Beverley Gail Allitt (born 4 October 1968) is an English serial killer who was convicted of murdering four children, attempting to murder three other children, and causing grievous bodily harm to a further six children.[1] The crimes were committed over a period of 59 days between February and April 1991 on the children's ward at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital, Lincolnshire, where Allitt was employed as a State Enrolled Nurse.[2][3][4] She administered large doses of insulin to at least two victims and a large air bubble was found in the body of another, but police were unable to establish how all the attacks were carried out.[5] In May 1993, at Nottingham Crown Court, she received 13 life sentences for the crimes. Mr. Justice Latham, sentencing, told Allitt that she was "a serious danger" to others and was unlikely ever to be considered safe enough to be released.[6] She is detained at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire.[7]
Allitt had attacked thirteen children, four fatally, over a 59 day period before she was brought up on charges for her crimes. It was only following the death of Claire Peck that medical staff became suspicious of the number of cardiac arrests on the children's ward and police were called in.[8] It was found that Allitt was the only nurse on duty for all the attacks on the children and she also had access to the drugs.
Four of Allitt's victims had died. She was charged with attempted murder and grievous bodily harm in November 1991. On Friday 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.[9][10]
Allitt's trial judge recommended she serve a minimum term of 40 years (one of the longest minimum terms ever suggested by a trial judge, High Court judge or politician), which would keep her in prison until at least 2032 and the age of 64, and even then she could only be released if she was no longer considered to be a danger to the public. In August 2006, Allitt launched an appeal on the length of her sentence.[11] On 6 December 2007, the High Court ruled that Allitt would have to serve at least 30 years in prison, meaning she will now have to wait until at least 2022 and the age of 54 until she can apply for parole.[12]
Allitt's motives have never been fully explained. According to one theory, Allitt herself showed symptoms of factitious disorder, also known as Munchausen syndrome. Munchausen syndrome by proxy, also known as factitious disorder by proxy may explain her actions.[13] This controversial disorder is described as involving a pattern of abuse in which a perpetrator ascribes to, or physically falsifies illnesses in someone under their care, in order to attract attention.
In 2005, the BBC made a dramatisation of the story, "Angel of Death", in which Charlie Brooks played the role of Allitt.[14]
In 2008, the Beverley Allitt story was told as part of the production company Title Role's recreation documentaries, "Crimes That Shook Great Britain" in its own episode, with a young Lexi Wolfe playing Allitt.[15]