Beverly ALLIT, a nurse suffering from the mental illness Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy (a desire to kill or injure to get attention), was given 13 life sentences at Nottingham crown court in 1993 after being convicted of murdering four children and attacking nine others. Her arrest followed an investigation into several incidents of alleged tampering with patients' ventilators and pumps delivering intravenous medication at various hospitals in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
The nurse is now detained in Rampton Maximum Security Hospital for the criminally insane. It is unlikely that she will ever get out, but if she does relatives of the dead children have promised to kill her. Public reaction to the case was particularly hostile, as, being a nurse, she was obviously in a position of trust and in charge of caring for children.