‘More Would Have Died at the Hands of Killer Nurse’
By Tom Wilkinson
THE vigilance of a hospital doctor prevented a nurse who murdered four frail patients from continuing his killing spree, a senior police officer said last night.
Staff nurse Colin Norris will be jailed for life after he gave lethal doses of the diabetes drug insulin to vulnerable pensioners who were receiving treatment at two Leeds hospitals in 2002 for hip injuries.
Dr Emma Ward, a colleague, grew suspicious after one of the women fell seriously ill while under Norris’s care, and she alerted the authorities who eventually discovered the nurse had already killed three times and tried to murder another.
The 32-year-old from Egilsay Terrace, Glasgow, showed no emotion as he was convicted of four counts of murder and one of attempted murder at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday, following a lengthy trial.
Outside court, Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Gregg described Norris as “extremely arrogant”, and without remorse for killing Doris Ludlam, 80, Bridget Bourke, 88, Irene Crookes, 79 and Ethel Hall, 86, while he worked at the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and the city’s St James’s Hospital.
He was also convicted of attempting to murder Vera Wilby, 90.
Mr Gregg said, “The Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust have been extremely supportive during our investigation and were it not for the prompt actions of one doctor, Dr Emma Ward, following the unexplained coma that beset Ethel Hall, then I am convinced that other people would have lost their lives at his hands.
“Within a six month period Norris murdered four women and attempted to murder another.
“His confidence was growing to such an extent he clearly felt he could kill with impunity.”
Norris predicted Mrs Hall would die on his shift – despite her recovering well from hip surgery at the LGI after a fall.
He told a colleague it was his luck that patients “always died” on his shifts.
But Dr Ward, a diabetes expert, was surprised enough by Mrs Hall’s collapse into a coma that she ordered blood tests which revealed insulin levels around 12 times the norm – and became suspicious because the patient was not diabetic so there was no medical reason for her to be injected.
Police were called in and detectives checked medical records of other patients who died from comas when Norris was on duty.
Police exhumed Mrs Bourke’s body, but Mrs Ludlam and Mrs Crookes were cremated, giving detectives no scope for forensic testing.
West Yorkshire Police built up the case against the nurse by taking 7,000 statements from hospital staff, relatives and patients.
More than 3,000 exhibits were seized in a huge investigation which stretched to 300 binders and included complex shift patterns, hospital security and some of the world’s leading medical experts in a range of fields.
After two years of questioning, the Scottish nurse was charged with the four murders. He tried to kill Mrs Wilby in the same way – she survived the coma but later died froman unrelated cause.
Mr Gregg said there were similarities with the case of killer GP Harold Shipman who murdered hundreds of patients.
“These are two people who were killing patients in their care and nobody really knows what motivated Shipman, much the same as we don’t know what motivated Colin Norris,” he said.
The closest the prosecution came to explaining his callous crimes was to tell the jury that he did not like caring for geriatrics, and that being frail, they could be considered a burden on staff.
Mr Gregg praised NHS staff for their dedication and professionalism-with the obvious exception of Norris.
“While others around him were duly caring for patients, he was looking for opportunities to kill by poisoning them with insulin,” he said.
The officer added, “Norris is not only a dangerous criminal but cunning in his actions, choosing times to commit his crimes carefully, being either early in the morning or at weekends when he knew senior and specialist staffs were not routinely on duty.”
He hoped the verdict would offer the victims’ families “closure”.
In a joint statement, they said, “We are pleased with today’s verdict, which brings to an end a lengthy investigation which has been like a black cloud hanging over us for five long years.
“Our relatives … went into hospital to receive treatment and recover.
“However due to the actions of this man, a person from whom they should have received care and been able to trust, they passed away.
“He cut short their lives and their precious time with their children, grandchildren and in some cases great-grandchildren.”
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust apologised to the families for the patients’ premature deaths.
Security on the wards has improved since 2002, but Dr Hugo Mascie- Taylor, medical director, said they still would not have prevented Norris from killing.
He said, “These were dreadful crimes that took the victims prematurely from their families. We are very sorry about this and our thoughts today are with the families: for any distress they suffered both at the time of their relative’s death and during the course of bringing Colin Norris to justice.”
Despite the seriousness of the charges, Norris was on bail for much of the trial, which started in mid-October, but towards the end he was remanded in custody.
Norris will find out how long he must serve behind bars before he can apply for parole at a hearing this morning.
(c) 2008 Western Mail. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.