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Yorkshire Times
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Andrew Palmer
Group Editor
2:00 AM 24th September 2022
arts
Interview

It's Murder... Or Is It? You Have To Decide

 
Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
Very few people come across a dead body these days, let alone a murdered one, and because it is unusual and hidden away, we are fascinated. There are always lots of fantasies about what has happened, often usually a long way away from the truth, but people relish that challenge of trying to understand what has taken place. Pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd talks to Group Editor Andrew Palmer about his life as a pathologist and his forthcoming Unnatural Causes tour.

Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
When I ask Dr Richard Shepherd, how he copes with the smell, as it made me heave forcing me to breathe through my mouth, he tells me these days there are all kinds of clever things that help with postmortems.

“It really depends on what the dead body is like. There are clever things with lamina flow, so odours move downwards to the floor. After postmortem number ten I never really noticed the smell,” he says.

But the smell can linger on pathologists’ clothes which Dr Shepherd illustrates with a funny anecdote.

“I came home from work once after dealing with a particularly badly decomposed body and as I entered the house my two Jack Russells came bounding down the hall to greet me in that sort of loving way, except this time they both skidded to a halt, turned round and ran off to hide.”

It is immediately followed by another story, showing how Dr Shepherd is adept at keeping his audience entertained and why his one man show is popular and his books best sellers.

“After a while, like a good curry, you cease to notice the heat or the smell; however, a couple of times I've stood in petrol stations with people behind me in the queue sniffing the air; my way of dealing with that is to sniff the air too and comment on the awful smell around.”

I mentioned the one PM I watched when I was training as a biomedical scientist to give me a connection with my interviewee which it did. However, Dr Shepherd has seen over 23000 dead bodies during his time as a pathologist and I am eager to hear more.

I entered the house my two Jack Russells came bounding down the hall to greet me in that sort of loving way, except this time they both skidded to a halt, turned round and ran off to hide.
Most of the time it is straight forward. There is either a police or coroner’s officer with information or, if it is a routine PM, where someone has just collapsed and died from a heart attack with no suspicious circumstances, there will be a note from the coroner saying the person suddenly clasped their chest and fell to the floor.

So, where does he start what is the process?

“I always just look at the body externally very simplistically – two arms, two legs and a head. Then move to see if there are any abnormalities, evidence of any operations; there is a process that I consciously run through in my mind.

“Is there anything externally that might give me clues? People who have extremely high cholesterol, for example, quite often have little white pimples around their eyes and on their face and they commonly occur in association with hypercholesterolemia. In others there is something called Leser-Trélat syndrome - I know I am getting old in medicine when I start quoting Victorian named syndrome, but these are little raised patches on the body often seen in elderly people but when they are excessive, they are associated with an internal malignancy.”

Then there are other little identifications: scars, amputations, eye and hair colour, hair length, all taken into consideration before he starts opening the body.

And 99% of the time the body will have been identified by a relative or a friend or it has come straight from hospital with a name tag proving identity.

Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
Dr Shepherd has been involved with high-profile cases from the Hungerford Massacre, Harold Shipman’s murder victims and the death of Princess Diana.

“Princess Diana was a fascinating case. It is tragic that someone so incredible should die from such a mundane thing. Had she put a seat belt on she would have walked away from that crash.”

Forget that Emilia Fox could solve a case in 30 minutes “
There were so many missed opportunities to have stopped Harold Shipman including a police investigation, but the allegations were dismissed.”

“He had a fantastic bedside manner and would tell a patient he was going to take a blood sample but instead, would inject morphine.”

This gets me thinking about being cross examined in court and it is then I know I have watched too many Quincy ME or Silent Witness episodes because when I explore it Dr Shepherd tells me it is not that simple.

“I take an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“It all about being an expert and making or forming opinions from the evidence.

“If I am going into court and I am expecting my evidence to be challenged I do not mind if it is fair. What used to annoy me was the unfair challenge. I talk about one case in my first book Unnatural Causes. I was in court for a week and the barrister just would not give over on something. I kept saying that will not and cannot happen and if you think it can get someone else in to tell you. The judge did not stop him, and he went on and on. I really object to that. It is also difficult because I am trying to talk to 12 members of the public who know nothing other than what they have seen on television. It is not like that. Forget that Emilia Fox could solve a case in 30 minutes.”

“The jury is a crucial set of people and the defence sometimes try and create a smokescreen. My role is to say: well, it could be this and it might be that and is that possible?”

He tells me that some challenges are acceptable when they are done well and, in most cases, the defence barrister is not out there to belittle or cause problems.

They are not there to get bits of evidence that will be detrimental to their case. “Every now and again I just say well of course that might happen but that there were the 12 stab wounds to his chest that we have to remember as well.”

I trundle a gurney with a body onto the stage and I work my way through the postmortem...
He has learnt over the years there is the risk of losing one’s temper. Never ever, ever lose your temper and get cross with a barrister because then they have won. A piece of all-round good advice. He has a light bulb moment and suggests his next book could be called 'Tales from the Witness Box'.

Some of the stories that Dr Shepherd is telling me are anecdotes from his already published books and feature in his tour.

Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
Photo: Neil Griffiths Photography.
The Tour

“It was my agent who said, there is a lot of interest around the country so what about a tour based on Unnatural Causes.

“My hope is that the audience leave with a better understanding of the realities in life, having come to a verdict on the case that I present to them.

"The first part of the show is an investigation of a possible murder. I take the audience through all the twists and turns of the investigation, with clues that may make them think it is a murder, or a suicide! The point I want to make is the body can go wrong all by itself. It can also be made to go wrong through other people’s interventions, like stabbing or poisoning.

"We start with a 999 call from a distressed wife who says her husband is dead in the kitchen. A knife is mentioned which is the hook that hopefully grabs the audience’s attention. I talk a bit about myself and how I became a forensic scientist and a bit about general pathology. Then I trundle a gurney with a body onto the stage and I work my way through the postmortem, and then there is a Q&A session."

...all cracking tales of twists and turns in a murder investigation and piecing it all together...
I am not going to spoil the surprise except to say it is not a real body. Dr Shepherd starts part two with more tales of forensic interest and then there is the court case, where he gives his evidence. Finally, the lights are brought up and the audience is asked to decide as a jury. There is no conferring and something Dr Shepherd always finds fascinating.

"The high point for me is meeting the people afterwards when I sign books. It’s a pleasure to hear their tales and from the child that wants to go to medical school.”

Seven Ages of Death

When Penguin suggested a sequel, to Unnatural Deaths, Dr Shepherd suggested that as he had examined everyone from babies through all the phases of life it would be an effective way of showing the causes of death, disease, and senescence of the body. Inspired by Shakespeare’s seven ages of man (As you like it Act II scene vii), it seemed a natural follow on.
“I talk about diseases and traumatic deaths – accidents and murders”

That’s not all, this autumn is quite exciting as he is presenting a new show on CBS Reality looking at 10 cases, seven UK and three American. He says they are all cracking tales of twists and turns in a murder investigation and piecing it all together.

“They are complex cases, and we are using an anatomage table, an anatomy teaching aid which has CT scans built into its computer wizardry so I can dissect the body and follow the blood vessels and the bones. It is stunningly good and brings the postmortem process alive.”

The benefits of pathology

“The benefits are summed up in one word ‘truth’. To understand why someone has died is important for the families, friends, and society. It’s only by understanding what happens, can we understand what happened to that one person.

“I was lucky. I appreciate it because I found friends in pathology. Forensic science is the most fascinating career, and I am lucky to have found it and done it for 40 years.

“I would recommend it as a fantastic career that is fulfilling.

“That is why, Andrew, I want and hope I can show people a little bit of the fascination I have for my world and that it is a brilliant and useful job.”



You can see Dr Richard Shepherd's show at the following venues:

DATE VENUE TICKETS TIME
Thursday 13 October York, Theatre Royal www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk 7.30
Friday 14 October Leeds City Varieties www.leedsheritagetheatres.com 7.30
Monday 17 October Burnley Mechanics www.burnleymechanics.ticketsolve.com 7.30
Wednesday 9 November Darlington Hippodrome www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk 7.30

CBS Reality is available on Freeview (67), Sky (146), Virgin (148) and Freesat (135)