Money won't ease David Fuller torment, say families

David Fuller abused the bodies of at least 101 women and girls

The son of a woman abused by double killer David Fuller in a Kent hospital morgue said no amount of compensation can ease the trauma he continues to suffer.

Tom Mackelden, whose mother Tania died from breast cancer in 2017, said his family received tens of thousands of pounds from the NHS as part of a scheme for Fuller's victims.

Fuller, from Heathfield in East Sussex, was given two life terms in 2022 after it was found the electrician had abused the bodies of at least 100 women and girls in two hospital morgues over a 12-year period.

Mr Mackelden, from Loose near Maidstone, said: "They could have given me £1m and it wouldn't have taken away the sleepless nights or made the pain any less."

He added: "Still years later when I look at a picture of my mum I straight away think of him [Fuller] and his face."

Tom and his family were told in October 2021 that Tania, from Staplehurst, was one of Fuller's victims. Tania died aged 48 when Tom was 19.

Since her death, Tom set up the Tania Mackelden Foundation in her name, which provides holidays to families of people suffering from cancer.

Figures released by the NHS reveal that more than £3.2m has been paid out to 155 claimants as part of the compensation scheme.

Tom said he and his family received payments as parts of the compensation scheme in 2023.

Tom Mackelden's mother Tania was a victim of David Fuller, who abused bodies while working as an electrician at two hospitals

He said the money had allowed him to buy a home with his partner.

A Freedom of Information request revealed 52 claims were made from December 2022, when the scheme opened, until the end of the 2024/25 financial year, at the beginning of April.

More than £1.3m was also paid in claimants' legal costs as part of the scheme.

A spokesperson for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Foundation Trust, which ran the morgues where Fuller worked, said it had implemented a number of recommendations from the independent inquiry into issues raised by the David Fuller case.

The NHS said its thoughts remained with those affected.

"Since the discovery of his offences, NHS England has worked closely with trusts to strengthen mortuary security, ensuring access is tightly controlled, CCTV monitoring is in place, and facilities are working towards full compliance with Human Tissue Authority standards," a spokesperson added.

"We continue to support Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in implementing the recommendations of the Fuller Inquiry in full."