A nurse jailed for murdering four elderly hospital patients has lost his appeal against the convictions. Colin Campbell, previously known as Colin Norris, was found guilty in 2008 of killing four women and attempting to kill a fifth by injecting them with insulin. Doris Ludlam, 80, Bridget Bourke, 88, Irene Crookes, 79, and Ethel Hall, 86, were being treated on orthopaedic wards where Campbell worked in Leeds in 2002 and developed unexplained hypoglycaemia. Campbell, orginally from Glasgow, has always maintained his innocence and was granted a fresh appeal earlier this year, but it was rejected by the Court of Appeal on Thursday. During his original trial, prosecutors said Campbell was alleged to have been present when or shortly before each of the patients suffered hypoglycemia and, because of the rarity of such a cluster of cases happening within a short space of time, he must have been responsible. He was also found guilty of attempting to murder 90-year-old Vera Wilby and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years. Campbell unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in 2009 and applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in 2011, who said previously that the prosecution had relied on "wholly circumstantial" evidence. The CCRC referred the case to the Court of Appeal in London four years ago. Michael Mansfield KC, for Campbell, told the appeal court during a 14-day hearing that developments in medical knowledge meant there was more evidence to support the argument the patients may have died from natural causes.
Nurse's murder convictions upheld by senior judges
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"Colin Campbell's Appeal Against Murder Convictions Rejected by Court of Appeal"
Bbc News
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TruthLens AI Summary
Colin Campbell, formerly known as Colin Norris, has had his murder convictions upheld by senior judges after he appealed against his 2008 verdict. Campbell was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering four elderly patients at a Leeds hospital, specifically targeting women aged between 79 and 88. The patients, Doris Ludlam, Bridget Bourke, Irene Crookes, and Ethel Hall, all suffered from unexplained hypoglycemia while under Campbell's care in 2002. The prosecution argued that Campbell's presence during these incidents was highly suspicious and that the unusual clustering of cases suggested he was responsible for their deaths. In addition to the murder charges, he was also found guilty of attempting to murder 90-year-old Vera Wilby. Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the trial and subsequent appeals, the Court of Appeal rejected his latest appeal, emphasizing the strength of the original case against him.
During his appeal, Campbell's legal team, led by Michael Mansfield KC, contended that advancements in medical understanding could provide alternative explanations for the patients' deaths, suggesting they may have succumbed to natural causes rather than murder. This argument was based on the premise that the evidence used in the original prosecution was largely circumstantial. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) had previously referred the case to the Court of Appeal after Campbell's 2009 appeal failed, indicating that the evidence presented in the original trial was insufficiently robust. Ultimately, the court's decision to uphold the convictions reinforces the gravity of the charges against Campbell and the impact of his actions on the victims' families, who have sought justice since the tragic events unfolded nearly two decades ago.
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