The families of the victims of Harold Shipman spoke yesterday of their struggle to reconcile their memories of a trusted family doctor who became a serial killer.
Some of the families who gathered for a press conference at a hotel in Hyde, Greater Manchester, yesterday talked of a strong sense of betrayal.
Mr Peter Wagstaff, whose mother, Laura, was one of the 15 elderly women who Shipman was convicted of murdering, said: "I don't think I have met anybody who says they hate him. It is difficult to understand - we can't make any sense of it at all. He is one of the most evil men in history; everyone must have their own personal feelings for him."
Mr Wagstaff said most people living in Hyde knew someone who was affected by Shipman's crimes but there was a strength and resolve among the community to move on.
He first became suspicious when he learned in autumn 1998 that police were carrying out an investigation into the deaths of some of Shipman's patients. His 81-year-old mother had been murdered by Shipman in December 1997.
Ms Jane Ashton-Hibbert, whose grandmother, Hilda Hibbert (81), was killed by Shipman in January 1996, said she cannot reconcile the doctor who visited her after the birth of her child with the man as he is now known.
"Nobody is ever going to know why - because he is not speaking. That is the hard thing really.
"I have lived in Hyde all my life and it makes me really angry to think that he has put this black cloak on us all."
Father Denis Maher, the parish priest in Hyde, said he knew of one woman whose father had died of apparent natural causes 17 years ago but she has just learned that he was murdered by Shipman. "He was their family doctor for years after that," said Father Maher.
Ms Ann Alexander, the Manchester-based solicitor representing many of the families, said they did not fight for a public inquiry to get compensation. They wanted to make sure lessons were learned. "Harold Shipman is without equal as a murderer," she said.