. He used to talk to them and visit their houses to treat them. These old people used to tell their hearts to the doctor.
Apparently, because of his philanthropic behavior, he became famous in the Hyde area and his patients continued to grow.
Dr. Harald used to visit the patients' homes, so he was very familiar with their conditions. He knew very well who was single, who had wealth, whose children, relatives inquired about his health and who was not single.
Hyde's people trusted him so much that some even gave him the keys to their houses and because of that, Dr. Harold would decide how to kill and who not.
"Something is wrong"
Dr. Harold worked at Donnybrook Medical Center in Hyde. He had previously been fired from a job.
Harold came to work at Hyde around 1976. Over the next ten years, many of his elderly patients died, but no one noticed, assuming that old people died often.
Harold worked at Donnybrook Hospital for 12 years before moving to the new location. In 1989, one such patient, Joseph Wilcox, died at the age of 62. His leg was severely injured and he was also suffering from other ailments.
So a nurse went to Wilkos' house every day for treatment. As usual, when the nurse arrived at his home on the afternoon of November 6, she found Wilkos dead. Wilkos was sitting on a chair, he was well dressed and his body was not cold at all.
The nurse saw on the hospital computer that day that Dr. Harold had come to Wilkos' house that morning. The nurse asked Dr. Harold if you felt anything like this when you came in this morning.
Dr. Harold flatly denied this and said that he had not been to Wilkos' house today.
The nurse was sure Dr. Harold's visit was scheduled when she looked at the computer that morning. Harald and Nurse had a heated argument over this issue.
But then when the nurse came back to the hospital and checked the computer records, it turned out that Dr. Harold was telling the truth. His visit to check on Wilkos was not scheduled today.
However, the nurse felt that 'something was wrong.' The nurse complained to her superiors. Other doctors and staff at the hospital were already talking about the deaths of Dr. Harold's patients. So Dr. Harold left Donnybrook Hospital after only four years of work and set up his own hospital in Hyde City.
Dr. Harold was so popular that when he opened his hospital, he had a queue of elderly patients.
One injection and game over
When Dr. Harold's patients continued to die, some became suspicious. Drs Linda Reynolds and Raj Patel, working at another hospital in Hyde, requested the police to investigate the case.
A major reason for his suspicions was that many of Dr. Harold's dead patients were being cremated instead of buried. His relatives were requesting for it.
It should be noted here that in Christendom bodies are usually buried rather than cremated.
However, the cremation rate of Harold's deceased patients was very high. According to local rules, two doctors were required to sign the application for cremation. Harold would sign as one doctor while the other would have to consult another doctor.
This is why Dr. Linda Reynolds suspects that Harold is killing his patients. But how was he doing it?
To find out, we will learn about Harold's childhood and youth.
Dr. Harold grew raised in a low-income household. His mother was a homemaker, while his father drove a truck. Harold was greatly influenced by his mother. Harold's mother had only ever taught him that obtaining a decent education was necessary to escape poverty. Harold took this lesson very seriously. When he was a student, his mother was diagnosed with.
There was no proven cancer therapy in the 1960s. .. doctor used to give the mother medications and morphine injections to ease her suffering. Harold became more interested in this morphine injection.
During this period he also became addicted to painkillers. Harold enrolled in medical school after his mother's death. Meanwhile, he got married and his addiction increased.
After completing his education, he started working in a hospital, but addiction did not allow him to sit in China. He was previously posted as a junior staff in the hospital, so he could not hunt anything big.
