I'm very aware that this has been a very painful and harrowing ordeal for all of you he said

"I'm very aware that this has been a very painful and harrowing ordeal for all of you," he said. "The giving of evidence meant that you had to relive in public the shock, the grief and the lasting sorrow."Several relatives, both men and women, wept as the verdicts were read out. it brought them death, death that was disguised as the caring attention of a good doctor."Mr Justice Forbes appeared close to tears as he removed his wig and addressed the relatives of Shipman's victims. The judge, Mr Justice Forbes captured the abuse of their trust as he handed down 15 life sentences to Shipman "In your case, life must mean life," he said. "You must spend the remainder of your days in prison."The judge told Shipman: "I have no doubt that each of your victims smiled and thanked you as she submitted to your deadly crime.

You murdered each and every one of your victims by a calculated and cold-blooded perversion of your skills You grossly abused the trust that your victims put in you Yours was not a healing touch None of them knew that... The other was killed in a consulting room at his one-man surgery in Market Street, Hyde, Greater Manchester.All the women saw him on the day of their deaths None struggled as he injected them. But as Shipman, 54, was led away to spend the rest of his life behind bars, police revealed that he may be responsible for a total of 95 deaths - a figure unmatched by any serial killer in British history. South Manchester coroner John Pollard said up 130 cases had been investigated by detectives.He is expected to be charged with a further 23 murders within the next few days.The 57-day trial, which uncovered no obvious motive for the killings, save an apparent desire to exercise control over the life and death of his patients, has been both historic and extraordinarily chilling, focusing as it has done on the vulnerability of any patient whose GP chooses to abuse the peculiar trust with which he is invested.Despite the intention of Alan Milburn, the Secretary of State for Health, to announce an inquiry into the affair, observers claimed last night that little could have been done to have stopped the GP obsessed with murder.All but one of Shipman's victims were murdered by injections of diamorphine after allowing him into their homes, usually by prior appointment. Despite huge police resources being thrown at the case, nobody was ever caught..

What began 18 months ago as a routine police investigation into an elderly woman's death has ended with the conviction of Britain's most prolific serial killer. What began 18 months ago as a routine police investigation into an elderly woman's death has ended with the conviction of Britain's most prolific serial killer. The bearded, bespectacled GP Harold Shipman, who was trusted by thousands of devoted patients, was found guilty at Preston Crown Court of murdering 15 of them. Punishment: Prime suspects included Polish barber Severin Klosowski, also known as George Chapman, and Montague Druitt, an unsuccessful barrister, who committed suicide within weeks of the Ripper's last killing. Punishment:Serving 365 year sentence at Sullivan Jail, New York.Ian Brady and Myra Hindley Number of attributed deaths: Five Period of killings: 1963-1965 Background:This notorious couple killed children and teenagers around the Lancashire town of Oldham burying their bodies on Saddleworth Moor. Punishment:Both got lifeJack The Ripper Number of murders: five Period of killings: 1888 Background: Most famous serial killer of all, who murdered five prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of east London. Punishment Jailed for life in 1983 and serving his sentence at Whitemoor PrisonDavid Berkowitz ('Son of Sam') Number of murders: Six Period of killings: 1970s Background: One of the most feared killers to have operated in New York.

He strangled most of his victims and disposed of their bodies by chopping them up and flushing them down the toilet or storing them under the floorboards of his home. Mrs Evans's husband was hanged for the baby's murder in 1950. Suspicion fell on Christie only in 1953, when the remains of six women were found. Punishment: Christie was hanged in 1953, and Mr Evans was posthumously pardoned 13 years later. Dennis Nielsen Number of murders: Six Period of killings: 1970s Background: Nielsen was suspected of killing up to 15 homosexual men at his home in Muswell Hill, North London. Christie had killed two women and buried them in the grounds by the time Beryl Evans and her baby Geraldine, who lived in flat above, were killed.