John Bodkin Adams

John Bodkin Adams (21 January 1899 – 4 July 1983) was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for the murder of one patient in 1957. Another count of murder was withdrawn by the prosecution in what was later described as "an abuse of process" by the presiding judge Patrick Devlin, causing questions to be asked in Parliament about the prosecution's handling of events. The trial featured in headlines around the world and was described at the time as "one of the greatest murder trials of all time" and "murder trial of the century". It was also described at the time as "unique" because, in the words of the judge, "the act of murder" had "to be proved by expert evidence."

The trial had several important legal ramifications. It established the doctrine of double effect, whereby a doctor giving treatment with the aim of relieving pain may, as an unintentional result, shorten life. Secondly, because of the publicity surrounding Adams's committal hearing, the law was changed to allow defendants to ask for such hearings to be held in private. Finally, though a defendant had never been required to give evidence in his own defence, the judge underlined in his summing-up that no prejudice should be attached by the jury to Adams not doing so.

Adams was found guilty in a subsequent trial of 13 offences of prescription fraud, lying on cremation forms, obstructing a police search and failing to keep a dangerous drugs register. He was removed from the Medical Register in 1957 and reinstated in 1961 after two failed applications.

Scotland Yard's files on the case were initially closed to the public for 75 years, until 2033. Special permission was granted in 2003 to reopen the files.

Early years : Adams was born into a deeply religious family of Plymouth Brethren, an austere Protestant sect of which he remained a member for his entire life. His father, Samuel, was a preacher in the local congregation, though by profession he was a watchmaker. He also had a passionate interest in cars, which he would pass on to John. Samuel was 39 years old when he married Ellen Bodkin, 30, in Randalstown, Ireland, in 1896. John was their first son, followed by a brother, William Samuel, in 1903. In 1914, Adams's father died of a stroke. Four years later, William died in the 1918 influenza pandemic.

After attending Coleraine Academical Institution for a number of years, Adams matriculated at Queen's University Belfast, at the age of 17. There he was seen as a "plodder" and "lone wolf" by his lecturers and, partly because of an illness (probably tuberculosis), he missed a year of studies. He graduated in 1921 having failed to qualify for honours.

In 1921, surgeon Arthur Rendle Short offered him a position as assistant houseman at Bristol Royal Infirmary. Adams spent a year there but did not prove a success. On Short's advice, Adams applied for a job as a general practitioner in a Christian practice in Eastbourne.

Sexuality : In December the police acquired a memorandum belonging to a Daily Mail journalist, concerning rumours of homosexuality between "a police officer, a magistrate, and a doctor". The latter directly implied Adams. This information had come, according to the reporter, directly from Hannam. The 'magistrate' was Sir Roland Gwynne, Mayor of Eastbourne from 1929 to 1931 and brother of Rupert Gwynne, MP for Eastbourne from 1910 to 1924. Gwynne was Adams's patient and known to visit every day at 9am. They went on frequent holidays together and had just spent three weeks in Scotland that September. The 'police officer' was the Deputy Chief Constable of Eastbourne, Alexander Seekings. Hannam however ignored this line of inquiry (despite homosexual acts being an offence in 1956) and the police instead gave the journalist a dressing-down. The memo is, however, testament to Adams's close connections to those of power in Eastbourne at the time.

There were rumours of Adams having three "mistresses" but these were probably just "covers" to avoid suspicion. Adams became engaged in around 1933 to Norah O'Hara but called it off in 1935 after her father had bought them a house and furnished it. Various explanations have been suggested: Surtees suggests that it was because Adams's mother didn't want him to marry "trade" though he also quotes a rumour that Adams wanted O'Hara's father to change his will to favour his daughters. Cullen suggests that, apart from being homosexual, Adams also didn't want his being married to interfere with his relationship with his elderly female patients. Adams remained friends with O'Hara his whole life and remembered her in his will.

Death : Adams slipped and fractured his hip on 30 June 1983 while shooting in Battle, East Sussex. He was taken to Eastbourne hospital but developed a chest infection and died on 4 July of left ventricular failure. He left an estate of £402,970 and bequeathed £1000 to Percy Hoskins. Hoskins gave the money to charity. Adams had been receiving legacies until the end. In 1986, The Good Doctor Bodkin Adams, a TV docudrama based on his trial, was produced starring Timothy West.