TODMORDEN, ENGLAND – Twenty years after the death of notorious serial killer Harold Shipman, the family of his first victim, Eva Lyons, fears that there may still be hundreds of unidentified victims. Shipman, a former doctor, fatally overdosed Lyons with morphine in 1975, before callously informing her husband of her death.
Lyons’ family only discovered her status as a victim of Shipman’s murderous spree over 25 years after her passing. Shipman, dubbed “Dr Death,” was later found to have murdered 215 people in total, including Lyons, as confirmed by a £20 million inquiry in 2002.
Debbie Bartlett, Lyon’s granddaughter, believes that the death toll could be even higher. An interview with the Mirror sees Bartlett speaking out against Shipman, asserting her certainty that there are more victims yet to be uncovered. She emphasizes the sadistic and evil nature of Shipman’s crimes.
Despite the passage of time, Bartlett remains haunted by the belief that her grandmother’s murder was just the beginning. Lyons’ untimely death was recorded as cancer on paperwork filed by Shipman, masking the true cause of her death for decades. It wasn’t until 25 years later that Lyons’ family discovered that she had been murdered in her own home.
Shipman’s arrest in 1998 stemmed from suspicious deaths among his patients, prompting further investigation into his practices. Ultimately, Shipman was convicted of 15 murders in 2000, but the subsequent inquiry confirmed his involvement in 215 deaths.
Bartlett expresses her anger over the fact that Shipman should have been apprehended years earlier by the General Medical Council, as he had a history of prescription forgery and fraud. Their willingness to look the other way allowed Shipman to continue practicing medicine, leading to his eventual killing spree.
The grim legacy of Shipman’s crimes lives on through the families of his victims, who continue to grapple with the revelation of his true nature and the impact of his monstrous deeds. A gesture of £10,000 in compensation hardly lessens the pain of those who lost loved ones at the hands of “Dr Death.”
Shipman’s suicide in prison in 2004 put an end to any hope for further answers. The tormented families left behind still grapple with the knowledge that Shipman never revealed the true reasons behind his heinous crimes, leaving them with no closure.
The endless search for meaning continues as Debbie Bartlett and others struggle to understand the incomprehensible actions of a man who went down in history as one of the most prolific serial killers of all time.