London - British police said yesterday they are to open an investigation into the suspicious deaths of another 62 patients of the serial killing doctor, Harold Shipman. Shipman will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted last year of murdering 15 elderly patients by administering fatal doses of the drug, diomorphine.
An audit of the death rate among his patients commissioned by the government and published last week showed he may have murdered more than 300 of his patients over 24 years. The Crown Prosecution Service, which decides whether cases should go to court, has said that Shipman will not be tried for any further murders. But the fresh investigation was launched because police believe they have a duty to relatives of the dead.