Beverley Allitt — Angel of Death
Fast Facts:
- Born in 1968 in England
- Killed 4 children and attempted the murder of nine others while suffering from Munchausen’s by proxy
- Missing nursing logs raised suspicion
- Charged with 4 counts of murder, 11 counts of attempted murder and 11 counts of grievous bodily harm.
- Sentenced to 13 life sentences
As a child, Allitt showed aggression towards others and would seek attention by wearing bandages (but not showing anyone the injury). Her Munchausen’s syndrome symptoms soon stopped getting the reaction she wanted so started hurting others for attention.
She trained as a nurse and even though she had poor attendance, odd behaviour and failed her exams a number of times, she was still given a temporary short-term contract at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in Lincolnshire in 1991, in the children’s ward. Her behaviour wasn’t spotted as the hospital was understaffed.
A succession of children in her unsupervised care over the next few months suffered heart failure, unrelated to their ill health. Some were also found to have unexplained elevated insulin levels, although there were a number where no cause was found.
Eventually the high number of unexplained attacks in otherwise healthy children and Allitt’s attendance at all incidents was noted. An investigation found inordinately high doses of insulin in most cases. Record checks found the only common factor was Beverley Allitt’s presence.
Diagnosed with Munchausen’s syndrome and Munchausen’s by proxy, Allitt was charged with four counts of murder, 11 counts of attempted murder, and 11 counts of causing grievous bodily harm.
She was convicted on May 23rd, 1993 and given 13 life sentences for murder and attempted murder and she was incarcerated in Rampton Secure Hospital under the Mental Health Act.
April 1, 2018 at 10:35 pm
Interesting theme! I bet it was interesting to research, too.
Jayden R. Vincente
Erotic Fiction Writer
April 2, 2018 at 9:20 am
Jayden, it was fascinating to research. Turned out that was a problem because I took far longer writing my posts than I intended to 0_o
April 3, 2018 at 1:56 am
I bet!
April 1, 2018 at 10:42 pm
I’ve always been fascinated by Munchausen’s by proxy, and this is a terrific post about it, AJ. Amazing, isn’t it, how once you know that someone is mentally ill, it seems so obvious in their photograph. Yet not knowing, Beverley just looks like a depressed woman.
You’re off to a great start.
April 2, 2018 at 12:24 am
I’m so grateful she was caught. Not just caught, but also sentenced to such a long time in jail. What a great topic for the A to Z. I love it! I’ve always found serial killers fascinating.
Elsie
April 2, 2018 at 9:21 am
Thanks, Elsie. I’ve always been fascinated by serial killers as well, particularly the psych behind them – are they sociopaths or had a troubled upbringing? What was the trigger? Fascinating to read.
April 2, 2018 at 1:29 am
She’s a scary one! Great start to the challenge!
Dena
April 2, 2018 at 9:23 am
She is scary! I think I find this condition, Munchausen’s by Proxy, particularly hard to get my head around because it’s so often exhibited by mothers on their children. As a Mum I just can’t get my head around that.
April 2, 2018 at 2:19 am
This is one of the more interesting A-Zs yet! I am not sure what it is about serial killers than fascinates most of us, seems wrong somehow, but there it is! I don’t mean today’s mass shooters.
I think Beverly just looks sad. People who suffer from mental illnesses look no different from those suffering from other ailments. In other words, they look like everyone else, or “normal.”
April 2, 2018 at 9:25 am
I’m glad you’ve found my topic interesting, Lisa. I think our fascination with serial killers is because we can’t understand them. We’re fascinated by something beyond our imagination.
April 2, 2018 at 2:20 am
Fascinating, and I wonder if maybe she’s not the only nurse who will show up on your list…?
April 2, 2018 at 9:27 am
Hi Jenny, she’s not the only serial killer from the medical profession in my list!
April 2, 2018 at 3:20 am
Interesting post. I read something somewhere a long while ago about female serial killers tending to see themselves “angels of death” and being in particular roles where it afforded them access to people who could be viewed as suffering…
Can’t wait to see who is featured for your letter B!
My theme is not as intense as yours, just 100 word fiction posts: https://writingiscommunication.wordpress.com/2018/04/01/anomalous-the-space-between-bookstore-presented-by-a-to-z-100-word-stories/
April 2, 2018 at 9:29 am
Shari, this is the most intense topic I’ve covered on A to Z. But as I write murder mysteries, it’s relevant (the number of people who claimed the serial killer was a “nice neighbour” is rather scary). I’ll be popping over to your site soon, but as a writer I love reading other writers’ work =)
April 2, 2018 at 6:04 am
Interesting topic. Being in England, and a nursery nurse who worked on a children’s ward, this particular event struck home. The only positive was that she was stopped before she caused heartbreak for even more families.
April 2, 2018 at 9:31 am
Suzanne, you’ll be very familiar with this case then. When you read about the case, it’s hard to not question why she wasn’t stopped sooner, but when you consider the thought of someone who has chosen a career saving people’s lives doing the opposite , you can understand why.
April 2, 2018 at 9:16 am
Thanks, Karen. I hadn’t thought about the photo, but yes, she does look depressed, although maybe that’s symptomatic of Munchausen’s by proxy?
April 2, 2018 at 10:41 am
Unimaginable how someone could kill children like that. Fascinating insight, AJ.
April 2, 2018 at 11:52 am
I consider myself a true crime aficionado. I’ll definitely follow this. She’s a bit like Geneen Jones
April 2, 2018 at 12:20 pm
Fascinating theme! There aren’t too many people who aren’t intrigued in one way or another about the motivation of various serial killers. I look forward to the results of your research.
April 2, 2018 at 1:13 pm
I can’t even begin to comprehend, Colin.
April 2, 2018 at 10:51 pm
Love your theme. Although I’m not a participant this year. I like to check out new blogs.
April 3, 2018 at 9:57 am
Lisa, that’s a great idea. If I don’t have time for the posts I might do that myself next year.
April 2, 2018 at 11:35 pm
How awful, children and elderly people are probably the most unsuspecting, innocent and vulnerable patients in a hospital.
It’s going to be interesting to find out how many female serial killers there are over the course of your alphabet.
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/2018/04/a-is-for-amsterdam.html
April 3, 2018 at 9:58 am
Tamara, you hear so much about male serial killers (and there are more) that I was suprised how many female killers I found (although I haven’t included them all in my posts).
April 3, 2018 at 12:37 am
I remember this being all over the news – it seemed so impossible to comprehend at the time.
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings – Movie Monsters
April 3, 2018 at 9:59 am
Son of Sam is definitely one of the better known serial killers. I’ve tried to balance “famous” serial killers with ones many won’t have heard of (but who were just as lethal).
April 3, 2018 at 5:04 am
Ooo this is so interesting, and a great topic for the A to Z Challenge!
April 3, 2018 at 10:00 am
Thank you! I chose the topic before checking letters, but it turns out there were no problems with any (even the tricky ones like Q and X).