World

Reconstructing The Trail Of Killer

January 5, 2001 / 9:18 AM EST / CBS

Police said Thursday they are investigating the deaths of 62 patients of serial killer doctor Harold Shipman, who authorities fear may have killed as many as 300 of the people he treated.

Shipman, 55, was convicted a year ago of killing 15 elderly female patients by injecting them with heroin and was sentenced to 15 life terms. Subsequent inquests have ruled that five other patients also were killed, and inquests on 22 other deaths are planned.

But that may be only the tip of the iceberg, according to a report released last week.

The report by University of Leicester professor Richard Baker found that there were 297 more deaths at Shipman's practice near Manchester than would normally have been expected during his 24-year career. Of those, 237 deaths aroused the most suspicion because they occurred at the patients' homes.

The 62 new investigations are among the suspicious deaths highlighted in Baker's report.

Prosecutors have essentially ruled out bringing Shipman back to court on further murder charges, saying his notoriety would make a fair trial impossible.

Emma Smith, a lawyer representing some of the families of Shipman's patients, said the new investigations will help relatives of those who died achieve peace of mind.

"The families who have had doubts surrounding their relatives' deaths since Shipman's conviction need some certainty, and it is pleasing to note the way in which the police have decided to approach this situation," she said.

Helen Blackwell, 47, is one of many awaiting an investigation into the death of a loved one.

"I contacted the police personally, they came to see us and they left us without any doubt that he murdered my mum," said Blackwell, in Manchester. "It had followed a pattern that he had used before so we're under no doubt at all that he murdered my mum."

The inquest into the death of her mother, 68-year-old widow Bertha Moss, is scheduled for February 8.

Another one of Moss' daughters, Brenda Hurst, is frustrated by the fact that no matter what cause of death is determined by the inquest, there will be no trial.

"Once you've been told that there will be no trial for you, what else can you do?" says Hurst.

Until his 1998 arrest, Shipman was an esteemed figure in the town of Hyde, a community of 22,000 people. His one-man practice, located prominently on Hyde's main street, boasted about 3,000 patients and a huge waiting list.

It wasn't until March 1998 that another local doctor, who had been asked by Shipman to cosign some cremation certificates, expressed concern at the high number of deaths. Police investigated but concluded there wasn't enough evidence to pursue.

The investigation was reopened in August 1998 after the daughter of an 81-year-old widow discovered that her mother apparently had changed her will to leave everything to Shipman. The investigation quickly led to a series of exhumations at the Hyde Cemetery.

Shipman was eventully convicted of deliberately injecting heroin into the 15 elderly women - many in good health - during routine checkups in their homes or at his office. He maintains he is innocent.

The 15 murder convictions already make Shipman among the most deadly serial killers in British history.

If it turns out to be true that he killed 300 patients, he would then be in a league with the worst known serial killer in the world, Pedro Armando Lopez of Colombia. Lopez was accused of killing 300 young girls in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador; he was convicted in 57 of those cases.