The Terrifying Killer Nurse | Real Stories True Crime Documentary

foreign [Music] no matter what you say I'm I'm sticking to my story I did not do it this is the childlike voice of one of Britain's most prolific serial killers I just can't get it through to nobody I am not bloody lying I will do that now 25 years after I reported on her conviction we're able to shed new light on the case of the killer nurse Beverly Allard the so-called Angel of Death in 1991 22 year old Alec murdered four children and attacked nine others in her care her surviving victims are now ready to speak about their experiences some for the first time what frightens you now for me you think that the nurse might be coming back [Music] I meet the man who brought her to Justice against the odds one very senior officer said to me you're chasing rainbows and for the first time I'm able to hear and share with those involved tapes of Beverly Allen's police interviews no matter what you say no matter how much you don't believe me and I know you don't I don't care revealing to victims new facts about her case I didn't really know about that and examining why she did what she did it might be a much much darker thing which is the act of killing is enormously exciting finally in revisiting this case I discover new evidence that suggests Alid may have faked her way out of prison and into the relative comfort of a secure Hospital whatever Beverly alley wants she will manipulate to try and get she's a child murderer she's been living the life of Riley in this foreign [Music] I reported on a highly unusual case that has stayed with me to this day ITN News at 10 with Trevor McDonald it began with several unexplained collapses on a children's ward in a small Lincolnshire Hospital staff at the Grantham and testerman General Hospital became concerned about the growing number of youngsters suffering cardiac and respiratory arrests for the first time in British history a nurse was convicted of killing children in a hospital guilty of murdering four children guilty of three attempted murders guilty six times of causing Grievous bodily harm Within 10. 55 years on from her conviction I'm still curious about the impact Beverly ellett had on her surviving victims and how she was finally brought to Justice foreign I've come to Grantham to meet the children who survived her attacks and the detective without whom she may never have been caught my superintendent Stuart Clifton remembers the case from the beginning as if it were yesterday on the 30th of April of 1991 a detective Sergeant at Grantham rang me to say that there had been an abnormal number of child deaths and collapses I went to the hospital myself the next day and I met with the two Hospital pediatricians and we talked through the collapses of a number of children that had occurred on on the children's World Ward 4. in 59 days there had been four deaths and more than 20 collapses on the ward one senior doctor suspected fouled play but the other felt there was no real cause for suspicion Dr Dani acara felt that the collapses of children on that Ward were just a blip on a graph and and that there would be medical explanations I said from my point if I don't have any suspicions yes I know I'm very worried I genuinely didn't have any suspicion an independent medical report confirmed some suspicions but concluded that most of the children's collapses could be explained medically and I looked at the report and had the feeling that it was basically shutting down the inquiry detective Clifton faced resistance colleagues told him he would never get a conviction one very senior officer said to me you're chasing rainbows detectives develop a sixth sense I think and particularly experienced detectives and there was something that just wrangled with me that didn't seem quite true Stuart Clifton refused to give up his investigation he suspected a killer was still on the ward the children who had suffered played on his mind children like Bradley Gibson now 33 years old hi Brad nice terrible thanks for coming back to grant them when when were you last here I well I visited a couple of years ago but before that would be on the day on the dates Bradley was only five when a trip to Grantham hospital changed his life I had a really bad cough so my mum took me in was that the first time you ever went into Hospital yeah looking after Bradley was a popular young nurse Beverly ellett at around three o'clock in the morning Bradley complained that his drip was causing him pain nurse aled came to check on him and while she was there he suddenly slumped forward stopped breathing and his heart stopped [Music] your heart stopped [Music] they had to use adult doses of shock fun so it was necessary to try to revive to resuscitate you for 32 minutes that's a long time that's a long time Dr Ford applied electric shock not once not twice seven eight times if not more and eventually he just managed to get the heartbeat going [Music] they were very close if only giving up Bradley can now reveal the extent of his injuries I lost the the use of my legs so I wasn't able to get out of bed wasn't able to move around I couldn't control my bladder for a number of years afterwards do you think you suffered mentally I had nightmares I remember waking up quite a number of nights just screaming [Music] before the nightmares began 22 year old Beverly ellett was a well-liked nurse on a close-knit children's Ward we had a small unit with small team so we knew each other she was young Pleasant very quiet and I thought she was helpful families of the patients adored her during a chaotic two months when their children were collapsing at an alarming rate nurse Beverly was always there to help one couple unwittingly made her a godmother to a child she attacked but detective Clifton was convinced something sinister was happening on the ward he feared there could be other attacks at any moment so despite the tension it would cause he pursued his investigation did it ever occur to you that you might be wrong it did and it also occurred to me that if I was wrong that there would be consequences now I probably wouldn't be doing the job any longer but if Stuart Clifton's suspicions were correct there was a murderer working on the ward who could strike again at any moment according to the independent medical report only one case offered any clue about what might be happening on Ward four baby Paul Crampton foreign these are photographs of our children um around the time quite old now of course um but you know fond memories [Music] in late March of 1991 baby Paul became Beverly Allen's fourth victim when he was five months old um Kath we're only at work she'd been to the doctor Paul had got a Wheezy chest and she said they're taking him into Hospital I was on call for that weekend I felt that he was like he's going to be stable and I did tell the parents if you want to you can take him home they said Doctor can we wait another day I said fair enough if that's what you want that extra day in hospital would prove critical for Paul early hours of the morning I got a call Paul had collapsed can you please come Paul was laid there Beverly was certainly in the room Paul was Gray clammy [Applause] [Music] it's like Kim dashing in the crash team was already there I checked some blood I thought he very likely had the low sugar what we call hypoglycemia [Music] [Applause] Dr Nanny akara gave the baby glucose which suddenly brought him back to health some time after we were allowed into chamber room and Paul was sat there happily playing with his toes but every time he recovered Paul collapsed again on the third occasion he was rushed to Queen's Medical Center um in an ambulance for the blue light and nurse Beverly alert completed my wife Kath in the ambulance [Music] as soon as he was admitted to a new hospital Paul was out of Beverly allard's control he has since made a full recovery but Paul crampton's blood results held a key to what was happening on Ward 4. we knew that blood had been taken on the third collapse and the insulin level was was quite High detective Clifton called in the country's leading expert on insulin poisoning they'd got pretty good evidence that something was going wrong but nothing that they could absolutely guarantee proved that any of the children that had been harmed had been deliberately harmed Professor Vincent marks tested Paul's blood more thoroughly and the results were extraordinary we were able to show that Paul had an astronomically high level of insulin in his blood we immediately got in touch with Stuart Clifton and said you have got a cast iron case I can tell you that somebody was giving poor insulin in big doses that he didn't need the police were now certain that there was a criminal at large on Ward 4. and they worked out that there was one nurse present at all of the attacks they decided that I would have Beverly Ellet arrested in my naivety I suppose I thought that a young girl that's never been in trouble with the police before might just tell us what she's done I couldn't have been more wrong no matter what you say I'm I'm sticking to my story I did not do it and that is the whole bloody truth and it'll always be the truth Beverly Alex arrest was only the beginning with no hard evidence police needed a confession to prevent a killer from going back on the children's Ward still tell me about the first time you brought in Beverly Hallett for an interview [Music] being an old-fashioned copper I thought 20 odd year old girl never been in trouble with the police before perhaps she'll tell us what it is that she's done I couldn't have been more wrong I've come to meet the team detective trifton assembled to arrest and question Beverly Allen so you arrest a young nurse for murder what did she say she was quite calm uh quite confident for somebody who's just been arrested for murder it was unusual if I had been arrested for an attempted murder of a child then I think myself and most people would would have a different reaction she was really laid back chatting you know it was almost as if come on Bev we're going to take you into town for a cup of coffee really and rather than you know you've just been arrested on the attempted murder of some some child as Beverly ellett was taken in to be interviewed detective Michelle Billingsley sat next to her in the police van we took her into Grantham police station we'd obviously got the press in that round there taking these photographs she looks as if she's enjoying it don't you I mean she's she has got a smile on her face and she's appearing out I don't I'm looking quite perplexed about it all I think but she certainly looks more relaxed than what I look she doesn't look worried at all does she without sufficient forensic evidence there was pressure on detectives to get aled to talk all right foreign police 1489 Billingsley stationed at Grantham my colleague is inspector what's your full name please it's the first time in my career that I had interviewed um anybody that was under such suspicion so I suppose there's a certain amount of anxiety that you get the interview right at the time I'll have to tell you about that you don't have to say anything unless you wish to do so but what you say may be good in evidence foreign the police knew that at least one victim baby Paul Crampton had been poisoned with insulin they suspected alet was responsible but lacked evidence tying her to the crime they needed her to confess you arrested this morning on suspicion of the attempt murder of Paul they're Crampton who was a baby on the Ward from about the 20th of March those involved with the case have not heard these tapes for more than 25 years do you remember that child being on board yes I do the officers began by asking Beverly ellett about Paul Crampton where you've got these kids the poor Crampton even some arm has been done and a prime suspect to the man everything points at you what can I do to say I didn't I've told you I didn't do it and I wouldn't dream of doing it to anybody go why a patient if I hated somebody that much it soon became apparent that she wasn't going to admit to anything officers tried to pin aled down and her precise movements around Paul's collapse and you say you went in there also in there was that is Paul Paul's Father David has never heard this interview before and as Allah did not give evidence in court he's Keen to hear her version of events did you give that child anything not a thing I don't think I even went in the room I'm gonna sneak back on the ward and say oh you'll have a bit of this I was always sure that she had a clear plan these tapes bring that into real crystal Clarity clear thinking clear thought clear plan know where I want to get to [Music] no matter how much you don't believe me and I know you don't I don't care I can't really lie to you I'm not gonna sit here and watch you for days on end while I get questioned there was a certain confident attitude about her I think she thought which she did that she knew more than than we did which put her in that better position which she obviously enjoyed I'll tell you what when I found out hopefully did it oh yeah with no decisive evidence Alex interviewers knew they could not hold her for long and time was running out to say I injected him what am I doing go man I am not bloody lion I will do that unless they made a breakthrough police might have to release a suspected killer back to work on a children's Ward no matter what you say I'm I'm sticking to my story I did not do it 22 year old nurse would not break in fact she grew more defiant is there anything you just want to clarify yeah ask me next year okay [Music] so what did you think carrying those words again it brings it all back actually and you heard her uh you know she sounded confident she replied to her straight away there was no hesitation she knew exactly what she was doing but she was absolutely defiant in saying that she was not involved it just happens home to me how devious she was with no confession and insufficient evidence to keep her in custody steel Clifton was left with no choice but to set Beverly Allied free I released her on bail because the police and criminal Evidence Act ties you to time limits he then found himself having to convince the hospital not to let her back on the ward if this was a killer and I believed that at that stage it was allowing somebody to go back into an environment where they could yet again kill was was more than I I could stomach death at Grantham District Hospital have been investigated by police a nurse is on extended leave Stuart Clifton appeared on News at 10 but couldn't say what he actually believed it's too early yet to say whether there is anything at all Sinister in this case detective trifton had already found his murderer but he could not tell even the victim's parents like Bradley Gibson's mother Judith we just all want some kind of decision making and very quickly none of us wants to go through this any longer I then set about investigating the collapses of of the other children thank you with Beverly at it now free Stewart Clifton feared she could kill again he began to widen his investigation to gather the evidence he needed to bring her back in I was a bit of a harmful but then a very naughty kid from parenting Michael Davidson had his brother Mark at his bedside when he collapsed on Ward four they're both meeting me in Grantham not far from the hospital where it all happened one of the things you know after a while you kind of get used to the idea of going you know back needing to go there at some point in my life Mark was with Michael while Beverly Allard made up his routine antibiotic injection as the doctor gave Michael the injection no one knew that Beverly allott had tampered with the syringe foreign was there yes and you remember that yes well she was decided a bit I was like the opposite side of the bed within three minutes it's when he started like fitting his started raising his body off the bed and the crush team come in because he had literally died and brought him back back to life Beverly Ellis attacked 13 children before police became involved she was now back in the community and detectives were no closer to bringing her to Justice is now a patient herself looked after by medical professionals here at rampton secure hospital where she turned 50 this month but what was the lasting impact of her actions all those years ago and how does it still affect her surviving victims there's no longer a ward 4 here at Grantham Hospital the children's ward has been given a new look and a new name but what remains is the memory of Beverly Allen and what she did here [Music] Kaylee was 15 months old in March 1991 when she collapsed twice at Grantham Hospital 27 years later Kelly still feels the need to look nervously under her bed and around her room what are you looking for no have it why why I see another man you see her when you're in bed yeah [Music] I suppose the only way you can describe it is flashbacks of what happened she sort of looks under a bed in drawers looking for actually nurse owlette although you're told time and time again she is not there Kaylee was already suffering from a rare disorder that affected her development and growth when her nurse Beverly Allard attacked her Kaylee was injected with air underneath her armpits that made her lungs collapse she had what they call respiratory arrests how did you think this happened well we were just told it was the nurse that actually injected the air under her arm oh [Music] your mom and dad say that you have a constant fear about various things can you tell me what you're afraid of what do you tell Mommy you're afraid what frightens you now in pain can come back for me you think that the nurse might be coming back for you [Music] that that will never happen she wouldn't recognize you now would she was just a little baby and I tell you time and time again doctor it's very difficult for to understand and you could tell it one day and then you know a few days later or a couple of weeks later the same questions are asked again yeah no don't cry [Music] I'm sorry Beverly ellett nearly got away with these crimes in the spring of 1991 she was the Prime Suspect but with no hard evidence police were forced to Let Her Go so a killer was back in the community and the police were running out of options they looked into her past for any clues that might help them build their case [Music] she grew up in a good honest power working family it's just no nice local Village girl at first they found little of relevance to their inquiry Beverly Allen's home life in the village of Corby Glenn was remarkably stable Jeremy Marshall Roberts has long been a friend of her family and he would leave Beverly looking after his young children she used to come and take um Charlie and Jamie and the dog Cromwell for a walk in the afternoon snow uh Charlie would be you know walking in the hand and Jamie would be in the push chair we were certainly wouldn't have let her take our children out if we thought anything underworld might happen when police dug deeper a darker side emerged and she had a really checkered history she was a born liar from being a child she made things up I think the main thing was this attention seeking thing there was a pattern of faked illnesses arms wrapped in bandages Behavior to seek attention and sympathy I think by creating this drama and being the person who's right at the middle of it it made her realize how much control she could have over other people and I think that became quite addictive for her and when she became a student nurse at this Hospital there were fires in the toilet strange noises in the middle of the night and it was an escalation I mean there had always been and when you looked at a previous history there'd always been problems in one year Alex was off work for a hundred days claiming an array of illnesses she also became violent with her boyfriend after she started work at the hospital Lord started getting a little bit um with my my shoes well we used to have an argument and she's been turned around and kick me in the balls scrubbed old me and bought me to my knees Beverly Elliott's skilled deception had so far allowed her to keep one step ahead of the police but the investigation was about to take a decisive turn police were closing in on the killer nurse I was in the city hospital I bumped into a nurse and she was responsible for clating blood samples now children in hospital have two things taken off regularly nearly every day a blood sample and an x-ray so I spoke to her and she said well I have to dispose of these about every six months but I haven't really got around to him [Music] if Nottingham City hospital had been sent blood samples from Alex victims they might still be in storage now this fridge that I went to look at is bigger than this sofa and we got into it upside down Pull It All Out thousands of samples and we recovered nine samples of blood from the 13 children these were tested and in some of the samples there was insulin found in some of these blood samples there was potassium I recall being found in others which obviously was then bringing through the medical experts the professors all the children into this inquiry the police now had proof of poisonous chemicals in the blood of Alice victims at the time of their collapse so what was your next step my next step was interviewing Beverly Ellet yet again would like to give you a full name please date of birth 4th the 10th 1968. gone was The Confident combative Beverly Allied she now resorted to playing a very different game I've already been interviewed at Great length by police in relation to various allegations mate I have been under great pressure because of a vast amount of media attention on me and in this case I do not therefore wish to answer any more questions [Music] after presenting Alec with compelling evidence of her guilt officers looked for any sign of remorse no reply it's quite sad really isn't it yeah okay obviously has Lister was there and she just made no comment throughout the whole of the uh the interview especially children in particular to me people like Claire pack 15 month old girl smiles and Winks of the stuff foreign Peck she came into the hospital with with asthma she's left with with Beverly allott for a space of two minutes no more and she suffers the first of two collapses Dr Porter goes away to tell the the parents of the little girl that she's on the road to recovery Alex left with her and within again within the space of two minutes she stopped breathing and they can't resuscitate it foreign [Music] here is a little girl that ostensibly is on the road to recovery and in the space of two minutes she's killed her [Music] can I reply [Music] horrific and you were absolutely certain that the first doctor had probably saved him from collabs but within a few minutes Beverly Ellet had injected her absolutely absolutely but this time police did have enough evidence to hold her and then she was charged wow it's charged with four counts of murder parents and relatives it had been a long painful weight and offenses of gbh I'm arresting you on suspicion of the attempted murder of this child on the 9th of April 1991 you do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so if suddenly I have to tell you that you don't have to say anything unless you wish to do so but what you're saying May begin I am now arresting you for the attempted murder of Kaylee Johannes she made no comment about the charges can you recall that day [Music] she was then taken to a cell asleep and had to be woken in the morning to go to court [Applause] so she had to be working to go to court yeah this young lady it was callous sadistic she was attacking children after children they were vulnerable innocent defenseless um and yet she had no emotion whatsoever and no remorse a nurse appeared in court at Grantham in Lincolnshire today charged with the murder of three babies and an 11 year old at the hospital where she worked the trial began on February the 15th 1993. Alice is denying four murders and 11 attempted murders the true horror of her crimes came out in court evidence suggested that she suffocated some of her victims [Music] three months later a verdict was reached there was emotion in the public Gallery as the verdicts were announced there was an audible sigh of relief as a first of the guilty verdicts was announced guilty of murdering four children guilty of three attempted murders guilty six times of causing Grievous bodily harm with intent for the first time in British history a nurse had been found guilty of murdering children in a hospital you know you put so much faith and trust in nurses they're supposed to help you do I feel betrayed by the nurse absolutely absolutely something like shouldn't happen victims families were determined to see Beverly Alec sent to prison for life and in late May of 1993 they finally got some news they wanted to hear nurse Beverly Elliott begins a sentence Without End tonight for murdering four children in her care and for injuring nine others very pleased 13 life sentences is what we hoped for and that's exactly what we've got I only hope that she's never released parents are for victims looked on as the convicted serial killer was driven from court to begin her 13 life sentences at Hollywood prison but she would remain there only for a week [Music] Beverly Elliott has been here at rampton secure hospital for the best part of 27 years a patient not just a prisoner but Chichi have been moved here in the first place before her trial Beverly ellett reportedly told close friends that whatever happened she would not go to prison Beverly Allen was not deemed to be seriously mentally ill when she committed her crimes and on sentencing she did not meet the criteria for transfer to a hospital once in prison she refused to eat or drink and was diagnosed as having a psychopathic disorder after only one week she was moved to ramton hospital shortly after her arrival here an ITV film crew gained extraordinary access to ramton and managed to see Beverly allott in the hospital and to talk to her about what her life was like it's not too bad what's the good thing about it you like it better than where you were before because I've got more freedom I'm not locked up all the time I think it's wrong she should be in a prison for the crime she committed she's a murderer she's a child murderer she's been living the life of Riley in the she should be serving her life sentences in a in a prison Behind Bars it can't be no fault I'm making I asked two leading criminal experts for their opinion on added's mental state at the time of her arrest is a deliberate fault you're making what can I do deliberately to do it I don't know what to do um Jeremy coyd has assessed some of Britain's most notorious Killers including Ian Brady and Peter Sutcliffe she doesn't sound like somebody who has a severe mental illness or a personality disorder so severe that she needs to go to rampton Elizabeth Yardley has written extensively on Healthcare serial killers when we start talking about mental ill health we're looking at people who aren't in control of their actions but it's very clear to me that Beverly Allen knew exactly what she was doing she knew it was wrong and she chose to do it anyway I think somebody who has committed murder knowingly willingly I think yes they should be in prison Beverly Ellet was first moved from prison to hospital when she showed signs of anorexia while on remand but our research has uncovered a psychiatric assessment of Beverly Allen before trial which judges her fit to plead and raises serious questions about the authenticity of the original symptoms that had her moved we've had sight of an official report which suggests that Beverly alet was faking the anorexia which had her move from prison to hospital in the first place is this more evidence of her manipulative Behavior I think this woman is incredibly manipulative individual she's somebody who has managed to pull the strings of other people for years and years before she was even convicted of these crimes so so why why would she have changed her behavior it is suggested that Beverly Ellet may have manipulated her way into a hospital as against the prison is it is it possible I think it's very difficult to Simply manipulate your way into prison or into Hospital otherwise they'd be full of all sorts of people that shouldn't be there it is not impossible that somebody changes their presentation to try and do what they think is best for them but that's not an easy task and you're going to have to do that consistently with a whole bunch of people who are trained to see whether or not you're accurately saying what you're saying and doing what you said you did over the years Alex has been diagnosed with various personality disorders but only she knows the answer to the biggest question still surrounding this case a quarter of a century on one question in particular still troubles those involved I've always been puzzled by somebody who joins a caring profession would suddenly start and harm children I've never understood it at her trial experts presented a theory that Alid suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by proxy that the attention-seeking behavior from her childhood had evolved into harming others so that she could be the one to save them when she was interviewed officers pressed her on this fireman's syndrome but aren't you proud of the fact that this is happening you've saved it no how can I save his doctors potentially could have happened to these children so who's further in the cap is it who's the hero in my language terms I call it the fireman syndrome what's that I'm a fireman I'll start a fire I'll raise the alarm and I'll put it out and I'm a hero there may well have been an element of a farm and syndrome but there might be a much much darker thing where she sits with the child in her arms watching it die and getting off on the control of that and actually the Act of Killing is enormously exciting it's enormously pleasurable [Music] it would have had a very important purpose to her the question is has she told anybody why she did it detective Stuart Clifton is one of the few people who has been able to ask her face to face he saw her in hospital just months after her conviction how was she then when you saw her trampton very calm she wouldn't give any explanation as to why she'd done it she she merely said yes I'm responsible but I didn't do all 13 I only did nine you said that to yes how did she say this what did she say to you she just blurted it out I think there's no other way of putting it why have you done it and her head goes down and she doesn't answer and has she made any other response since no Beverly Elliott's surviving victims are still troubled by her apparent failure to confess her crimes but have discovered a failed application by aled to become a lifetime patient and avoid prison it contains a startling revelation in this application Allah does finally admit to all 13 crimes of which he was convicted yet we have spoken to families of her victims and it seems none of them was informed I didn't really know about that were you never told no it makes me feel better as she admitted to it but it was more in a self-interest it would mean more if she pleaded girl with the actual we was never aware of it no never no too little too late [Music] in making this film I've discovered more about Beverly Allen's character when you saw her at rampton was there any sign at all that she was remorseful about what had happened none at all I don't care she has shown No Remorse for the lasting damage she caused her crimes were very much like dropping a pebble into a pond they spread far and wide now there's clearly the families close relatives of the children involved I have seen and heard how Beverly Allen continued her controlling Behavior after she committed her crimes but why did she attack and murder those children on Ward 4. that is one secret I fear she will take to her grave [Music] I didn't do it [Music] [Music] foreign

Channel: Real Stories

Views: 255,032

Keywords: Real Stories, captivating narratives, chilling crimes, crime documentary lovers, criminal justice system, criminal mastermind, dark secrets exposed, documentary film analysis, forensic examination, forensic science techniques, haunting crimes, heinous crimes, killer nurse, killer nurse documentary, serial killer case study, serial killer investigation, silent killers, thrilling storytelling, tragic story, twisted minds, unsolved mysteries

Id: f8VPeVenkpI

Length: 45min 57sec (2757 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 01 2022