Edith Alice Morrell
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Edith Alice Morrell (?? ?? 1868 - 13 November 1949), was a resident of Eastbourne and patient of the suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams.
Morrell suffered a brain thrombosis (a stroke), was partially paralyzed and had severe arthritis. In 1949 she had moved to Eastbourne, and came under Adams' supervision. He supplied her with doses of heroin and morphine to ease her symptoms of "cerebral irritation" and to help her sleep. Mrs Morrell made several wills. In some of them Adams received large sums of money or furniture — in others, he was not mentioned. On 24 August 1949 she added a clause saying that Adams would receive nothing. Three months later aged 81, she died from a stroke, according to Adams. Despite Morrell's clause, the doctor received a small amount from Morrell's £78,000 estate (less than one of her nurses received and much less than her chauffeur), a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost (valued at £1,500) and an antique chest containing silver cutlery worth £276, which Adams had told her he admired. After Morrell's death, he also took away an infra-red lamp she had bought herself, worth £60. It was later found at his surgery.
Adams was arrested for the murder of another patient, Gertrude Hullett, after a tip-off by her friend, actor Leslie Henson in 1956 and the police investigated Morrell's death as well. He was tried for her murder in 1957 but controversially found not guilty. The Attorney General entered a plea of nolle prosequi regarding Mrs Hullett.
Adams was never found guilty of an deaths but Home Office Pathologist Francis Camps suspected him of killing 163 patients.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
