Beverly Allitt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Beverly Gail Allitt (1968-10-04)4 October 1968 (age 57) Grantham,Lincolnshire, England |
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Other names | TheAngel of Death |
| Motive | Attention due tofactitious disorder imposed on another |
| Criminal penalty | 13life sentences, 4 counts ofmurder, 5 counts ofattempted murder, 6 counts ofGBH |
| Details | |
| Victims | 13 (4 deaths) |
Span of crimes | February 1991 – April 1991 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Weapon | Insulin, unknown toxic substances |
Date apprehended | 1991 |
| Imprisoned at | Rampton Secure Hospital |
Beverly Gail Allitt (born 4 October 1968) is an Englishserial killer who was convicted of murdering four infants, attempting to murder three others, and causinggrievous bodily harm to a further six atGrantham and Kesteven Hospital,Lincolnshire, between February and April 1991.[1] She committed the murders as aState Enrolled Nurse on the hospital's children's ward.[2][3][4]
Allitt administered large doses ofinsulin to at least two of her victims and a largeair bubble was found in the body of another, but police were initially unable to establish how all of the attacks were carried out.[5]
In May 1993, Allitt received 13life sentences atNottingham Crown Court. The sentencing judge,Justice David Latham, told Allitt that she was "a serious danger" to others and was unlikely ever to be considered safe enough to be released.[6][7] Allitt is currently detained atRampton Secure Hospital inNottinghamshire.[8] She became eligible for release onparole after her minimum tariff of 30 years' imprisonment expired in November 2021.[9]
Beverly Gail Allitt was born on 4 October 1968 and grew up in the village ofCorby Glen near the town ofGrantham. She had two sisters and a brother. Her father, Richard, worked in anoff-licence and her mother was a school cleaner. Allitt attendedCharles Read Secondary Modern School, having failed the test to enterKesteven and Grantham Girls' School. She often volunteered for babysitting jobs. She left school at the age of 16 and took a course in nursing atGrantham College.[10][11]
Allitt had attacked 13 children, four fatally, over a 59-day period. It was only following the death of Becky Phillips that medical staff became suspicious of the number of cardiac arrests on the children's ward and police were called in.[12] It was found that Allitt was the only nurse on duty for all the attacks on the children and had access to the drugs used.
Four of Allitt's victims had died. She was charged with four counts of murder, eleven counts ofattempted murder, and eleven counts of causinggrievous bodily harm. Allitt entered pleas of not guilty to all charges.[13] On 28 May 1993, she was found guilty on each charge and sentenced to 13 concurrent terms of life imprisonment, which she is serving at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire.[14][15]
In the 2018 documentaryTrevor McDonald and the Killer Nurse, Allitt reportedly told close friends before her trial that she would never go to prison. After one week in prison, she refused to eat or drink and was moved to Rampton Secure Hospital. Two leading experts,forensic psychiatristJeremy Coid andcriminologist Elizabeth Yardley, examined Allitt's mental state when she was arrested and concluded she was not mentally ill and should be in prison, not a hospital. Allitt reportedly admitted to all 13 of her crimes in a failed application to remain at Rampton Secure Hospital and permanently avoid prison. None of the families of Allitt's victims had been told of her full confession in the failed application.[citation needed]
On 6 December 2007, Mr JusticeStanley Burnton, sitting in theHigh Court of Justice, London, ordered Allitt to serve the original minimum sentence of 30 years.[16] It was reported that some families of Allitt's victims had previously mistakenly believed that her minimumtariff had been set at 40 years.[17] Her minimum tariff expired in November 2021 and she is now eligible for release onparole.[9]
Allitt's motives have never been fully explained. According to one theory, she showed symptoms of afactitious disorder also known asMunchausen syndrome by proxy.[18] This disorder is described as involving a pattern ofabuse in which a perpetrator ascribes symptoms to, or physically falsifies illnesses in, someone under their care in order to attract attention to themselves.
On 3 October 2023, it was reported that Allitt was appearing before a mental health tribunal to be assessed for a potential transfer to a mainstream prison. If the transfer takes place, Allitt will be eligible for parole after six months.[19]
On 8 December 2023, authorities reportedly denied her transfer request from the Rampton Secure Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility, to a mainstream prison. She will not be eligible for another assessment until 2026 at the earliest.[20]
Allitt was the subject of a book calledMurder on Ward Four byNick Davies. ABBC dramatisation of the case,Angel of Death (2005), featuredCharlie Brooks as Allitt.[21] Allitt's story was depicted in episodes of thetrue crime documentariesCrimes That Shook Great Britain,Deadly Women,Born To Kill?,Evil Up Close,Britain's Most Evil Killers, andNurses Who Kill.[22][23]