Beverley Gail Allitt (born 4 October 1968) is an English

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who was convicted of murdering four infants, attempting to murder three others, and causing

grievous bodily harm Assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the ...

to a further six at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, between February and April 1991. She committed the murders as a

State Enrolled Nurse A licensed practical nurse (LPN), in much of the United States and Canada, is a nurse who provides direct nursing care for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled. In the United States, LPNs work under the direction of physician ...

on the hospital's children's ward. Allitt administered large doses of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

to at least two of her victims and a large air bubble was found in the body of another, but police were initially unable to establish how all of the attacks were carried out. In May 1993, Allitt received thirteen

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

s at

Nottingham Crown Court Nottingham Crown Court, or more formally the High Court of Justice and Crown Court, Nottingham is a Crown Court and meeting place of the High Court of Justice on Canal Street in Nottingham, England. The building also accommodates the County Cou ...

. 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. Allitt is currently detained at Rampton Secure Hospital in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. She became eligible for release on

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

after her minimum tariff of thirty years' imprisonment expired in November 2021.

Early life

Beverley Gail Allitt was born on 4 October 1968 and grew up in the village of

Corby Glen Corby Glen, formerly just Corby, is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately south-east of Grantham and north west of Bourne. In 2011 it had a population of 1,017. History The ...

near the town of

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

. She had two sisters and a brother. Her father, Richard, worked in an

off-licence A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors (typically in bottles), wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom ...

and her mother was a school cleaner. Allitt attended Charles Read Secondary Modern School, having failed the test to enter

Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School (KGGS) is a grammar school with academy status for girls in Grantham, Lincolnshire, established in 1910. It has over 1000 pupils ranging from ages 11 to 18, and has its own sixth form. History KGGS was fou ...

. She often volunteered for babysitting jobs. She left school at the age of 16 and took a course in nursing at

Grantham College Grantham College is a further education and Sixth Form college in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. History Elsham House built in the 1860s, by William Hornsby (born 25 December 1838), the third son of Richard Hornsby; previously he had lived o ...

Trial and imprisonment

Allitt had attacked thirteen 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. 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 of

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

, and eleven counts of causing

. Allitt entered pleas of not guilty to all charges. On 28 May 1993, she was found guilty on each charge and sentenced to thirteen concurrent terms of life imprisonment, which she is serving at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire. In the 2018 documentary ''Trevor 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 psychiatrist Forensic psychiatry is a subspecialty of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiatr ...

Jeremy Coid and

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

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. On 6 December 2007, Mr Justice Stanley Burnton, sitting in the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

, London, ordered Allitt to serve the original minimum sentence of thirty years. It was reported that some families of Allitt's victims had previously mistakenly believed that her minimum

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

had been set at forty years. Her minimum tariff expired in November 2021 and she is now eligible for release on

. Allitt's motives have never been fully explained. According to one theory, she showed symptoms of a

factitious disorder A factitious disorder is a mental disorder in which a person, ''without'' a malingering motive, acts as if they have an illness by deliberately producing, feigning, or exaggerating symptoms, purely to attain (for themselves or for another) a p ...

also known as

Munchausen syndrome by proxy Factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), also known as fabricated or induced illness by carers (FII), medical child abuse and originally named Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) after Munchausen syndrome, is a mental health disorder in ...

. This disorder is described as involving a pattern of

abuse Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...

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. 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 won’t be eligible for another assessment until 2026 (at the earliest).

In popular culture

Allitt was the subject of a book called ''Murder on Ward Four'' by

Nick Davies Nick Davies (born 28 March 1953) is a British investigative journalist, writer, and documentary maker. Davies has written extensively as a freelancer, as well as for ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', and been named Reporter of the Year, ...

. A

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

dramatisation of the case, ''Angel of Death'' (2005), featured

Charlie Brooks Charlene Emma Brooks (born 3 May 1981) is an English actress, best known for her role of Janine Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Brooks has also performed in British television shows ''The Bill'', ''Wired'' and ''Bleak House'', ...

as Allitt. Allitt's story was depicted in episodes of the

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

documentaries '' Crimes That Shook Great Britain'', ''

Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) Television, network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted ...

'', ''Born To Kill?'', ''Evil Up Close'', ''Britain's Most Evil Killers'', and ''Nurses Who Kill''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allitt, Beverley 1968 births 1991 in England 1991 murders in the United Kingdom 1993 in England 20th-century English criminals Alumni of Grantham College British female serial killers Criminals from Lincolnshire English murderers of children English nurses English people convicted of murder English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment English serial killers Living people Medical serial killers Nurses convicted of murdering patients People convicted of murder by England and Wales People from Grantham People with factitious disorders Poisoners Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales 20th-century English women English female criminals

Early life

Trial and imprisonment

In popular culture

See also

References