HAROLD SHIPMAN is widely regarded as one of the worst serial killer in recorded history, with an estimated 250 victims.
The murderer worked as a GP and used his position to gain the trust of his patients before killing them.
Is Harold Shipman still alive?
Harold Shipman died in 2004.
He took his own life in prison after being handed 15 life sentences.
Some of Shipman's victims' families felt "cheated" by his death as they would never have the satisfaction of his confession.
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Prison records obtained by the Sun on Sunday showed Shipman had planned to end his life before his 60th birthday.
If he died after his 60th birthday his wife would have only received £5,000 a year but, by dying before his birthday, he guaranteed his wife a £100,000 lump sum payment and £10,000 a year from his GP pension.
Shipman was also believed to have been considering goading another prisoner with a life sentence to kill him.
The prison files were supposed to remain secret until 2069 but a copy was found in the public records office at the National Archive in Kew, West London.
Who was Harold Shipman?
Shipman was born on January 13, 1946 in Nottingham.
At 17 years old he watched his mum die of a morphine overdose after a long battle with lung cancer.
That same year, he met his future wife Primose Oxtoby on a bus.
The couple went on to wed and had four children together.
Their children are Sarah, who was born in 1967, Christopher Fredrick, born in 1971, David, born in 1979, and Sam, born in 1982.
All five of Shipman's family members were given new identities after his crimes were discovered.
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Shipman murdered hundreds of his patients by slipping them lethal painkiller doses.
He is the only doctor in the history of British medicine to be found guilty of murdering his patients.
How many people did he kill?
Shipman victims were mostly elderly women and he murdered an estimated 250 of his patients.
The total makes him the most prolific serial killer in modern history by far, though he was only convicted of 15 murders.
Shipman's crimes were finally discovered in 1998.
Police grew suspicious of Shipman when a forged will belonging to patient Kathleen Grundy left him £386,000.
Tests on her corpse revealed that she had been killed by a diamorphine overdose.
Who were his victims?
The 15 people Shipman was convicted of killing are:
- Marie West, 81, March 1995
- Irene Turner, 67, July 1996
- Lizzie Adams, 77, February 1997
- Jean Lilley, 58, April 1997
- Ivy Lomas, 63, May 1997
- Muriel Grimshaw, 76, July 1997
- Marie Quinn, 67, November 1997
- Laura Kathleen Wagstaff, 81, December 1997
- Bianka Pomfret, 49, December 1997
- Norah Nuttall, 64, January 1998
- Pamela Marguerite Hillier, 68, February 1998
- Maureen Alice Ward, 57, February 1998
- Winifred Mellor, 73, May 1998
- Joan May Melia, 73, June 1998
- Kathleen Grundy, 81, June 1998
What did the inquiry find?
Shortly after Shipman was found guilty of 15 murders in January 2000, the Shipman inquiry commenced.
The inquiry concluded that the murderer had killed at least 215 patients - but the real figure could be as high as 459.
Most estimates claim that he killed around 250.
The Shipman inquiry led to an overhaul of medical guidelines known as the "Shipman effect".
Many doctors reported a reluctance to risk over-prescribing pain medication, as well as changes to death certification practices.
Additionally, six doctors were found not guilty of misconduct by the General Medical Council after failing to notice the pattern between Shipman's home visits and the deaths of his patients.