Shipman may have been 'addicted to killing'
Harold Shipman may have been ‘addicted to killing’, according to the judge investigating his past.
Commenting on what prompted Shipman’s 23-year murder spree, Dame Janet said there was evidence he had been addicted to the painkiller pethidine in the 1970s.
‘‘I think it is likely that whatever it was that caused Shipman to become addicted to pethidine also led to other forms of addictive behaviour,’’ she said.
‘‘It is possible that he was addicted to killing.’’
She said that ‘‘deeply shocking though it is’’ the bare statement that Shipman had killed over 200 of his patients ‘‘does not fully reflect the enormity of his crimes’’.
As a GP, Shipman was trusted implicitly by patients and their families.
‘‘He betrayed their trust in a way and to an extent that I believe is unparalleled in history,’’ said Dame Janet.
She said everyone was accustomed to hearing of violent deaths in the media and in fiction.
‘‘In some ways, Shipman’s ‘non-violent’ killing seems almost more incredible than the violent deaths of which we hear.
‘‘The way in which Shipman could kill, face the relatives, and walk away unsuspected would be dismissed as fanciful if described in a work of fiction.
‘‘Although I have identified 215 victims of Shipman the true number is far greater and cannot be counted. I include the thousands of relatives, friends or neighbours who have lost a loved one or friend before his or her time in circumstances which will leave their mark forever.’’
