Two fathers have issued a plea for the 'Angel of Death' nurse Beverley Allitt to never be released after she murdered four children, tried to murder three more and attacked six others. Steve Gibson and David Crampton are the fathers of two toddlers attacked by the serial killer, and they attended court in 1993 to see her receive a 30 year sentence.
Allitt's killing spree lasted for 59 days in 1991 at the Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in Lincolnshire. Steve's son, Bradley, was only five years old and on Ward 4 with pneumonia when he was given a near-fatal dose of potassium from the nurse.
During the same month on the same ward, Allitt gave David’s five-month-old son Paul three overdoses of insulin. She was diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a caregiver may harm someone in their care to get attention reports The Daily Mirror.
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Allitt was 24 years old when found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of murdering Timothy Hardwick, 11, Liam Taylor, seven weeks, Becky Phillips, nine weeks, and Claire Peck, 15 months. The nurse was also convicted of three attempted murders and six counts of GBH, and got 13 life sentences.
Allitt was sent to Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, which is one of three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales. She can only bid for parole if deemed well enough to move to mainstream jail.
It is believed that every three years a mental health panel meets to assess Allitt, who is now 54. However, David, 68, said: “If it was down to me, I would not want to see her ever released.”
Steve, 66, added: “She’s going to be like Myra Hindley – staying in there until she dies.” Steve's son Bradley, suffered a heart attack after his poisoning and had to be shocked eight times.
His parents were both called and told to come straight to the hospital. Steve, a retired grounds-man, said: “I can remember someone saying ‘It’s not looking good’ and asking if we’d like to see a chaplain.
“They managed to get his heart started a few times. The possibility of him having brain damage was there as well. We didn’t find out for weeks that he was going to be OK.”
Bradley is now 35 years old, went to college and is now working and living with his girlfriend in the Lake District. Steve says: “They’re looking for a house to buy. He’s turned out OK.”
Like Steve, David still lives near the hospital, and remains struck by how nondescript the killer dubbed the Angel of Death was. He said: “She wasn’t someone I liked or dis-liked. She was unremarkable.”
The father-of-three is proud of Paul, 30, who has enjoyed a successful career after obtaining a Master’s degree. David, a retired construction director, added: “I don’t think what happened had an effect on him growing up.
"It was talked about openly. It really struck home when he became a parent himself.
"He fully understood then what we must have gone through.” This understanding is what made Steve and David firm friends.
Steve said: “David and I always got on.” David added: “Steve’s oncaye of a number of people I’m glad I met through what happened.”
Steve admitted there was a time when he might have wished Allitt dead but not any more. He added: “If I had lost Brad, I probably would have had a different attitude.
“We’re lucky Brad’s alive. There are parents who were not so lucky.”
David stressed he blames Allitt, not the NHS, for her crimes. He explained: "Her victims are clearly the children and their families.
"But they are also the hospital staff, the community. Everyone has suffered.”
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