December 19th

On this day –19^th December 1956 – John Bodkin Adams was arrested

Irish born Adams was an accused serial killer. Between 1946 and 1956, over 160 of his patient died in suspect circumstances such as through receiving “special injections” while the nurses were asked to leave the room. Out of his patients who died this was, left at least 132 people money or other items in their will for Adams. The first inheritance he got was 7,385 pounds from a patient in 1935. The will was contested, but upheld in court. The police started investigating Adams in the summer of 1956 after receiving an anonymous phone call. The court was not able to convict Adams and he was not found guilty for the murders, although it has been suspected that higher political forces played a role in the courts decision. He was, however, found guilty in a later trial for prescription fraud, lying on cremation forms and obstructing police investigation. He was removed from the medical register in 1957, but re-instated in 1971.

When Adams was arrested on December 19^th he said “Murder... murder... Can you prove it was murder? [...] I didn't think you could prove it was murder. She was dying in any event.”