London
Britain’s worst mass murderer, a family doctor who killed hundreds of his patients, was found hanging dead in his cell this week. Harold Shipman was convicted in 2000 of murdering 15 patients by injecting them with heroin, but an inquiry later found that he had killed at least 200 more. Most of the victims were elderly people he had known for years. Shipman’s motive was never established, especially as he maintained his innocence throughout the trial, despite an abundance of physical evidence. Families of the victims said they felt cheated by his apparent suicide. “I always harbored the remote possibility that one day I could confront him and ask him why,” said Danny Mellor, whose mother was one of Shipman’s victims. “Now that’s been taken away from me.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why some people remember dreams and others don'tUnder The Radar Age, attitude and weather all play a part in dream recall
-
The Week contest: Hotel sealPuzzles and Quizzes
-
New FBI Director Kash Patel could profit heavily from foreign interestsThe Explainer Patel holds more than $1 million in Chinese fashion company Shein
