Harold Shipman who killed as many as 250 patients may have been a sex murderer who was aroused by watching his elderly patients die says secret report
- Harold Shipman murdered hundreds of women while he was working as a GP
- Two months before he hanged himself, a secret 30-page report was completed
- Excerpts from the report suggest sexual motivation and need to exercise power
Harold Shipman may have been sexually aroused at seeing his elderly female victims die and killed them out of an unmet emotional need to exercise power.
A secret jail dossier - originally intended to be hushed up until 2088 - says the fact all his known victims were women suggest a sexual motivation in a further shock to the families of the twisted GP's victims.
The prolific serial killer - dubbed Dr Death - killed up to 250 people.
He had no convictions for sex offences and always claimed to be 'acting in the best interests of his patients' in Hyde, Greater Manchester.
After being jailed for murdering 15 female patients in January 2000, he continued to protest his innocence and refused to cooperate with officials compiling case reports.
After Shipman (pictured) hanged himself in his cell in Wakefield Prison his prison records were released into the National Archives
But in November 2003, two months before Shipman hanged himself, officials at Wakefield Jail, received a 30-page report highlighting a sexual motive for the crimes that the married doctor was probably not aware of.
The move followed the conclusion of the public inquiry which attributed 218 murders to Shipman but warned he could have claimed up to 250 victims.
Rather than rely on Shipman’s version of events, a probation service chief and prison psychologist were asked to base conclusions on 'factual information' from all documents relating to the case including the new information from Dame Janet Smith’s public inquiry.
Shipman was found guilty of the murder of 15 of his patients, but could have killed up to 250.(Top Row L-R) Winnifred Mellor, Kathleen Grundy, Irene Turner, Jean Lilley, (Middle Row) Laura Kathleen Wagster, Lizzie Adams, Bianka Pomfret, Joan Melia, (Bottom Row) Marie West, Maureen Alice Ward, and Norah Nuttall, were all victims of his
'Records indicate there is no physical evidence relating to any of the 15 victims which suggest a sexual motivation for the index offences,' they concluded.
'However, due to the absence of an obvious motive for the index offences, records have speculated differing motivations, one of them being sexual motivation.
'Killing his victims may have meeting an unmet emotional need to exercise power and control over life and death and in doing so reduce emotional tension.
Primrose Shipman, the killer's wife, is pictured talking to a reporter at her door. Shipman may have been motivated by a sexual desire he didn't understand, a report suggests
'The fact that all the victims were women could imply some form of sexual motivation was involved.
'Although there was no physical evidence of sexual interference, the power over his victims and the act of killing itself, which was not protracted, could suggest an element of sexual arousal or sexual dysfunction.
'It is unlikely Harold Shipman himself will be able to understand his motivation at this stage.'
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Quaking with emotion, Joe Kitchen, whose mother Alice was killed by Shipman, said: 'The relatives will not just be surprised by this they will be shocked - as I am. It is something we never even thought of.
'A lot of the relatives are going to be wondering why this has not come out earlier and why the report was originally intended to be sealed for so long.
'It seems this case is just not going away and you have to ask if this is all part of a cover up and when it will be over so the families can grieve in peace.
Shipman (pictured) may have killed hundreds of women because he derived sexual pleasure from watching them die
'Every time something unexpected comes out it brings back memories of when our loved ones were murdered. This makes you wonder what else is hidden in these records.'
The findings were stamped 'not for disclosure to prisoner' and were originally intended to be sealed until 2088.
But after Shipman hanged himself in his cell in Wakefield Prison his prison records were released into the National Archives.
The secret report was found among hundreds of documents by Prof Tom Clark, a Sheffield University academic, while researching his new book, The Sociology of Evil.
Prof Clark said: 'The names of the authors of the report were redacted but the chilling conclusions about Shipman’s sexual deviancy were crystal clear.
'The only time he ever spoke in prison was for a 90-minute sentencing report and he only agreed to that because he had his privileges cut off.
'So we know very little about him other than he was very cold and calculating and an expert in death.
'This report brands him a sex killer as wicked as the Yorkshire Ripper, who also sought out vulnerable women.
'But unlike Peter Sutcliffe, Shipman never acknowledged any responsibility for the pain and misery he caused.'
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