Howard Martin, 75, told the Daily Telegraph that he acted out of “Christian compassion” to end the suffering of seriously ill patients — comments that police say may provide grounds to revive a murder investigation.
“I twice helped people to die, not because they wanted to die but because they had such dreadful suffering,” he said.
It was not clear from his interview remarks whether the two people he said he helped to die without their consent were among the three he was cleared of killing at his murder trial.
Others he helped bring their lives to an end were able to make their own choice, he said. One of those he assisted was his own son, when he was dying from cancer at the age of 31, according to the Telegraph.
Police in the county of Durham in northeast England, where Martin worked, said they would consult state prosecutors.
“A decision will have to be made on whether there are new grounds to reopen the investigation,” Superintendent Paul Unsworth said in a statement following the Telegraph report. In 2003, double jeopardy laws were changed to allow retrials for serious offences if compelling new evidence emerged after an acquittal.
In Britain, helping someone to die is a crime punishable by a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment, although there is growing pressure for a change to the law.
Howard was arrested in 2004 and charged with murdering three former patients, but was later acquitted, the newspaper said.
On Friday, the General Medical Council (GMC) struck Howard off Britain’s medical register after an investigation found he had hastened the deaths of 18 patients, the Telegraph reported.
No one from the GMC was immediately available for comment.
The Telegraph said it had identified the 18 people whose deaths were investigated, adding that some of their relatives described Howard as an “angel of mercy” while others accused him of betraying their trust.
The newspaper quoted him as saying he accepted that his confession put him at risk of conviction if it prompted police to reopen his case.
