Ex-detective 'surprised' at Shipman's death

The senior investigating officer in the Harold Shipman case said today he was “shocked and surprised” at the doctor’s death.

Former Detective Chief Superintendent Bernard Postles, who retired in June 2003, said he had thought Shipman would live “for some time yet”.

He said he understood the frustration felt by the victims’ families that they would never know why their relatives had died.

He said: “It’s very frustrating, especially for the families of Harold Shipman’s victims. For the last four years they have held out some hope he would tell them the reasoning behind these offences.”

Mr Postles said he and his officers found Dr Shipman to be “arrogant” during their investigations.

He said: “Certainly, the officers that interviewed him felt for much of the time he tried to belittle them and thought he was superior to them.

“He had a belief people should not be asking him questions and calling him to account for what he had done.”

Mr Postles said he believed Shipman killed his victims for a feeling of power.

He said: “My belief is that it was a power issue. It was the power over life and death.

“The way he died himself perhaps underlines that.”

Mr Postles had hoped Dr Shipman would confess to the killings in the future.

He said: “I think there was a real possibility he would confess.

“There are killers in prison who take 10 to 15 years to admit their part in serial killings.

“I always thought there was a chance that would happen. Unfortunately, that never came to pass and he’s now dead and taken the secrets to his grave.

“He’s the biggest serial killer this country has ever known but as to what drove him to do it, that is something that we will never know.”