When we conjure images of evil doctors or monstrous figures, fictional characters like Frankenstein or Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde often come to mind. While these tales of horror can be chilling, the reality of human depravity in the medical field is often far more terrifying. The annals of history are filled with accounts of real-life medical professionals who abused their positions of trust in the most horrific ways. Here are 14 of the most notorious and Bad Doctors, individuals whose actions redefine the very meaning of medical malpractice and ethical failure. Read on, if you dare, to explore the dark side of medicine.
14. The Mob Doctor: Morris Bolber
Morris Bolber was a key figure in the infamous “Philadelphia Poison Ring” of the 1930s. This criminal enterprise was orchestrated by Italian immigrant cousins Herman and Paul Petrillo. The Petrillos, deeply entrenched in the criminal underworld, utilized Herman’s expertise in counterfeiting and arson, and Paul’s insurance scam operations, run from his tailor shop. Dr. Bolber, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, brought a sinister element to their scheme with his belief in “la fattura,” a form of magic popular among South Philadelphia Italians at the time. The Petrillos, seeking to exploit this belief, enlisted Bolber, who was known to provide potions to his patients, supposedly to improve their lives. The scam involved issuing life insurance policies without medical examinations and then paying Dr. Bolber to poison the insured individuals using arsenic-laced potions. These policies were fraudulently made out to the gang, not to the unsuspecting wives who would soon be widowed. The gang also employed violent thugs to carry out murders through various brutal methods, including drowning, bludgeoning, and vehicular homicide. Beginning in 1931, their reign of terror is estimated to have resulted in 30 to 50 deaths. Dr. Bolber was apprehended in 1939. Facing charges himself, he turned state’s evidence, leading to the conviction and death sentences of the Petrillo cousins.
13. The Euthanasia Doctor: Jack Kevorkian
Jack Kevorkian
Jack Kevorkian, a US pathologist, remains a highly controversial figure for his fervent advocacy of euthanasia. While some may debate his inclusion on a list of “bad doctors,” his direct involvement in the deaths of over 100 patients cannot be ignored, especially considering this occurred when no legal framework for assisted suicide existed. His actions ultimately led to an 8-year prison sentence. Even early in his career, Kevorkian sparked outrage with his proposal to conduct medical experiments on death row inmates while they were still alive. In a 1958 paper presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he argued that condemned criminals could offer a final service to humanity before their execution through such experiments, performed while they were conscious and ultimately resulting in their deaths. These views earned him the grim nickname “Dr. Death” among his peers. Further solidifying this moniker, he invented what he termed a “suicide machine,” constructed from readily available materials costing just $45. This device delivered successive doses of saline, a painkiller, and finally, a lethal dose of potassium chloride. In 1990, Kevorkian gained notoriety for using his machine on Janet Adkins, a woman suffering from early-stage Alzheimer’s disease who sought his assistance before the disease fully progressed. He performed the assisted suicide in his Volkswagen van in a public park. Although initial charges were dropped, his medical license was suspended. However, this did not deter Kevorkian, and he continued to assist in suicides, exploiting legal loopholes until his conviction in 1999. After serving 8 years of a 25-year sentence, he was released on good behavior. He died in 2011 at the age of 83, leaving behind a complex legacy deeply intertwined with the ethical and legal debates surrounding assisted suicide.
12. The Abortionist Killers: Kermit Gosnell and Steven Massof
Kermit Gosnell, a physician operating in Philadelphia, built a practice known for providing abortions, particularly to immigrant and minority women. Beginning in the 1970s, he positioned himself as an early champion of abortion rights. In 1972, he established his abortion clinic, The Women’s Medical Society, which devolved into a notorious “abortion mill.” Here, viable fetuses were routinely killed after undergoing illegal late-term abortion procedures. Over his career, a staggering 46 lawsuits were filed against him. In 2010, a raid on his clinic, conducted by a multi-agency task force including the DEA, Philadelphia PD, and state drug enforcement, initially focused on his illegal drug-prescribing practices. However, the raid unearthed far more sinister findings: evidence of a patient’s suspicious death in 2009, along with appalling unsanitary conditions, untrained staff, and the misuse of potent drugs without proper oversight. Investigators discovered semi-conscious women in blood-soaked recliners awaiting abortions, fetal remains stored in milk jugs and juice containers, expired medications, staff unable to identify medication dosages, and even flea-infested cats roaming the clinic. Gosnell himself admitted that a significant percentage of abortions, between 10% and 20%, were performed after the legal 24-week limit. Among the recovered fetal remains, three were determined to be viable infants. In 2010, Gosnell’s medical license was revoked, and he was arrested in 2011. He faced a multitude of charges, including third-degree murder for the death of an adult patient, multiple counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of babies, and criminal enterprise charges related to illegal drug distribution. His illicit prescription practices were estimated to generate an additional $10,000-$15,000 per night. Ultimately, Gosnell was sentenced to three life sentences without parole. Steven Massof, a medical student who assisted Gosnell, received a sentence of 6-12 years in prison. Massof testified to witnessing over 100 babies born alive and then having their necks severed – an act he chillingly described as “beheadings.”
11. The Starvation Doctor: Linda Burfield Hazzard
Linda Burfield Hazzard
Linda Burfield Hazzard, operating under the guise of a doctor, obtained a medical license through a loophole in Washington state law that grandfathered in alternative medicine practitioners. Despite lacking formal medical training, she became a fervent advocate for fasting, authoring books such as “Fasting for the Cure of Disease” and “Scientific Fasting: The Ancient and Modern Key to Health.” Hazzard’s central belief was that all illnesses stemmed from overeating. She established her own sanitarium, where patients were subjected to extreme fasting regimens lasting days, weeks, or even months. Their diet consisted of meager amounts of tomato and asparagus juice, and occasionally a teaspoon of orange juice. Adding to the ordeal, patients endured daily enemas and massages described by nurses as more akin to beatings. Under Hazzard’s “care,” a horrifying number of patients, estimated at 40, perished. While Hazzard attributed these deaths to pre-existing, undiagnosed conditions, the reality was stark starvation. Locals grimly nicknamed her establishment “Starvation Heights.” In 1912, she was convicted of manslaughter in the death of a wealthy British woman who weighed less than 50 pounds at the time of her demise. Further investigation revealed Hazzard had forged the woman’s will, naming herself as the beneficiary, and had systematically stolen her patients’ valuables. She and her husband manipulated patients into granting them power of attorney, sometimes by falsely declaring them mentally incompetent, allowing them to seize control of their estates. Hazzard was sentenced to hard labor at Walla Walla penitentiary but received a pardon just two years later under unclear circumstances. She relocated to New Zealand with her husband and resumed practice as a “dietician and osteopath,” but her license was quickly revoked due to her lack of proper credentials. She herself died in 1935, reportedly from starvation, a grim irony considering her practices. In a peculiar twist, the son of one of her victims later founded a successful seafood restaurant in Seattle.
10. The Lambeth Poisoner: Thomas Neill Cream
Thomas Neill Cream’s medical career began in Chicago, where he frequently performed illegal abortions for prostitutes. In 1881, a pattern of patient deaths emerged, including Daniel Slott, who died from strychnine poisoning after receiving a supposed epilepsy remedy from Cream. Slott’s wife, who was also Cream’s mistress, turned state’s evidence, confessing she had provided Cream with the poison to kill her husband. Cream was sentenced to life in Joliet Prison but was surprisingly released in 1891 after his brother bribed authorities. Upon release, Cream moved to London, residing on Lambeth Palace Road. Soon, a series of prostitutes died from strychnine poisoning after encounters with Cream where he offered them drinks. In a twisted attempt to deflect suspicion, Cream wrote to another doctor, falsely accusing him of poisoning one of the victims and demanding money. He also sent a letter to the coroner, offering to identify the murderer. However, Scotland Yard detectives grew suspicious of Cream and placed him under surveillance. He was eventually arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death. His final words at the gallows were, “I am Jack the…”, fueling speculation that he was Jack the Ripper, although he was imprisoned during the Ripper murders. His case remains a chilling example of a doctor who used his medical knowledge for deadly purposes.
9. The Kill-for-Inheritance Doctor: John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
Dr. John Bodkin Adams, a general practitioner in the British community of Essex, was outwardly perceived as a compassionate physician, particularly towards his elderly patients. However, a darker side was hinted at by his known fondness for prescribing dangerous drugs and a disturbingly keen interest in his patients’ wills. In 1956, police launched an investigation into Adams, suspecting him of murdering elderly patients to inherit their wealth. Investigators uncovered dozens of suspicious cases, but ultimately charged him with only two. In both cases, the deceased patients had bequeathed substantial sums of money to Adams, and the causes of their deaths remained ambiguous. Despite the overwhelming suspicion, Adams was acquitted of murder charges. He was, however, found guilty of forging prescriptions and falsifying medical forms. He eventually resumed his medical practice, but many of his elderly patients, understandably, sought care elsewhere. The John Bodkin Adams case had a significant and lasting impact on the conduct of criminal trials in England, particularly concerning circumstantial evidence and the burden of proof in cases against medical professionals.
8. America’s First Serial Killer: H.H. Holmes
H.H. Holmes stands as America’s first documented serial killer. His macabre fascination with medicine manifested early in childhood, reportedly performing “surgeries” on animals. Speculation even surrounds the death of a childhood playmate, suggesting a pattern of violence from a young age. After completing medical school, Holmes secured a position as a pharmacist in Chicago, which he used as a cover for his criminal activities. He soon began murdering individuals to steal their property and finances. He constructed a purpose-built house of horrors, later dubbed “Murder Castle.” This sinister structure was equipped with secret passages, trapdoors, soundproof rooms, doors lockable from the outside, gas jets to asphyxiate victims, and a kiln for cremating bodies. During the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Holmes preyed on vulnerable individuals, particularly women. He befriended them, gained control of their finances, and then murdered them within his “Murder Castle.” Furthermore, he mandated that his employees take out life insurance policies naming him as the beneficiary. Many of his victims’ bodies were sold to medical schools for dissection. In 1893, Holmes was initially arrested for insurance fraud related to a fire at his home. However, his web of murders eventually unraveled, leading to his conviction for murder and a death sentence. The precise number of Holmes’s victims remains unknown, but estimates range upwards of 200, making him one of history’s most prolific serial killers.
7. “Doctor Satan”: Marcel Petiot
Marcel Petiot
Marcel Petiot’s early life was marked by both high intelligence and disturbing behavior. He was expelled from multiple schools and, at 17, arrested for mail fraud, though deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. His military service was brief and marred by theft, for which he was again found not guilty due to insanity, leading to a dishonorable discharge. Despite this troubled past, Petiot managed to obtain a medical degree in 1921 and establish a practice in Villaneuve, France. He even rose to become mayor in 1926, though his tenure was marred by suspensions. Suspiciously, two of his patients died under mysterious circumstances, but he was never charged. His political career ended when he was caught stealing electricity from the city. In 1933, Petiot relocated to Paris, where he cultivated a reputable medical practice while simultaneously continuing his criminal activities. During World War II, he devised a sinister scheme to exploit those desperate to escape Nazi-occupied France. Posing as part of a resistance network, he offered to help Jewish individuals flee to safety. Instead, he injected them with poison, falsely claiming it was a vaccine against disease. After ensuring their deaths, he robbed them of their money and valuables, disposing of their bodies in a furnace in the soundproofed basement of his home. In 1943, Petiot was arrested by the Gestapo but inexplicably released after several months. Following the liberation of Paris in 1944, he was arrested again, and the gruesome discovery of 30 corpses in his basement exposed the true extent of his crimes. Petiot confessed to killing 60 people and was ultimately convicted for 26 murders. He was executed by guillotine in 1946, ending the reign of “Doctor Satan.”
6. “Doctor Death”: Jayant Patel
Jayant Patel, a surgeon trained in India, began his practice in Buffalo, NY, in 1984. His time there was quickly marred by disciplinary action, including fines and a 3-year probation for performing surgery without properly examining patients beforehand. His New York license was eventually revoked in 2001. Moving to Oregon in 1989, Patel continued to attract scrutiny. Eight cases arose, leading to malpractice suits or wrongful death claims. Colleagues reported that he operated on patients not under his care, performed unnecessary surgeries, and caused serious injury and death through surgical incompetence. In 1998, Kaiser Permanente restricted his practice, barring him from operating on the liver or pancreas and requiring a second opinion for all other surgeries. The Oregon Board of Medicine extended these restrictions statewide in 2000 after reviewing four cases that resulted in three patient deaths. In 2003, Patel became the director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Australia, hired by Queensland Health under an “area of need” program, without fully disclosing his problematic professional history. His deficiencies were soon apparent, with nurses reportedly hiding their patients from him to prevent him from operating on them. In 2005, media reports surfaced detailing injuries and deaths linked to Patel, triggering a flood of similar stories. He returned to Portland in 2006. Months later, an Australian magistrate issued a warrant for his arrest and extradition. Charges included manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm, and fraud. Patel was extradited in 2008 and initially convicted. However, his convictions were overturned on appeal. In 2013, facing remaining charges, Patel pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and received a 2-year prison sentence, wholly suspended due to time already served. His case highlighted the dangers of inadequate vetting and the devastating consequences of medical incompetence.
5. The House Call Serial Killer: Harold Shipman
Harold Shipman
Harold Shipman’s fascination with medicine began in childhood, witnessing his mother’s suffering and death from lung cancer. After earning his medical degree, he began practicing as a GP in Lancashire, England. However, in 1975, his career was derailed when he was forced into drug rehabilitation for pethidine addiction, stemming from writing numerous fraudulent prescriptions for the opiate. In 1977, he relocated to Hyde and established a thriving general practice. A local undertaker soon noticed an alarming pattern: Shipman’s patients were dying at unusually high rates, often found in similar positions – sitting up or reclining on a settee. A colleague physician also observed this trend, prompting notification of the coroner and police involvement. Initially, Shipman was cleared of suspicion. However, the suspicious death of an 81-year-old patient changed everything. Her family noted a recent alteration to her will, making Shipman the primary beneficiary, and suspected forgery. They also raised concerns about her sudden death shortly after a home visit from Shipman, despite her previous good health. Exhumation of her body revealed a lethal morphine overdose within three hours of her death, coinciding with Shipman’s visit. A full investigation ensued, uncovering Shipman’s calculated methods. He encouraged cremation and, when questioned, would present fabricated computerized medical notes supporting his listed cause of death. Police discovered these altered notes were created immediately after the patient’s death, each time-stamped. Shipman claimed to have called emergency services in front of families, then canceling the request after the patient died, but phone records proved these calls were never made. He also exhibited drug-hoarding behavior, falsely prescribing morphine for patients who didn’t need it, overprescribing for those who did, and visiting homes of deceased patients to collect unused medications for “disposal.” Shipman was ultimately convicted of 15 counts of murder and one count of forgery. A subsequent audit estimated his victim count to be around 236, making him one of history’s most prolific serial killers. Shortly after his conviction, he committed suicide by hanging in his jail cell.
4. The Father of Lobotomy: Walter Freeman
Walter Freeman, an American physician, became a zealous advocate for psychosurgery, specifically the lobotomy. Lacking surgical training himself, he initially collaborated with surgeons. Alongside Dr. James W. Watts, he performed the first prefrontal lobotomy by craniotomy in the US in an operating room setting. Seeking a faster, simpler method, Freeman perfected the transorbital lobotomy. This procedure involved rendering the patient unconscious with electroshock. Initially, Freeman used an ice pick from his kitchen. He later developed the leucotome, but its tendency to break within patients’ skulls led him to design the stronger orbitoclast. These instruments were inserted through the eye sockets and hammered into the skull, then manipulated to sever connections to the prefrontal cortex. The procedure often left patients in a vegetative state or with severely diminished cognitive function, reducing them to a childlike state. It is estimated that approximately 490 deaths resulted directly from Freeman’s lobotomies. Freeman embarked on a national campaign promoting his modified procedure, traveling in his van, the “lobotomobile.” He demonstrated the surgery to doctors at state-run institutions, sometimes showcasing his technique by simultaneously inserting ice picks into both eye sockets. His most infamous lobotomy was performed on Rosemary Kennedy, leaving her permanently incapacitated at age 23. Howard Dully, a former patient lobotomized at age 12, later chronicled his experience in the book “My Lobotomy.” Remarkably, Freeman allowed media to witness a procedure during which a patient died when the ice pick slipped too far into the brain. He reportedly reacted with indifference and proceeded to the next patient. His medical license was eventually revoked after another patient’s death. Freeman died of cancer in 1972, leaving behind a legacy of medical recklessness and ethical disregard.
“The ice pick lobotomy was performed by Freeman with a recklessness bordering on lunacy, touring the country like a traveling evangelist. In most cases, this procedure was nothing more than a gross and unwanted mutilation carried out by a self-righteous zealot.” –Ole Erersen
3. The Sterilization Nazi: Carl Clauberg
Carl Clauberg
Carl Clauberg, a gynecologist by training, initially focused his research on fertility treatments for women. He joined the Nazi party in 1938 and approached Heinrich Himmler seeking permission to conduct experiments aimed at developing a mass sterilization procedure. Clauberg conducted his horrific experiments within the Auschwitz concentration camp, injecting toxic substances into the uteruses of women, primarily Jewish prisoners. These procedures were performed without anesthesia, causing excruciating pain and frequently death. In some instances, victims were deliberately killed after the procedures to facilitate autopsies. As Soviet forces advanced, Clauberg relocated his experiments to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. After the war, he was arrested by Soviet forces and sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, as part of a German-Soviet repatriation agreement, Clauberg was released and subsequently arrested by German authorities. He died in 1957 before facing trial for his heinous war crimes. Clauberg’s experiments represent one of the darkest chapters in medical history, highlighting the atrocities committed under the guise of scientific research during the Nazi regime and the perversion of medical ethics for ideological purposes.
2. The Poison Doctor: Michael Swango
Michael Swango displayed a disturbing fascination with violent death and the Holocaust from a young age, compiling scrapbooks filled with gruesome images of fatal accidents and crimes. In college, his chemistry thesis focused on the poisoning death of Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov, marking the beginning of an obsession with poisons, particularly those that could act as silent killers. During Swango’s third year of medical school, at least five patients died shortly after being under his care. Classmates chillingly nicknamed him “Double-O,” referencing James Bond’s “license to kill.” Simultaneously, Swango worked as an ambulance driver but was soon barred from direct patient contact for undisclosed reasons. He secured a neurosurgery residency but failed his final medical school rotation due to absenteeism. Fearing litigation, the school allowed him to postpone graduation but imposed strict conditions. Swango graduated and secured residencies in surgery and neurosurgery. Shortly after graduation, he was fired from the ambulance company for telling a heart attack victim to walk to his car and have his wife drive him. Upon starting his internship, a series of unexplained deaths of healthy patients occurred on his assigned wing. One survivor reported being injected by Swango minutes before experiencing seizures. An investigation ensued, but the hospital, aiming to minimize fallout, exonerated him. Swango was transferred to a new wing, where another series of unexplained deaths followed. Furthermore, fellow residents became violently ill after consuming fried chicken brought in by Swango. His internship was not renewed. In 1984, Swango obtained an Ohio medical license and joined an ambulance company that failed to conduct a background check. He exhibited bizarre behavior, including displaying his macabre scrapbooks, making inappropriate comments about death, and displaying unusual excitement over news of mass killings. Again, Swango brought food – this time doughnuts – to colleagues, who subsequently suffered violent illness, with some requiring hospitalization and testing positive for poison. Following further similar incidents, Swango was arrested, sentenced to 5 years, and had his license revoked. Released after 2 years, he moved to Virginia and worked as a career counselor. Co-workers soon experienced nausea and headaches, leading to his firing in 1989. He then worked as a lab tech but quit after a wave of illnesses among colleagues, leaving one executive near comatose. In 1990, he legally changed his name and forged documents about his conviction. He secured an internal medicine residency in South Dakota in 1992. His past remained hidden until he joined the AMA, where someone recognized his name and alerted the University of South Dakota dean. Simultaneously, a 20/20 interview with Swango from prison aired. He was asked to resign. His girlfriend, shocked by his past, began experiencing severe headaches until they separated. He then fraudulently entered a psychiatry program at Stony Brook University. On his internal medicine rotations, patients again began dying mysteriously. His girlfriend, still in contact, discovered he had emptied her bank account and committed suicide the next day. Her mother, seeking revenge, informed the dean, leading to Swango’s dismissal. The dean alerted medical schools and hospitals nationwide about Swango. After being fired, Swango went into hiding, pursued by the FBI. He resurfaced in 1994 as Jack Kirk, working at a company in Atlanta with access to the city’s water supply. The FBI intervened, he was fired, and vanished again. He reappeared in Zimbabwe, working as a doctor, where his lack of training became evident, and patients died mysteriously. Police found numerous drugs and poisons in his home. Swango fled but was arrested in the US in 1997 en route to Saudi Arabia. He pled guilty to fraud and, facing extradition to Zimbabwe and potential death penalty, ultimately pled guilty to murder and fraud. He is currently serving three consecutive life sentences at ADX Supermax Federal Prison, a testament to his decades-long reign of terror as a poisoner.
1. The “Angel of Death”: Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele, who earned his medical degree in 1938, joined the Nazi SS in the same year. He volunteered for medical service with the armed SS, though details of his early activities remain unclear. In 1943, after being wounded as a medical officer, he was assigned to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Genetics, and Eugenics. Promoted to SS Captain, he was transferred to Auschwitz, becoming Chief Camp Physician of Auschwitz II under Dr. Eduard Wirths. Mengele’s roles included conducting “selections” upon prisoner arrival, deciding who would be sent to work camps and who would be immediately gassed. He earned the infamous title “Angel of Death” or “White Angel” for his exceptionally cruel and detached demeanor. He frequently sought out twins for his horrific “experiments” and conducted weekly inspections of barracks hospitals, ordering the deaths of patients who failed to recover within two weeks. He also oversaw the administration of Zyklon B in the gas chambers.
Mengele’s “research” encompassed unspeakable atrocities:
- Driven by his fascination with heterochromia iridium (different colored eyes), he injected chemicals into living subjects’ eyes in attempts to change their color. He also collected the eyes of murdered victims, often killing solely to obtain eyes for his research and to send to colleague Karin Magnussen, studying eye pigmentation.
- During a Noma outbreak at Auschwitz, Mengele meticulously documented the disease’s progression and killed victims to preserve their heads and organs for study.
- He conducted experiments to “prove” Nazi racial theories, testing the supposed lower resistance of Jewish and Roma people to diseases. He intentionally infected one twin with typhus or other diseases, often killing the healthy twin for comparative post-mortem examinations if the infected twin died.
- Mengele sought to demonstrate the “degeneration” of Jewish and Roma blood, documenting physical anomalies and harvesting tissue and body parts. “Subjects” often died during these procedures or were killed for autopsies.
- He experimented on pregnant women, sending them to gas chambers after his experiments were complete.
- In one horrific act, he sewed Romani twins together to create conjoined twins. Both died of gangrene within days.
- On one night, he murdered 14 twins by injecting chloroform into their hearts.
- He performed unnecessary amputations, transfused blood between twins, and countless other barbaric acts.
In 1945, as Soviet forces approached, Mengele fled Auschwitz. He was briefly held by US forces post-war but released, his captors unaware of his war criminal status. Using false papers, he worked as a farmhand in Bavaria from 1945-1949, then settled in Argentina. His crimes were documented by post-war courts, and West German authorities issued an arrest warrant in 1959, requesting extradition in 1960. Mengele moved to Paraguay and then Brazil, where he died in 1979 under the alias Wolfgang Gerhard. His body was exhumed and identified through DNA analysis, finally confirming the demise of the “Angel of Death.”
“When he smiled, you knew it meant danger, because when he was smiling, he was at his most sadistic.” – Auschwitz survivor
Real-life monsters exist in all professions. Never assume trustworthiness based solely on job title. Evil is rarely obvious; it often hides beneath a veneer of respectability and charm. Remain vigilant, trust your instincts – that feeling of unease might be a crucial warning.
