The Biggest Serial Killer Of Our Time Quiz

Answer: 17

She died of lung cancer. She spent her last few months heavily sedated by morphine, the drug which Dr Shipman was to use on most of his victims. She passed away on June 21, 1963, happy that she had managed to send her favourite child to grammar school.

Answer: Oxtoby

Primrose was brought up in a very strict household. Primrose and Fred would take the same bus every morning as she went to her job as a window dresser and he went to Leeds University. She became pregnant and they got married on November 5, 1966, three months before the birth of their first child. Fred was in his second year of medical school at this stage.

Answer: Pontefract General Infirmary

Fred stayed here for three and a half years. During this time, his second child was born.

Answer: Todmorden

While here, Fred started suffering from blackouts and was diagnosed as having epilepsy. A receptionist discovered that Fred had been prescribing large amounts of pethidine, a drug similar to morphine. When confronted by the other doctors at the surgery he admitted being addicted to the drug.

He was sent to The Retreat, a rehab centre. The General Medical Council took no action against him. He was prosecuted, however, and was fined £657.78.

Answer: 1977

Fred was well liked by his patients in Donneybrook, even though this is where the majority of his crimes took place. He often volunteered to visit patients in their own homes, he remembered personal information about patients, and made them feel cared for. Many of them fiercely supported him when charges were brought against him.

Answer: No one knows

We have no idea who the first patient to be killed by Dr Shipman was. There were suspicious deaths when he was in Todmorden, but who knows when it all started? Most of the bodies were too badly decomposed to be tested for the presence of morphine and therefore cannot be officially classed as victims.

Answer: Kathleen Grundy

This is when it all went wrong for Dr Shipman. Ms Grundy's daughter suspected him of forging her mother's will, to make himself the main beneficiary. She alerted the police, who then began to look into the death. The police officer assigned to the case recalled that Dr Shipman had previously been under observation after someone reported a large number of deaths among his patients, and so the can of worms was opened.

Answer: true

The scale was devised so that morphine in possible victims could be detected easily. For the full five points, the following circumstances had to be met: the body was buried (not cremated); the family were concerned about the death at the time; there was cause for police concern (e.g. there was property missing); the medical records had been altered; and an extra point was added if all 4 criteria were met.

Answer: 15

Dr Shipman was found guilty on 15 counts of murder and one of forging a will.

Answer: False

Dr Shipman failed to admit to his crimes or show any remorse.