Latest news with #HaroldShipman
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
The prison life of twisted serial killer the 'Man in Black': How Peter Moore, 78, befriended Dr Death Harold Shipman, is 'extremely fit' and blames his murder of four men 30 years ago on fictional gay lover 'Jason'
For the monstrous 'Man in Black', life at one of Britain's most notorious prisons is a doddle compared to what he put his victims through. Horror film-obsessed Peter Moore, who was convicted in 1996 of the savage, sexually-motivated murders of four men, is currently an inmate at HMP Wakefield. According to a former prison mate who receives 'regular' letters from Moore, the killer is 'extremely fit' and leaves his cell 'daily' for exercise. A little over 20 years ago, it was during those trips out of his cell that the former cinema chain owner got to know fellow serial killer Harold Shipman - 'Dr Death' himself. Shipman - who in his role as a GP murdered an estimated 250 people, took his own life in 2004 - a day before his 58th birthday. Moore admitted in a letter that he was 'going to miss' Shipman, who he described as an 'educating and interesting person to talk to'. Shipman, who Moore said had been 'normal' when he saw him the day before his death, had allegedly been writing a book about famed French leader Napoleon Bonaparte. Police later interviewed Moore over the death of the monstrous doctor, who hanged himself in his cell just four years into his whole-life sentence. Moore had been at HMP Wakefield for more than two decades, having previously served time at Walton Prison. HMP Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, houses up to 750 of the most dangerous prisoners in the country. Each inmate has their own cell and most get a TV set in the rooms. Prisoners also get access to the gym and can do distance learning courses with the Open University. Wakefield also houses a braille shop, where prisoners work to convert books so they can be read by blind people. Moore is among the inmates who have helped out there. As well as Shipman, HMP Wakefield has also held double child murderer Ian Huntley and notoriously violent inmate Charles Bronson. And it was, until this year, home to 'Hannibal the Cannibal' Robert Maudsley, who was moved just weeks ago to HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire after going on hunger strike over the removal of his PlayStation. Maudsley, 71, has killed a total of four people. He got his nickname after murdering a fellow prisoner and leaving the body with a spoon sticking out of the skull and part of their brain missing. It gave rise to the false belief that he ate the organ, prompting the moniker. Other killers currently held alongside Moore include Jeremy Bamber - who was jailed for the killing of his adoptive parents, sister and nephews in 1985 - and paedophile former Lost Prophets frontman Ian Watkins. Between September and December 1995, Moore stabbed to death and then mutilated Henry Roberts, 56, Edward Carthy, 28, Keith Randles, 49 and Anthony Davies, 40. Moore, who owned a chain of cinemas and picked up his nickname because his choice of black shirt and matching trousers, carried out all the murders in north Wales, where he lived. Although he initially admitted to the killings to his lawyer and the police, Moore later retracted his confession. Instead, he blamed the murders on a fictional lover called 'Jason', who he is said to have named after the terrifying antagonist in the Friday the 13th horror franchise. Unsurprisingly, police and jurors did not buy Moore's claims. He was convicted on all counts and told he would never leave prison. Prosecutor Alex Carlile described him as having had 'black thoughts' and having carried out the 'blackest of deeds'. Moore admitted to his lawyer Dylan Rhys Jones that he had carried out one of his murders - the stabbing of Keith Randles - 'for fun'. Mr Rhys Jones recounted in his book, The Man in Black: Wales' Worst Serial Killer, that Moore told him of the killing: 'I just thought it was a job well done, and left and returned to my van.' In 2019, more than 20 years after acting for Moore, Mr Rhys Jones wrote to his former client in the hope of getting more material for his book. To his surprise, Moore sent him a 'jovial, friendly' reply and even agreed to see him in person. He later sent the lawyer turned author a 'resumé' containing details about his early life and background. The four-page letter began with Moore insisting that Mr Rhys Jones include an acknowledgement in the preface of his book stating that he 'apologises to the people of north Wales for his actions, but that "I don't admit being responsible for the four murders". The demand for an inclusion of a bizarre apology for crimes he claimed to not be responsible for left Mr Rhys Jones stunned. He wrote: 'Clearly I couldn't make any such promises – and didn't do so – but the main question I was left asking myself was, what was Moore apologising for? 'It seemed he was apologising for his conduct and saying sorry for the murders but also absolving himself of any responsibility at the same time. 'Was this an attempt, weak and ridiculous though it seemed, to relieve himself of the feeling of guilt?' Mr Rhys Jones went on to receive a Christmas card from his former client in December 2019. He had been due to meet Moore at Wakefield on February 10, 2020. But just a few days before the meeting, the serial killer told him in a typed letter that his legal advisors had told him 'not to attend visits from you and not to provide case material to you, as they don't want any further publicity prior to my case going to appeal.' Mr Rhys Jones, who admitted he was 'disappointed' to receive the letter, added in his book: 'I have no knowledge as to whether Moore really intends to lodge an appeal against either his conviction or his sentence.' In 2024 book Inside Wakefield Prison: Life Behind Bars in the Monster Mansion, authors Jonathan Levi and Emma French shed more light on Moore's life behind bars. A former fellow prisoner told them: 'Peter Moore I knew very well. He actually writes to me now on a regular basis. He has some minor health issues but is in good shape for his age. 'A very tall man with a full head of grey hair with a huge 1980s grey tash. Although he is from Wales, he speaks very well [posh] in a London accent. He is very articulate, clever man.' 'As sick as it sounds, but you want the truth, he actually jokes about his crimes. He claims they were committed by his alter ego Jason. 'His favourite sick joke about his crimes are he once dressed in a policeman's uniform, stopped a car and tied up a couple, male and his female partner. 'He said the man pleaded with him not to sexually assault the woman, he then said, "Sir, how dare you, I'm not here for her, it's you I want." 'Peter actually thinks this was funny. I have spent hours with him revealing all the details of his crimes. 'His voice is so polite and professional, very well spoken, and it is so odd to listen to a well-spoken man talk so much horror. 'Not the sort of thing you would expect from someone so well spoken. 'He is extremely fit. He goes out on exercise daily. He has no visits and when not working he cooks and keeps himself to himself.' 'He must have some personality issues because when he tells his stories he will give the impression it was him that committed the crimes all the way through the conversation, then he will blame Jason.' In 2013, Moore unsuccessfully appealed his whole-life tariff at the European Court of Human Rights.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I am a forensic psychiatrist who came face to face with Peter Sutcliffe at Broadmoor Hospital - these are the four types of serial killers and their TWISTED motivations
Dr Andrew Johns, who has studied some of Britain's most notorious murderers as a psychiatrist, identified the four types of serial killer on a new Mail podcast. An Appointment with Murder is a true crime series which delves into the minds, methods and motivations behind medical murderers. Medical murderers are those who pervert their positions of trust, as doctors or nurses, to prey on the public. The season opens with a study of the infamous cases of doctors Harold Shipman and John Bodkin Adams. The podcast is hosted by Dr Harry Brünjes and Dr Andrew Johns, who trained together as medical students at Guy's Hospital in London. Harry spent sixteen years as a clinician and a police surgeon, whilst Andrew became one of the leading forensic psychiatrists in the UK, spending years inside the walls of Broadmoor and giving evidence in at least 100 murder trials. Laying the groundwork for their analysis, Andrew told the brand-new podcast what psychological categories serial killers like Shipman and Bodkin Adams fall into. 'The Visionary' Andrew explained: 'The visionary is a person who becomes a serial killer because he is impelled to by some inner motive or belief. 'A good example of that would be Peter Sutcliffe. The motive for his murders came from his paranoid schizophrenia – he felt impelled to kill women who he perceived as prostitutes.' Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, was a serial killer who murdered 13 women and attempted to kill seven others across Yorkshire and Greater Manchester between 1975 and 1980. He was arrested in January 1981, convicted of his crimes, and sentenced to life imprisonment, dying in prison in November 2020 at age 74. 'The Hedonist' 'The hedonist is defined as someone who kills for pleasure', Andrew described. 'An example of this type of serial killer would be Fred West. With his wife Rose, he tortured, over a long period of time, twelve female victims. 'He enjoyed watching them die and then dismembered and buried their bodies in the garden.' Fred West was a serial killer who, along with his wife Rose West, murdered at least 12 young women and girls between 1967 and 1987, burying many of the victims at their home in Gloucester, England. He was arrested in 1994 but died by suicide in his prison cell on January 1, 1995, before he could stand trial, while Rose West was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. 'The Controller' The controller is a murderer who relishes lauding and exploiting their positions of power over their victims. Looking ahead to one of the subjects of the new podcast, Andrew said: 'We here relate to Bodkin Adams. 'Bodkin Adams was suspected of having killed over 150 people. He enjoyed manipulating his relationship with the elderly. He proscribed large doses of medication to them and made elderly ladies' dependant on him. 'We know that many gave him bequests in their wills.' John Bodkin Adams was a GP who became the subject of one of the most famous murder trials in 1950s England, accused of killing elderly patients for financial gain through their wills. He was acquitted of murder in 1957 but was later convicted of prescription fraud and other offenses, with modern analysis suggesting he may have been responsible for the deaths of over 160 patients during his medical career. 'The Mission Orientated' The mission orientated killer is a murderer who commits their heinous acts with a clear goal in mind. 'We here turn to Harold Shipman', Andrew said. 'He may have killed as many 450 people. There was no sign of mental illness. His motive, as far as we can conjecture, was he felt himself on a mission to – cruel words I know – get rid of elderly people when he perceived their time had dome.' Like Bodkin Adams, Shipman was also a general practitioner who became one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was convicted in 2000 of murdering 15 patients with lethal injections of diamorphine. A public inquiry later found he was responsible for approximately 250 deaths over his career, making him Britain's most notorious medical serial killer before he died by suicide in prison in 2004. For more expert analysis of the macabre, search for An Appointment With Murder - available wherever you get your podcasts now. New episodes released every Wednesday. Can't wait? Subscribe to The Crime Desk to listen to the whole first season ad-free now. An Appointment with Murder will look at poisoners and predators from Victorian times to today, investigating the common thread that runs between these killers hiding behind medical titles. Follow on your favourite podcast platform to never miss an episode.
Sunday Post
11-05-2025
- Health
- Sunday Post
Health boards urged to end preventable death review ‘culture of secrecy'
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up Government ministers face a mounting backlash over secrecy as almost 1,000 preventable death and accident reviews a year in Scottish hospitals go unpublished, we can reveal. Not a single health board is making redacted Significant Adverse Event Reviews (SAER) available to the public, despite guidance telling them to do so. The Sunday Post was praised in parliament last week for revealing how 500 babies died and dozens of mothers lost their lives in maternity units over the past five years without officials being required to explain why. MSPs expressed frustration that Scottish Government promises of greater transparency – made after two inquiries into maternity care a decade a go – have been ignored. Now Scotland's Information Commissioner is joining calls for an end to secrecy to make our NHS safer and prevent a recurrence of scandals like Dr Harold Shipman, Lucy Letby and our own NHS Tayside scandal involving rogue surgeon 'Sam' Eljamel. Official inquiries at NHS Ayrshire & Arran over six baby deaths, and at NHS Highland over five avoidable deaths, led to the Information Commissioner ruling SAERs should be redacted and made available on health board websites. A decade on, health officials refuse to make information available, hiding behind data laws. Tory MSP Stephen Kerr is demanding answers from Public Health Minister Jenni Minto. He said: 'It's a matter of public interest, moral duty and democratic accountability that these reports are published, redacted where necessary, so the public can be assured that the NHS is learning from its most serious failures. 'The failure of ministers to act on this is no longer a neutral stance – it is complicity in the ongoing denial of accountability.' Kerr lambasted Minto over her lacklustre response, demanding assurances that the current system is not being used to 'obscure rather than illuminate critical failures in patient safety'. He said: 'These are not statistics, these are human tragedies – avoidable ones.' Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: 'Learning from mistakes is the best way to improve patient safety, so this lack of transparency is deeply worrying.' And Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: 'This looks like it could be a major scandal. We have seen from previous scandals that institutions can be reluctant to draw back the curtain and allow sunlight in. If they are unwilling to do this, ministers will have to turn up the pressure.' Information Commissioner David Hamilton is urging more transparency where possible. He said: 'Sharing of learning from significant adverse events that arise in our hospitals is a crucial part of preventing a reoccurrence. If learning can be shared publicly in a way that does not breach data protection or patient confidentiality it may be good practice to do so, to support scrutiny and accountability and build public trust.' The commissioner said that while not every case may be suitable for publication, health agencies should consider change. He added: 'We would expect to see the learning published where possible. 'Where information isn't made public, people still have rights under Freedom of Information (FoI) law to ask for it, followed by a right to appeal to my office if they feel it has been unjustly withheld.' © Sandy McCook / DC Thomson Health boards across Scotland refuse to issue figures on how many avoidable deaths or how many SAER reports there have been without FoI applications, which take months. Louise Slorance, the widow of government official Andrew, 49, who died five years ago after contracting Covid-19 and the fungal infection aspergillus while receiving cancer treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow, said: 'The continued deliberate culture of secrecy over patient deaths has become Scotland's shame. 'I've had years of fighting to get to the truth over Andrew's death despite promises of openness from former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, so what chance have other families got?' The Scottish Government said: 'We expect all boards to follow guidance to ensure robust and timely reviews are undertaken into such tragic events, to allow lessons to be learned at the earliest possible opportunity.'
BBC News
16-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Welsh mortuaries overcrowded due to death certificate delays
Families are unable to say goodbye to loved ones because of changes to death certificates which has also led to overcrowded mortuaries, a funeral director has Griffith said it was taking between 10 and 20 days for bodies to arrive due to the new system, introduced in September, which he said made it hard to make them look presentable for loved ones. Overcrowding has also led to hundreds of bodies being moved to other mortuaries in the past six months, and Mr Griffith said families were not being informed. The lead medical examiner for Wales said he was working "tirelessly" to address any delays. Under the new system, partially introduced in response to the deaths caused by serial killer doctor Harold Shipman, all deaths not investigated by a coroner must be reviewed independently by a medical examiner before a death certificate can be issued. Mr Griffith, a funeral director in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, said: "It's wrong for families who can't say goodbye to their loved ones. "There's no other way to say it, they're absolutely devastated."He said it would previously take about three or four days for a body to be released from a hospital mortuary to a funeral director, but this was now taking 10 to 20 days. "I've had to turn families away from coming to the chapel of rest because I can't make their loved ones presentable enough because of the length of time between the passing and the registration. "It's very traumatic for them and it's causing families to have lots of anxiety, lots of stress and pain. It doesn't need to happen." As a result of the delays, health boards are having to move bodies between hospitals to ensure morgues do not exceed capacity. Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board, which covers Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil, moved approximately 500 deceased patients between September and mid March, according to a BBC Wales Freedom of Information (FOI) health board said this was caused by "extreme pressure due to increased length of stay", adding it appreciated the time after death was "distressing" for families and that its priority during transportation was to "maintain the dignity of that person". Mr Griffith said he was not surprised bodies were being moved, but was shocked families were not being told. "I think if families knew exactly - the transportation and moving sometime 20 to 25 miles from one hospital to another - I don't think they would approve of that. "And again, during the transportation period they're unrefrigerated," he said. Elsewhere, Aneurin Bevan health board said it had moved 229 bodies between mid September and late February, Swansea Bay 98 and Hywel Dda 21. Cardiff and Vale health board said it was "not possible" to provide a count and Betsi Cadawaldr said no persons had been moved due to shortage of space, only for post-mortem examinations. Iwan Evans, a funeral director in Carmarthenshire, said there was no blame on mortuary staff or any specific health board, adding there was a "natural pressure" in the winter months due to an increase in deaths. But he said the lack of capacity in hospital mortuaries was "definitely" a direct result of the "bureaucratic" medical examiner system. "When we're alive, we trust the doctors, but then after death, this whole system is in place to review and monitor the doctor's work."I don't think it's 100% suitable for them to review every single death." Health is devolved in Wales, but death certificates are Evans said the Welsh government should intervene. "There are systems to take care of the deceased all over the world, but the situation we have is that our Senedd, where health has been devolved, is accountable to another parliament for this matter." Rachel Bradburne, of the National Association of Funeral Directors, said the "piecemeal" nature of the system was "frustrating" and the current system was "full of bottlenecks and delays". Jason Shannon, lead medical examiner for Wales, said he recognised the importance of "seamless and timely death certification". "We sympathise with any loved ones experiencing delays and we are working tirelessly with all professionals and organisations involved in the death certification process to address any delays being experienced following new changes to the England and Wales death certificate system," he added. The Welsh government apologised to families who had experienced delays and said the changes were designed to "strengthen safeguard". It added it was working with the lead medical examiner, NHS and other organisations to provide additional support. The Department of Health and Social Care said the changes supported "vital improvements to patient safety" and provide comfort and clarity to the bereaved. "We recognise that there are significant regional variations, and we are actively monitoring these and working closely with the NHS and the Welsh government to swiftly address them."
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Attack on officers raises questions about separation centres at jails in England
With its high, ugly, grey concrete perimeter walls HMP Frankland looks as grim from the outside as you would expect for a place nicknamed 'Monster Mansion'. Since it was opened in 1983 on the leafy outskirts of Durham – near a 13th-century priory used for centuries as a holiday retreat for Benedictine monks – its inmates have included Peter Sutcliffe, Harold Shipman and Charles Bronson. It is not the sort of place to ever get favourable reviews. Bronson, one of the UK's longest-serving prisoners, wrote in his autobiography: 'It was too intense, too closed in and claustrophobic.' Frankland is in the news after an attack on prison guards by Hashem Abedi, a terrorist involved in the Manchester Arena bombing serving at least 55 years. Its inmates are understood to include the Soham murderer Ian Huntley, the serial killer Levi Bellfield, the Soho nailbomber David Copeland and Wayne Couzens, the Metropolitan police officer who raped and murdered Sarah Everard in 2021. Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president sentenced to 50 years for war crimes, is reportedly another Frankland prisoner. Former prisoners describe how someone engraved 'welcome to hell' inside the holding cell at the prison's reception. Inside the category A maximum security jail with more than 800 inmates, it is all fences, gates and keys, say people who know it. And inside all of that, on a narrow corridor, is a separation centre where the attack took place. The separation centre at Frankland is one of three introduced into the England and Wales prison estate by Theresa May's government in 2017, the others being at the high security prisons HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes and HMP Full Sutton near York. The intention was to tackle extremism in prisons, 'holding up to 28 of the most subversive offenders, preventing their influence over others'. That 'influence' primarily refers to the ability to radicalise fellow inmates, which could prove a risk to national security or disrupt order in the jail. But do these separation centres work? Are they fit for purpose? How did a man who in 2022 was found guilty of a 'vicious attack' on a prison guard at Belmarsh manage to allegedly attack again? A 2022 report by the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, into separation centres at Frankland and Woodhill (Full Sutton was closed at the time) found that even though the centres were designed for prisoners from any political or religious standpoint, 'so far, they have only been used for Muslim men'. It described the unit as having a small room for association and an area for prisoners to cook and prepare food. 'With no facilities on the wing, staff arranged for prisoners to visit the main prison gym and they could also be taken off the unit for education, but no prisoner was taking up this offer at the time of the inspection.' The inspection described the unit as well-maintained, with the small number of inmates living in 'safe, reasonable conditions'. It continued: 'They had good access to healthcare, including mental health services, as well as visits and phone calls.' The prisoners in the unit had collectively decided not to engage with the regime, leaving officers 'often underemployed'. That lack of engagement with prison staff showed separation units were clearly not working as they should, John Podmore, a former governor of Belmarsh and an honorary professor at Durham University, told the Guardian. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Having access to a kitchen appears to have enabled the attack on prison officers. Abedi is understood to have thrown a pan of hot cooking oil at officers and used weapons made from a tray to stab them. Podmore said it was clearly a 'gross misjudgement' to have self-catering facilities for the inmates there. If prisoners were not engaging with staff, then 'don't give them kitchens', he said. 'There is probably some poor bugger at a cat C [prison] like Wandsworth locked up 23 hours a day and getting food shoved under the door going: 'Hang on a minute, I didn't massacre children and try to kill prison officers, why can't I have a kitchen?' It is that stupid. On what basis were they given a kitchen?' he asked. 'I'm not an advocate of concrete coffins and I have set up self-catering facilities … but they are something to be earned, something to be worked towards, not something to be given, as appears here, by way of appeasement.' Podmore said he recalled the implementation of the separation centres being 'done very reluctantly' by the Prison Service. 'It was very half-hearted, they didn't really want to do it but they didn't have a lot of choice … the Prison Service does not like being told what to do.' The Ministry of Justice has said there would be a full review of how the incident was allowed to happen. 'The government will do whatever it takes to keep our hardworking staff safe and our thoughts remain with the two prison officers still in hospital as they recover,' a spokesperson said. 'We've already taken immediate action to suspend access to kitchens in separation and close supervision centres. We will also launch a full independent review into how this attack was able to happen and will set out the terms and scope of this review in the coming days.'
