Dr. Harold Shipman

A Diary of Death

Because of the nature of the Shipman case, it may never be possible to document every murder he committed.

A clinical audit commissioned by the Department of Health estimates his responsibility for the deaths of at least 236 patients over a 24-year period.

This audit, by Professor Richard Baker of the University of Leicester, examined the number and pattern of deaths in Harold Shipman's practice.   It then compared them with those of other practitioners.   Significant differences appeared, notably that the rates of death in elderly patients were disproportionately higher.

Other variations appeared; deaths were often clustered at certain times of the day, patients' records and previous symptoms mismatched, and Shipman was usually in attendance.

Professor Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, wrote that these factors "must now be investigated by the proper legal authorities."

Detective Chief Superintendent Bernard Postles, who headed the original investigations, said of the report 'many of its conclusions accord with our own findings to date.' He noted the death toll estimated in the audit was "broadly in keeping with the number of deaths investigated by Greater Manchester Police during the course of the investigation."

Even so, the final numbers are anyone's guess — Coroner John Pollard once speculated "we might be looking at 1000."

But whatever the final count, there is no immediate plan to try the killer on future findings — nor would it serve much purpose because he's already serving 15 concurrent life sentences.

Instead, other cases are being investigated as they come to light, with coroners' verdicts of unlawful killing continuing to mount.   As they do, the question most asked is this:   Why wasn't he stopped sooner?

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1. Raising the Dead
2. A Killer's Childhood
3. Watching Vera Die
4. Invisible Student
5. Addiction and Attitude
6. Back in Business
7. A Diary of Death
8. Early Warnings
9. Cash for Ash
10. Angela Investigates
11. The Plot Thins
12. The Morphine Factor
13. Selecting the Dead
14. The Cybertrail
15. Preliminaries
16. The Trial
17. The Trial: Week Two
18. Litany of Lies
19. Callous Behavior
20. Defaming the Dead
21. Defending the Indefensible
22. Prescription for Death
23. The Verdict and Sentence
24. Murder Unlimited
25. Why?
26. Addicted to Killing
27. Shipman Inquiry
28. The Final Betrayal
29. New Chapter - Frightening New Revelations
30. New Chapter - Deadly Details
31. Bibliography