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CNN Live At Daybreak

Death of 'Dr. Death'

Aired January 13, 2004 - 05:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to head live to London, because we're going to talk about the death of the man known as "Dr. Death." He's Britain's most notorious serial killer. He's a doctor and apparently he hanged himself in his prison cell.
Diana Muriel brings us up to date -- good morning, Diana.

What happened?

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, we're getting information from the prison service at Wakefield Prison, where Dr. Harold Shipman was being held, that he had apparently committed suicide this morning, very early in the morning, 6:20 local time, where he had used the bed sheets from the bed to hang himself from the window bars of the cell.

It's not clear yet whether an inquiry will be started into the death of Dr. Harold Shipman. He was convicted back in 2000 of killing 15 of his patients, but was subsequently found by a public inquiry to have killed 215 patients, and possibly as many as 236, possibly even more.

He had, in the past, at two other prisons that he has been in since 2000, been on suicide watch. But he had not -- was not on suicide watch at this particular prison.

Dr. Shipman's career stretched over two decades. He was a general practitioner in Yorkshire and also in the Manchester area. His modus operandi was to use dimorphine, also known as heroin, to injustice elderly patients, mostly women, although he did kill 44 men with the dimorphine, and then write on their death certificates that they had died of old age or heart problems or seizure. He would also, if he was able to, tick the cremation box for his patients so that their bodies would be cremated.

But, in fact, he was discovered for a completely different crime. He tired to forge or he did forge the signature on the will of one his elderly patients, 81-year-old Kathleen Grundy. Her daughter, who was a lawyer, questioned whether or not she would have left all her estate to the family doctor and so a police investigation began.

Dr. Harold Shipman never confessed to the crimes, never admitted any guilt before he was convicted, during the trial and during the inquiry, and, indeed, while he was in prison. And today the families of the victims say that they are relieved that he has died, but still his death does not bring closure -- Carol. COSTELLO: And I want to make it clear that these were not assisted suicides. These people were killed unbeknownst to them.

MURIEL: That's right. He was the family doctor. He was there. It was his duty to care for these patients. But as it transpired in the public inquiry -- because one shouldn't forget that Dr. Shipman did not cooperate, either at the trial or during the inquiry, it appeared that he had a very dominant personality, that he liked to play god. He liked to decide who would live and who would die. He also had an extremely short temper, although some families -- some families of the victims say that he also had a very good bedside manner when he wanted to. And he simply chose who, which of his patients he would kill and which he would allow to continue living over a career that spanned more than two decades -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Diana Muriel live from London.

And I apologize for the awkward nature of the question I asked you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 13, 2004 - 05:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to head live to London, because we're going to talk about the death of the man known as "Dr. Death." He's Britain's most notorious serial killer. He's a doctor and apparently he hanged himself in his prison cell.
Diana Muriel brings us up to date -- good morning, Diana.

What happened?

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, we're getting information from the prison service at Wakefield Prison, where Dr. Harold Shipman was being held, that he had apparently committed suicide this morning, very early in the morning, 6:20 local time, where he had used the bed sheets from the bed to hang himself from the window bars of the cell.

It's not clear yet whether an inquiry will be started into the death of Dr. Harold Shipman. He was convicted back in 2000 of killing 15 of his patients, but was subsequently found by a public inquiry to have killed 215 patients, and possibly as many as 236, possibly even more.

He had, in the past, at two other prisons that he has been in since 2000, been on suicide watch. But he had not -- was not on suicide watch at this particular prison.

Dr. Shipman's career stretched over two decades. He was a general practitioner in Yorkshire and also in the Manchester area. His modus operandi was to use dimorphine, also known as heroin, to injustice elderly patients, mostly women, although he did kill 44 men with the dimorphine, and then write on their death certificates that they had died of old age or heart problems or seizure. He would also, if he was able to, tick the cremation box for his patients so that their bodies would be cremated.

But, in fact, he was discovered for a completely different crime. He tired to forge or he did forge the signature on the will of one his elderly patients, 81-year-old Kathleen Grundy. Her daughter, who was a lawyer, questioned whether or not she would have left all her estate to the family doctor and so a police investigation began.

Dr. Harold Shipman never confessed to the crimes, never admitted any guilt before he was convicted, during the trial and during the inquiry, and, indeed, while he was in prison. And today the families of the victims say that they are relieved that he has died, but still his death does not bring closure -- Carol. COSTELLO: And I want to make it clear that these were not assisted suicides. These people were killed unbeknownst to them.

MURIEL: That's right. He was the family doctor. He was there. It was his duty to care for these patients. But as it transpired in the public inquiry -- because one shouldn't forget that Dr. Shipman did not cooperate, either at the trial or during the inquiry, it appeared that he had a very dominant personality, that he liked to play god. He liked to decide who would live and who would die. He also had an extremely short temper, although some families -- some families of the victims say that he also had a very good bedside manner when he wanted to. And he simply chose who, which of his patients he would kill and which he would allow to continue living over a career that spanned more than two decades -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Diana Muriel live from London.

And I apologize for the awkward nature of the question I asked you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com